“Like, all of my friends are applying to the program in the fall, so I really want to go with them,” says Terry Jenner of Rho Alpha Delta sorority. “I’m just like, really passionate about cheese.”
The new addition to Stanford’s Bing Overseas Study Program (BOSP) includes tours of cheddar factories, a visit to a lactase pill pharmacy, and for students who are 21 and older, a trip to a brewery.
Premed student Abe Tillerson says that the opportunity to visit a pharmacy is the only reason he is able to go abroad. “This is the only program that offers on-site premed classes, and the opportunity to make superfluous LinkedIn connections with people actually working in the pharmaceutical industry is a huge plus. In any other program, I’d have to take 28 units per quarter just to graduate.”
But besides these opportunities, there is something so special about the opportunity to go abroad domestically. There are new cultures, new experiences and new perspectives, and in Wisconsin, they come with the added bonus of being drenched in cheese.
The program is being launched in the fall, and the BOSP office has been overwhelmed with application. “Abroad programs are usually competitive”, says director Amy Zhao. “There are always people who are rejected. But SIW has already received 70,000 applications—that’s more than there are students at Stanford!”
In the future, the SIW program is considering making applications due 3 years in advance, so students looking to participate in the SIW program their sophomore year will have to send a supplemental abroad application to their common application to Stanford.
“We are really excited about the prospects of this program”, says Zhao. “Maybe one day, a Stanford student will have a share of ownership of the Packers!” (Aranjo)
