Stick together in small groups. Avoid political demonstrations and large crowds of fellow Americans. Call your parents to let them know you're safe.

The directors of study-abroad programs at Maryland universities spent Monday morning e-mailing hundreds of students about these basic precautions after Sunday's European terror alert from the U.S. State Department.

"In this case, there is nothing specific, so it's really hard to go beyond the general recommendations we usually give," said Andre Colombat, Loyola's director of international programs. "But we tell them they must know what's going on where they are and that if something happens, even in a different country on the same continent, they need to contact their families right away to let them know they're OK."