As students prepare to study abroad, voltage adapters and currency are not the only things they have to worry about.

For students returning to Penn State, finding a place to live might be on their list of things to do. For those who will be leaving Penn State, finding someone to take over a lease might be a problem as well.

More than 1,000 students leave Penn State every year to participate in more than 130 programs in 42 different countries. With so many students departing there is a lot of opportunity for sublets and the cancellation of contracts and leases.

Penn State Housing offers a solution to this possible dilemma. Those who plan to go abroad have the option of signing a one semester housing contract as opposed to signing for the entire academic year.

"Students (who are studying abroad) can register mid to late October to cancel their spring housing contracts," said Cathy Krinks, manager of assessment of off-campus Housing Administration.

If a student has decided to study abroad, the term of their contract can be shortened so they are not tied to a spring lease with on-campus housing.

Krinks said contracts for the spring term were only available for those students who planned to study abroad in the fall.

Although the options available for on-campus housing are helpful, those students who live off campus may have problems with their lease.

"Students have to make those arrangements themselves, but we can help find sublets by giving them places to look," said Amy Paior of the University Office of International Programs.

The office also offers a book where students can place an advertisement for a sublet or an apartment sublet request. Those who are going abroad have the option of searching through the book to try to find someone to take over their lease. If a student needs to cancel a spring on-campus housing contract, the office can do that for them as well.

Paior also added that finding a sublet during the spring term is easier than finding one for the fall.

Some students recommend a good way to locate a place to live while studying abroad is to rely on friends in State College.

"(My roommate) did her research before she left," said Yael Stanford (senior-finance). "We [her friends] were still here while she studied abroad so we found a place and signed a lease before she went abroad."