As many students scrambled to finish their Stanford Overseas Studies applications on Jan. 29, others were exploring alternative, non-Stanford programs that would allow them to study in other countries.

Stanford currently offers programs in such locales as Australia, Berlin, Florence, Moscow, Oxford, Paris and Santiago. Each year, however, many students find that these options are not what they are looking for in an overseas studies program.

For these students, an increasing number of alternatives exist, as most American universities offer some form of overseas program to which any student may apply.

While issues regarding credit transfers, differing tuitions and financial aid deter some from applying to or attending non-Stanford programs, most students who do choose to go abroad with another university said they believe the experience was worth the extra effort.

One of the more popular alternatives is the Semester at Sea program, which is currently hosted by the University of Pittsburgh. It will technically become the domain of the University of Virginia beginning this fall.

Students who attend Semester at Sea spend a little over three months on a cruise ship, traveling all over the world while simultaneously taking classes.

Junior Ashley Matheus, who experienced this option during fall quarter, said that she decided to go abroad through a non-Stanford program mainly because she wanted the variety that Semester at Sea offered rather than be isolated in one country for so long.

“[Semester at Sea] was amazing,” she said. “I went to so many beautiful places and had the greatest experiences. I made great friends who were from all over the place, which was nice because the people you meet aren’t from Stanford, so you learn from them.”

Matheus added that she thinks she would not have been as satisfied with a Stanford overseas program.

“Nothing Stanford offers can compare to Semester at Sea,” she said. “The programs here are great, and I recommend them for people who know where they want to study. But for me, being in so many different places and having so many great memories was unbelievable. I just wouldn’t have found that in Chile or Florence.”

Sophomore Lee Trope chose to go abroad through a non-Stanford program for a different reason. An international relations major with a focus in Africa, Trope decided to look elsewhere because Stanford currently only offers one very selective program on the continent —, in Cape Town — during winter quarter.

Eventually, Trope found the School for International Training, and recently applied for their program in South Africa. Pending acceptance, she may find herself studying there next fall.

“The application was different, of course,” she said. “But I enjoyed filling it out. I got to write a letter to my host family, which was the best part, because I realized that I would actually be living there.”

Trope added that she wanted her experience abroad to be truly memorable, and that she had to explore non-Stanford options in order to find something that genuinely fit her interests.

“I didn’t want to go abroad just to say I did,” she said. “I wanted to love the place where I’d be living for so long, and really care about what I was doing there. The places that Stanford sends their students to are amazing. They just weren’t the right places for me.”

Sophomore Cameron Grace echoed Trope’s sentiment. Explaining that he very much wanted to study abroad in Spain, Grace explained that had Stanford sponsored a program there, he would have applied.

“It would be a lot easier to go abroad to a Stanford campus in terms of credits and application process,” he said. “But since Stanford doesn’t offer a Spain program and since that’s where I want to go, I had to go through another school.”

While Stanford does offer a campus in Santiago, Chile, many Spanish-speaking students would rather go to Spain than South America. While some speculate that Stanford may reopen its campus in Salamanca, nothing has been confirmed, and the Bing Overseas Studies Office could not be reached for comment by press time.