Representatives from a number of study abroad programs welcomed students to the annual fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in the Duke Ellington Ballroom.

Outreach Programming Coordinator Victoria Toussaint was a graduate assistant when she was first introduced to the fair and is now in charge of it for her second year.

“This is our biggest recruitment tool,” Toussaint said. “The students can actually meet faculty members leading the programs.”

The Study Abroad Program gives students the choice to travel to 75 different countries.

Between 300 and 400 students participate in the Study Abroad Program every year.

“It’s a good way to increase your resume, get away from the pack and gain cultural awareness,” Toussaint said.

Senior sociology major Brett Jacobson, has traveled to Dubai in UAE (United Arab Emirates), Cairo in Egypt and Sierra Leone in Africa.

“[Studying abroad] gave me a different perspective,” Jacobson said. “It’s weird to see how people do things different and that there is no right way for us to do something.”

Jacobson did his study abroad during the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2010. It is not mandatory that students travel during the summer, they may also go for a semester, academic year or between May and June so the students can go once school ends and be back in time for summer school.

Sophomore undecided major Tamara Tarvis said she would want to go during the summer.

“I think going with friends would be fun but going in a group with other people would be cool because then I could meet new people and learn their backgrounds,” Tarvis said. “If I brought a friend it would feel like a vacation.”

Freshman accounting major Evan Solano said he went to the fair because he wanted to learn more about what the Study Abroad Program offered.

“I would want to go a whole academic year so I could get the full experience,” Solano said.

Solano said he wouldn’t want to go during his freshman or sophomore year because he wants to mature more.

Business Administrative Associate, Pamela Rosenberg said money is one of the biggest worries for students when participating in the Study Abroad Program, along with course work.

“Don’t let money be something that stops you,” Rosenberg said. “Until you break it down, you don’t know that.”

The expenses of the trip all depends on the program chosen.

“Each program is different,” Rosenberg said. “Some may pay for tuition, meals, housing and airfare, while others just pay for tuition.”

There will be a ‘How to Find Money’ meeting Oct. 7 in the Campus Life Building Room 100 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for students looking to study abroad and needing scholarships or grants.