Although you're not going abroad quite yet, it might be time to start thinking about what you're going to accomplish in your host country. Leaving aside doing well in your classes or getting great clips, there's also your creative side to consider. That's why we highly recommend doing what a lot of you probably already do: blog and take pictures. If you do it regularly, you'll have heaps of memories for your old age, and heaps of stories to tell your grandkids. 

To get you inspired, here is a list of top 10 study abroad blogs you should check out. 

And here is a list of top 12 travel bloggers to read. 

Here are all the entries into the 2012 National Geographic Travel photography competition.

Here are some great tips on blogging.

And finally, here's some travel photography advice.

That should get you started. We can't wait to see what you've got to offer the world!

by Fedor Zarkhin

By now, most of you who applied for the semester-long programs know if you've been accepted or not, and if not, you'll know pretty soon (Buenos Aires - tomorrow, Sciences Po - after the interviews). So, what next? Is this the end of your path to getting into whatever country you've been dreaming of since you read about it in an encyclopedia as a child or watched a program on Discovery channel? Nope. What you ought to do now is start thinking, reading, planning, thinking, reading, planning. There's nothing quite as unpleasant as being underprepared for life abroad, and it's in your best interest to make sure that doesn't happen. 

A lot of this stuff is common sense, of course, but that doesn't mean it won't hurt to read up. First off, you might think you know a lot about your destination country, but what if you don't? You won't know till you crack open that Wikipedia page and click on all those links. To be honest, Wikipedia writing style is either bad or boring, in my opinion, so it would be best to read travel articles, longform.org or byliner.com articles, and maybe even check out books. The most fun thing is to find magazine articles about your country. They are unlikely to give you a broad view of the place, but they'll let you into people's lives there. If you're really passionate, read books by your country's famous authors, if you haven't already. Being up to date on current events should go without saying, of course.

If you haven't spent lots of time abroad, you'll want to read up on the emotional and psychological process of spending extended periods of time away from home. There's a pretty well-established pattern that most people go to: euphoria, depression, adaptation. Everything seems magical at first, then things start to get to you and you miss home and you have an identity crisis, then finally you accept your new surroundings and you grow as a person. After that you've got reverse culture schock to contend with, but that's another story.

A crucial part of your pre-departure research is reading up on all the practical stuff. You know, the local transportation system, how safe it is, whether or not the banks will charge you half your savings for a cash withdrawal, local customs, that sort of thing. Don't worry, learning about this stuff won't take anything away from the novelty of being there. You'll just be able to get to more interesting things faster, and you won't seem quite as strange to the locals if you have an idea of what's going on. 

Where do you find this info? Well, this is the J-school, after all, so you guys probably already know: Google! Yup, it's a magical thing, this Google. The New York Times travel section has suggestions on things to do in different cities and will give you an idea of the flavor of a city or a country. Wikipedia will give you (somewhat boring, I think) accounts of a place's history, while Wikitravel will give you a lot of practical information. Transitionsabroad.com has lots of info, and is best for people's accounts of their time abroad. But, in all honesty, the Internet is full of information. You've just gotta look. And look you must!

by Fedor Zarkhin