Coming Home
Welcome back!
Returning home from your time abroad can sometimes feel like as much of an adjustment as going abroad does. It's all part of the development process and should be viewed as an integral part of your education abroad experience.
To keep your experience alive, continue your global mindset development and perhaps fulfill those travel-bug needs. We have compiled a list of resources to help you reflect, articulate, and integrate your newly acquired global skillset. You also will find important information transferring your overseas coursework back to Babson.
Overseas Transcripts
Be sure to request a transcript from your host institution before you depart. You may need this in the future for graduate school applications and some job searches. Some host programs will send one transcript to Babson College automatically. It is your responsibility to inquire about this prior to your departure from program. It can take up to two months after the final date of your program for Babson to receive your transcript so please be patient.
Processing Transcripts
Upon receipt of your overseas transcript, your graduate program manager will approve the courses taken and contact the Registrar who will then transcribe the courses to your Babson transcript. This process may take two to four weeks depending on the time of year.
IMPORTANT: The Registrar cannot process your transcript if you have outstanding course evaluations. Please have all courses from abroad evaluated before/during your semester abroad.
Verifying Credit
We strongly recommend that you verify your grades before departing your host country, as it will be much easier to correct any potential errors while you are still in the country. Remember, Babson will only give credit for courses that come back as the equivalent of a Babson C- or higher. Additionally, you should save copies of all exams, papers, and other graded material, just in case you need to provide additional documentation of your work at a later date. This is especially important when faculty are reviewing courses where syllabi or course descriptions do not indicate contact hours and/or assessment indicators or if you wish to seek concentration credit.
Top 10 Tips for Leveraging Your International Experience
- Build upon your international experience, on campus and off
- Utilize your global network including Babson alumni and connections you made abroad
- Identify lessons learned and skills developed
- Define your personal growth in terms of your next step
- Incorporate your experience into your job-search materials and interviews. Meet with a Babson Career Counselor
- Seek out opportunities to work on global, virtual teams
- Refocus your professional development to incorporate your newly acquired international and multicultural skillset
- Leverage language skills
- Go abroad again
- Apply your entrepreneurial passions to your international pursuits
— Adapted from “A Student Guide to Study Abroad,” published by IIE and AIFS
In celebration of International Education Week, the Glavin Office of International Education sponsors a campus-wide Education Abroad Photo Contest every fall semester, usually in November.
If you have recently returned from an educational experience overseas or at Babson as an exchange/international student, the Education Abroad Photo Contest is a great way to share your experience and contribute to the global understanding of the greater Babson community. All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to enter up to two photos to be considered for judging. Share your story with a photo!
For more information please see the International Education Week page or email Brett Chin, Advisor, Education Abroad.