Eden Cope

Biography

During the 2014-2015 school year, Eden lived and studied international politics and history in Stockholm, Sweden. Having already learned Swedish prior to her study abroad experience, through years of “obsessive study and practice”, Eden was able to refine her language skills by taking classes in Swedish and living in Stockholm. For students with sufficient language skills, classes are available in the country’s native language rather than English. Eden found taking political science classes in another language served the dual purpose of solidifying her foreign language ability as well as giving her a European perspective on world politics.

Even without the in-country language, Eden found that most people already spoke at least some English, and becoming friends with other students from a diverse set of countries was easy and extremely rewarding. And spending an entire year in Sweden allowed Eden to solidify her friendships there and have some unique experiences that students on a shorter-term study abroad are less likely to experience; such as, spending a weekend at a Finnish friend’s cabin in the Arctic Circle underneath the Northern Lights or flying to Reykjavík and driving around the entire island of Iceland with a small group of students.

Like most students, finding a way to finance a year long program can be challenging. Luckily, a study abroad through Utah State’s affiliate ISEP can be the same price as regular semester tuition in Logan, with only the added cost of a plane ticket to the country. And most programs allow students to use any scholarships or government aid that applies to their US college account and Eden found that finding new scholarships for students studying internationally was simply a few mouse clicks away.