UF was ranked No. 15 for sending students abroad, but staff says there is still room for improvement.
The 2013 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, released Monday, ranked New York University No. 1, with 4,378 students who studied abroad during the 2011-12 academic year.
UF sent 1,991 students.
Dena Roberts, UF Study Abroad Services assistant director, said a national ranking is exciting, but the percentage of students studying abroad is still low.
According to the report, only 10 percent of American undergraduates study abroad.
Roberts said about 2 percent of UF students study abroad, but she hopes this number will continue to grow.
“It’s the next step to figuring out who you are,” she said. “It’s also stepping out of your comfort zone.”
Maxine Dubois, a 22-year-old UF criminology and law senior, is one of thousands of UF students who has studied abroad.
Studying in Beijing last summer, she didn’t let a little culture shock or a foreign lifestyle-induced upset stomach stop her from having a good time.
Before leaving, she said she researched Chinese culture, so she wasn’t surprised when strangers snapped photos of her on their phones or touched her dirty blond hair.
The amount of students from other countries coming to study in the U.S also increased by 7 percent, according to Open Doors. In the 2012-13 leading institutions for hosting international students top 25 ranking, UF was No. 17.
Lyn Straka, director of UF exchange visitor services, said past international students have said they liked the openness of the UF community, especially the open relationships between students and professors.
Exchange students’ experiences are not limited to just coursework at UF, she said. Their home universities might not have the dormitories or on-campus activities UF students take for granted.
“They don’t just get a new academic experience,” she said, “but a new cultural one as well.”
A version of this story ran on page 8 on 11/13/2013 under the headline "UF study abroad ranks No. 15 nationally, could improve"
