According to Terry Curran of the Associate Provost of Academic Affairs 62% of this year incoming freshman class at UNCW noted on their application that they wanted to study aboard. Terry Curran said the total national average is 87%. Last year UNCW sent 524 students to study abroad, which is the largest number since the school start. Denise DiPuccio has seen students interest double from the last 10 years. If you are interested in studying abroad, make it a goal of yours to build up your savings and have education as your top priority.

          Carly Francis who is a junior at North Carolina studying business just came back from an amazing semester studying abroad at Port Elizabeth located in South Africa. Students travel abroad for many different reasons. F rancis says you are going to gain experience whether good or bad.   At first studying abroad can be challenging. For example, a couple of Carly teachers did not provide books. Another incident occurred in Math class when the teacher said naught point two, later she realized that naught meant zero.     Students return with more confident. They can negotiate different situations and can accept differences," said UNCW's Denise DiPuccio of the International study program. "I've seen young women go away and they're shy. When they come back, they walk into my office and they're assertive and confident. Study abroad is, in my humble opinion, the most life-changing experience a student can have," said DiPuccio.