He acknowledges that Harvard is not generally known for encouraging students to go abroad.

"Even when I was at Harvard back in the late '40s and early '50s, Harvard felt that the best education you can receive is in Cambridge," he says.

The International Issues Committee found that most students on financial aid were not able to go abroad during the summers, because Harvard asked them to use part of their summer earnings for tuition and expenses.

Since Harvard revamped its financial aid program in 1998, giving students larger grants, it gotten easier for students to spend time abroad, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67.

"In the old days, you could work with the student employment office and OCS [Office of Career Services] and you could usually find some way to get paid for working abroad, but it was hard," Fitzsimmons says. "We want this playing field to be level, and this is a major commitment on the part of the college."

When the Weissman program started in 1994 only "a handful of students" participated, says Associate Director of OCS Jane Pavese, who is in charge of program administration. In recent years it has been heavily publicized and has gained a wider reputation on campus.

And Fitzsimmons says the program's appeal reaches beyond Harvard. He often uses it to entice potential students.

"We get lots of questions about whether or not we have a junior year abroad," Fitzsimmons says. "One of the things that happens with people here is that many people get here and they intend to study abroad, but things just get in the way."