Do you speak a foreign language? If so, how well? Are you proficient enough to take courses in that language? Would you feel comfortable in a place where very few people speak English? Are you interested in learning a foreign language? It is important to answer these questions honestly. You will not have a good experience if you put yourself in a situation where you cannot thrive. Be a creative thinker. If you speak French, you aren’t limited to studying in France; consider places like French Guyana, Quebec, Canada, or Senegal. If you don’t speak a foreign language well you might consider places like Scotland, Ireland, India, Australia, and South Africa where English is an official language or places like Egypt, The Netherlands, Italy or China where you can take classes in English while being exposed to other languages outside of school. Maybe you plan to go abroad to learn a foreign language, in which case, your options are vast.
Many scholarship programs favor students who plan to study so called ‘critical need languages’ (like Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, Urdu, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Punjabi, Japanese, Russian, Bengali, and Farsi) or who plan to study in less traditional locations- Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Safety should always be among the factors considered in choosing a location; the US Department of State website has travel warnings and advisories which are updated frequently.
US Department of State Travel Information
http://travel.state.gov
