Community Choice Awards 2020: Study Abroad

In the Overall category, we looked for those study abroad providers whose scores across all factors was highest. The following providers offer a variety of programs in destinations around the world – and alumni are consistently positive in reviewing their experiences:

Study abroad is an opportunity for many things: freedom and independence, travel, exploring the world, and expanding one's worldview... but it's also a time to learn. Academics are an important part of studying abroad, and we ask all study abroad alumni to rate their academic experience abroad. The following providers had the top scores in the Academics category:

While study abroad is an opportunity for students to experience freedom and independence they might never have before, it's also critically important that the study abroad program they choose is available for any support students do need. We ask alumni to consider how much support the study abroad program staff provide; the following providers had the top scores in the Support category:

We obviously think that studying abroad should be a fun experience -- in fact, we ask every reviewer to tell us how much fun they had overseas, for almost every program they rate on our site. For study abroad programs, we ask alumni to share what they rate the social scene for their study abroad program. This could include extracurriculars, weekend trips, or daily activities arranged by the study abroad provider. The following providers had the top scores in the Fun category:

Housing is an important part of the student experience abroad. Good, safe housing options -- be it a dorm room, an apartment with fellow students, or a homestay -- have a huge impact on student perceptions of studying abroad. As many study abroad providers are responsible for arranging or suggesting housing options for students, we ask study abroad alumni to rate this for each program. The following providers had the top scores in the Housing category:

Safety is one of the most important factors we ask reviewers to rate; almost every program on Go Overseas (even those that aren't in the study abroad category) is rated on safety. In particular, we want to know how students felt about the safety of their school and the local community. The following providers had the top scores in the Safety category: