By Hannah Breeland

Opinions Editor

Bakersfield College students don’t need to settle for a university in California or even in the United States. It’s never too late to rule out studying abroad.

A Transfer Abroad Guide is available on campus, and it is available online at TransferAbroad.com

Eric Tiettmeyer, editor of the guide, felt there was a strong need for students to have information about studying abroad.

“I published the Transfer Abroad Guide because I saw a need for students to finish their degree abroad in three years and in most cases transfer and finish in 1 to 1.5 years,” he said. “There are all these great opportunities to study abroad, even for a semester, and use your FAFSA financial aid. Finally, the cost is usually the same or less than here in California.”

Tiettmeyer is determined to help students receive this information. He has delivered copies to 50 community colleges across California.

The guide is filled with tips on travel, university requirements, transferring units and three universities that are located in paradise where students wouldn’t think to transfer to.

For example, a university located in the Caribbean that has 80-degree weather year round will cost less than $20,000 for one year.

In the guide, there are six pages filled with 300 universities that do and don’t accept FAFSA, along with several profiles on current students studying abroad.  Tiettmeyer was inspired by his studying abroad experiences that motivated him to make the guide.

“I worked in Switzerland when I was 20, cleaning rooms and washing dishes in a 13th Century chateau just north of Geneva,” he said. “I also did independent study with an art teacher from Saddleback College, going to museums around Europe and writing about it when I got back and getting credit. It really is a life-changing experience to study abroad, so it’s exciting to have a guide that is reaching those that don’t really know about it.”

With the first guide out, Tiettmeyer plans on four additional guides for the next academic year.

 “Nobody has really promoted direct enrollment to universities abroad in the past,” he said, “and there certainly hasn’t been a magazine or guide about it. So it’s exciting to have this first guide about that.”