Welcome to StudyAbroad.com News!

CONTENTS:

I. StudyAbroad.com's and AHA's Recent Press Release: Student Concerns About Study Abroad Safety Issues Have Decreased
II. Cross-Cultural Awareness While Studying Abroad - Joanne Dailey
III. StudyAbroad.com Web Advertising and Student Recruitment Services - Lori Faunce
IV. Featured Language of the Month on StudyAbroad.com
V. StudyAbroad.com Conference Attendance
VI. StudyAbroad.com Advisor Supplies
VII. 2003-2004 CALENDARS
VIII. Top Twenty Countries Search on StudyAbroad.com for Second Quarter
IX. Unique Visitors to StudyAbroad.com

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I. STUDYABROAD.COM'S AND AHA'S RECENT PRESS RELEASE

StudyAbroad.com's and AHA's recent press release titled, Student Concerns About Study Abroad Safety Issues Have Decreased provides survey results, which reveal that study abroad students are more concerned about academic credit and the cost of the program than study abroad safety issues. AHA International and StudyAbroad.com collected survey data from 2,065 prospective study abroad students over a thirty-month period. Below is an excerpt from the release. If you would like to read the entire release, please visit: http://www.edudirectories.com/press/press69.html.

As safety concerns are declining, students are more comfortable with venturing outside the United States. "It is also clear from the survey that students are not only viewing their study abroad experience as a reason to travel, but they are serious minded about their program selection," says Mark Shay, president and CEO of Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc., the parent company of StudyAbroad.com. "They are looking to become fully immersed in another culture and truly expand the scope of their education."

The survey asked students to state whether they felt certain factors were very important somewhat important, or not at all important when choosing a study abroad program. According to the survey, students stating that safety is very important have declined from fifty-four percent of students in 2001 to forty-seven percent of students in 2003. Simultaneously, sixty-five percent say receiving academic credit for their program is very important.

Students also appear to be more frugal than ever when selecting study abroad programs - 68% of respondents state that the cost of the program is very important and 56% state that financial aid is very important.

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II. CROSS-CULTURAL AWARENESS WHILE STUDYING ABROAD - JOANNE DAILEY

Studying abroad can most certainly be a life-changing experience. Various facets of an individual are affected by a study abroad experience: personal growth, a new perspective on world affairs, and career enhancement. In addition to these factors, a student guide titled It's Your World: Student's Guide to Education Abroad considers another crucial aspect of the study abroad experience: cross-cultural awareness. While numerous concerns confront the study abroad student such as costs, home campus tuition policies, academic credit approval, and transportation, cross-cultural awareness should be a paramount concern.

The handbook discusses various aspects of cross-cultural awareness: for one, Ethnocentricity, a word often associated with Americans and American students as well. But the culture shock is, the whole world doesn't think 'American'.

Another aspect of cross-cultural awareness that the guide discusses is safety and diversity issues. I recently spoke with an African American graduate student about her study abroad experiences. She expressed her concerns about prejudices she experienced in certain regions. She felt that if she had been advised about regional minority acceptance, she would have altered her study abroad country destinations.

Lastly, the guide mentions that American students traveling abroad are often confronted with questions about their own country, its history and its values. It's amazing how when one is confronted with such questions outside the comforts of their homeland, they begin to view their country from a different perspective, and actually become quite reflective.

The It's Your World: Student's Guide to Education Abroad is an ideal handout for any prospective student who is hoping to pursue a study abroad experience.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of It's Your World: Student's Guide to Education Abroad, please call Joanne Dailey at 610-499-9200 or email at advisor@iiepassport.org.

You can read the It's Your World: Student's Guide to Education Abroad online at: http://www.studyabroad.com/handbook/handbook.html.

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III. STUDYABROAD.COM WEB ADVERTISING AND STUDENT RECRUITMENT SERVICES - LORI FAUNCE

StudyAbroad.com not only offers standard web advertising, but a suite of services that enables recruiters to effectively find and manage prospective students. Outlined below are three services, beginning with basic web advertising, that will allow study abroad program recruiters to make the most of their marketing efforts and maximize their enrollments.

StudyAbroad.com Web Site: Basic Recruiting
The StudyAbroad.com web site receives over 520,000 visits each month and is the ideal place to begin your recruiting efforts. The site presents a directory of over 13,000 study abroad programs and contains targeted advertising opportunities such as prominent text links and graphics on appropriate directory pages. Advertising on StudyAbroad.com is very reasonably-priced, allowing programs with small budgets to cost-effectively generate quality leads. For more information on StudyAbroad.com advertising opportunities, visit: http://www.StudyAbroad.com/advertise.html.

StudentProspector: Active Recruiting
StudentProspector allows recruiters to take the next step and actively seek and recruit prospective students that meet their criteria. Through a database of thousands of prospective student profiles, study abroad recruiters can find niche audiences - from Spanish language students who would like to study in Chile to art majors looking to study in Paris. Recruiters can then outreach to these students - either on their own or with the help of StudentProspector Plus!, a service in which the leads are provided to you or each lead automatically receives an email about your program. For more information on StudentProspector, visit: http://www.StudyAbroad.com/advertise/prospector.html.

EDU-IS Enrollment Manager: Recruitment Management
EDU Internet Strategies, a division of Educational Directories Unlimited (producers of StudyAbroad.com), recently launched an innovative system to manage all of your prospects. With the Enrollment Manager service, you can easily manage ongoing communications with your prospective students. Through online inquiry forms, online applications, targeted outreach, powerful reporting and more, you will increase your enrollment rates and more effectively market to your most important prospects. In addition, the EDU-IS staff will offer you its expertise and guidance to ensure that your campaigns are a success. For more information on the EDU-IS Enrollment Manager, please contact George Waldie at george@edudirectories.com or 1-610-499-9200.

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IV. FEATURED LANGUAGE OF THE MONTH ON STUDYABROAD.COM

StudyAbroad.com has added a new page, Featured Language of the Month http://language.studyabroad.com/ to its site. Each month's featured language page offers information such as the language's history, countries in which it is the primary language, interesting language facts, and career opportunities for those possessing a mastery of the language. This month's featured language is Portuguese, a world language as early as the 16th and 17th centuries. Be sure to check it out! Next month's featured language will be Chinese.

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V. STUDYABROAD.COM CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

StudyAbroad.com will be at the following conferences this fall:

NAFSA REGION III CONFERENCE, which is being held in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 29-31, 2003. Representing StudyAbroad.com will be our Sales Executive, Erica Brechemin. Erica will be presenting a Search Engine Overview on Wednesday, October 29 at 3PM to 4:15 PM. Come join this informative session!

CIEE CONFERENCE, which is being held in Budapest, November 5-8, 2003. Exhibiting for StudyAbroad.com will be our Sales Executive, Erica Brechemin.

NAFSA REGION VII CONFERENCE, which is being held in Tampa, Florida, November 9-11, 2003. Representing StudyAbroad.com will be our Sales Executive, John Duncan.

NAFSA REGION X CONFERENCE, which is being held in Bolton Landing, New York, November 9-11, 2003. Representing StudyAbroad.com will be Mark Landon, CTO and Co-Founder of Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. Mark will be presenting on the topic of Marketing Practices. Don't miss this informative session!

NAFSA REGION VIII CONFERENCE, which is being held in Portsmouth, Virginia, November 19-21, 2003. Representing StudyAbroad.com will be Mark Landon.

NAFSA REGION XI CONFERENCE, which is being held in Hartford, Connecticut December 2-4, 2003. Representing StudyAbroad.com will be our Sales Executive, John Duncan.

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VI. STUDYABROAD.COM ADVISOR SUPPLIES

We are currently in the process of sending complimentary advisor kits to colleges and universities nationwide. The kit includes the following items:

* Mousepads
* Why Study Abroad? brochures
* Pocketcards
* Posters
* Maps
* Sample StudyAbroad.com Handbook
* Pens
* Notepads
* Advisor Flyers
* Cardboard holders

If you would like to order additional advisor supplies, or if you have any questions about our services, please call Dot Hamilton at 610-499-9200 or email her at dot@studyabroad.com.

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VII. 2003-2004 CALENDARS

We are currently giving away complimentary IIEPassport 2003-2004 calendars! This year's calendar features delightful watercolor illustrations, attractively designed by our own graphic artist, Stacy Pagnano. Cultural depictions are woven into each country of the month's artistic renderings.

You may order up to ten calendars; however, additional quantities can be provided. If you are interested in receiving one or more calendars, or if you have questions or concerns about any of our services and supplies, please email me at advisor@StudyAbroad.org or call me at 610-499-9200.

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VIII. TOP TWENTY COUNTRIES SEARCHED ON STUDYABROAD.COM IN SECOND QUARTER 2003

1. Spain
2. England
3. Italy
4. Germany
5. Canada
6. France
7. Australia
8. Japan
9. United States
10. India
11. Mexico
12. Ireland
13. China
14. Sweden
15. Belgium
16. Russia
17. Taiwan
18. Greece
19. Netherlands
20. Egypt

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IX. UNIQUE VISITORS FOR STUDYABROAD.COM - TWO YEAR PERIOD

August 2003: 450,745
August 2002: 403,790

July 2003: 494,218
July 2002: 424,791

June 2003: 493,898
June 2002: 346,758

May 2003: 503,098
May 2002: 422,366

April 2003: 527,461
April 2002: 489,860

March 2003: 548,131
March 2002: 500,976

February 2003: 495,561
February 2002: 495,421

January 2003: 562,285
January 2002: 496,133

December 2002: 441,964
December 2001: 318,923

November 2002: 453,676
November 2001: 360,399

October 2002: 492,210
October 2001: 339,061

September 2002: 437,478
September 2001: 308,090

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