Macalester's study abroad program

Macalester's study abroad program, in which over 60 percent of students participate, will be switching to a single application deadline for both fall and spring semesters for the 2011-12 school year in order to balance the numbers of students who leave each semester.The actual deadline has not been set, Provost Kathleen Murray said, but it will be during the spring semester of 2011 and will mostly affect current freshmen who wish to study abroad their junior years. An official letter will be sent to first years by the end of this semester calling attention to the change.

The logistics of the single deadline have not been solidified either. As of now students will be able to state preferences for which semester they wish to study abroad and provide justification for their requests, such as a sports schedule.The single application deadline deviates from the separate deadline system in place now that that allows students to apply for fall and spring semesters abroad at different times.

Macalester will now join five similarly sized peer schools including Grinnell College, Bowdoin College and Lawrence University, who have all changed to a single deadline. Smaller schools feel more financial pressure when there are large disparities between fall and spring study abroad numbers-this year Macalester had nearly twice the amount of students leave in the spring as went abroad in the fall, which is now causing fiscal losses in on-campus housing and tuition.
A single application deadline is not necessary at larger schools, since their capacity to deal with imbalances is greater, study abroad coordinator Paul Nelson said.

Macalester's study abroad budget has doubled in the past seven years-a rate matched only by the cost of the college's health insurance but is unsustainable at that growth, Murray said. She hopes that a balanced number of absent students each semester will improve Macalester's financial situation and provide more ways for students to study abroad.