Advice for Parents

You may want to take a similar role in the selection of your student's study abroad program as you did with your son or daughter's selection of an appropriate U.S. college or university. To begin, we recommend that students read and fill-out this Study Abroad Handbook independently. This can be the first step that helps him/her take charge of his/her own study abroad experience. However, accomplishing the many tasks involved with planning study abroad in Portugal can be overwhelming. Your son or daughter will most likely need your assistance.

The content on this website is divided up into four sections: Choosing a Program, Practical Information, Health & Safety and Coming Home. We suggest that you read through the Study Abroad Handbook content, and then make sure your son or daughter has answered the Questions and responded to the items in the Checklist. Many of the items will require feedback from a study abroad program provider, although the Resources section will help you as well. Make sure to have a copy of the Emergency Card that your son or daughter also should carry in his/her wallet.

After your son or daughter has thoroughly reviewed the Handbook independently, and done some research, we encourage you to follow-up with his/her findings. At this time, we ideally hope that you would sit down with your son or daughter and go through the Handbook with him/her. You may be able to help him/her answer any questions he/she was not able to answer on his/her own.

We understand that your child’s health and safety is important to you. We also know that your concerns for your child’s health and safety increase with distance; the further away your child travels from home, the more important it is for him/her to have support services. In this time of an increased national focus on safety and security, you may feel strongly concerned about your child’s wishes to study and travel abroad in Portugal. We hope that by reading this Handbook your concerns will be addressed. You will be able to better assist your son or daughter with choosing a quality program, and with being prepared for health and safety challenges abroad in Portugal. Study abroad could possibly be one of the best, most positive and rewarding experiences for your child.

As a special resource just for parents, we encourage you to read the following article entitled "Advice for Parents: Frequently Asked Questions" by William Hoffa.