Planning for Exchange - His Uni Exchange: Part 1
Part 1: Helping answer the questions of...Are you considering studying abroad? or Do need some direction in preparing your exchange application?
With only two weeks to go until Rubes & I head off on our extended journey home, it means our time in Leeds is quickly wrapping up. To mark the end, I’m aiming to write this multi-part blog series about my experience of going on exchange and hopefully help and encourage anyone else considering a similar route.
Through these blogs, I'll attempt to cover everything from the initial application, funding the experience, living and studying abroad, as well as, what can be expected to see and do. This first part is more informative rather than personal experience, as it outlines all the preparation I went through. For those of you thinking about beginning the process then this may help, which will lead into the later parts that focus on my time and experiences on exchange.
At the beginning, the idea of studying abroad came about shortly after I returned from my 2014 gap year, as I was just beginning my urban planning degree. Being a student again was a welcomed and refreshing time, which helped me to really enjoy the start of my course, however, there was a part of me that never truly came home. After my first year, I started actively looking for exchange opportunities and with the help of a very encouraging course director, I began preparing to apply.
1) Considering Studying Abroad
From my perspective of deciding and applying for an exchange program, studying abroad is quite easy, IF you really want to do it. This is important as you need quite a bit of patience to get through the extremely time-consuming process. Your first step should be to seek out your uni’s exchange department, most have them (such as Griffith’s Global Mobility team), and they will assist you with practically anything you need to get you out studying abroad.
Apart from these guys, you can also talk to those academic staff members you may be familiar with (my course director was key to helping me apply), as well as, friends or fellow course mates that have gone through the process before you. Once set on heading off, here are some things to consider:
Start the Application AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (Approx. 12 months)
The process can take quite a few months to gather all the required documents, send them away, wait for the overseas institution to accept, then apply for a visa and finally, to give yourself enough time to save as many pennies. I'd suggest around 12 months from the start date of your intended exchange program as a guideline.
For me, I started planning in Semester 2 2016, which allowed me enough time to meet my application deadline by January and begin saving for my time abroad.
An example of my Uni's deadlines were: July for the following year’s Semester 1 and end of January for Semester 2.
How Long? Deciding on the Duration
There are various opportunities to study abroad for students, from short-term experiences of a single week, through to full-year (2 semester) exchanges. Trying to match my specific urban planning subjects was the most difficult aspect of my application and ultimately forced (more like encouraged) me to commit to the full-year, but things to consider are:
Time of year: When is a good time to leave your course? Do you want to travel somewhere over winter or summer months? Final year is hard to do/having electives available helps
Length of subjects: How long do subjects run for? Some subjects can run across two semesters.
Budgeting: How long can you realistically fund staying abroad? Thinking about flights to and from your exchange uni/visas/ accommodation/daily living costs/having extra money for travelling around in your spare time.
Where to Go? Deciding on the Destination
This is very much the most important part of your application and can be extremely hard to decide on, especially when faced with over 50 countries to study in. Choosing the destination is not just about the university, but also its location and country that both determine:
The Culture: What interests you? Can it assist your studies? (i.e. history/language/arts degrees)
Subject Requirements: Check if subjects, particularly undergraduate ones, are offered in your first language and don’t require pre-requisite subjects you aren't able to complete.
Ability to Travel: Are you in a place that is accessible to national/international travel? For the like of weekend/semester break trips (European universities with an international airport close by are good for this).
Social Scene: Because exchange is more than just studying.
Cost of Living: Some places (i.e. Scandinavia) can be incredible, but require more money to support your living, while the AUD can also be weaker or stronger across different regions.
Note: Most exchange applications require you to have around 3 preferences of potential exchange universities, so bear this in mind if you are set on a particular country - preference all three for universities in that country.
Do you meet your University’s Eligibility Requirements?
Almost anyone can go on exchange but it’s worth noting some limitations that are common for universities to require of their students before they can jet away. Mine required the following:
Have completed 60 credit points or roughly one-years’ worth of study.
Have a GPA of 4.5 or greater (Scale: 0-7).
Satisfy the requirements of your home university's school for its students to study abroad.
2) Preparing the Application
Selecting your Exchange Subjects
This is a major part of your university exchange as it provides you a chance to study interesting or different subjects, which may not be offered at your home university. Also, when planning your exchange, saving certain subjects or electives that match ones offered abroad can allow you to gain credit for subjects done overseas.
Crosscheck Subject Syllabi: This can be a very time-consuming and frustrating process, but it crucial. Start with identifying your course's subjects that you want to study abroad and your preferences for exchange universities. From here, identify your subjects course outlines/syllabi and attempt to match them with similar looking ones at your overseas institutions. TIP: Easiest way is to match subject directly by name, however, don't be afraid to get a little bit creative when trying to find matches by looking deep within course content. Your degree or program director should be able to advise you if you need any guidance.
Utilising Electives: The easiest way to study abroad is to save electives for the semester/s you want to go. It allows greater flexibility of subject selection and can maximise credit points studied abroad to avoid lengthening your overall course.
Identifying Transferable Subjects: Sometimes your course's core subjects can have corresponding matches abroad, which can help you to
Note: I found selecting subjects pretty difficult as my course has a 20 credit point (CP) core planning subject per semester that cannot be substituted. To give myself enough credit to study, I dropped back to part-time study in Semester 1 2017, which helped to free-up subjects to study abroad, however this did lengthen my overall degree.
Why do some Universities do more Subjects per Semester?
This is common across various countries and uni's, for example in Australia I do 40CP per semester (which is roughly 10CP per subject/4 subjects per semester), yet at Leeds Uni they do 60 or 6 subjects. It is important to check with your study abroad office about the equivalent to your system to ensure you take subjects that are interchangeable CP-wise, while also ensuring you take enough to be considered a full-time student.
Note: I was put off about doing 6 subjects per semester, however, it may give you an opportunity to do some cruiser ones, such as me and my Traditional Alcoholic Beverages course!
What Documents will my Application Require?
Your application will usually require you to gather some additional material to support your application. In my experience these included:
Application Form (Online): The application requires you to complete a multi-stage application form about your personal, degree and exchange details. It's self-explanatory and you can work through it easily enough.
Two Academic References: I had to reach out to two members of my school's academic staff to write a letter of reference each supporting me on my desire to go on exchange. It seems logical but please pick two that you know and get along with, they are more likely to do it for you, do it quickly and write positive things.
Letter of Motivation: This is a standard letter stating your desire to go on exchange, why you want to go and how it can benefit your university degree/professional development. I only wrote a page and if you write honestly about your reasons, it's easy.
Signed Study Plan: Once I picked my subjects, I had to get them approved by my course director, which will hopefully mean they transfer into credit when I return. This may vary for different situations but it's likely you'll have to do the same.
Un/Official Transcript: To prove you have achieved the required GPA to go on exchange, you'll have to supply a transcript that is pretty easy to obtain through your student services department.
3) Submitting your Application & Acceptance
Submitting your Application
Once you have gathered everything you needed to have and done so before the deadline, you're almost at the end of the application. During the time you have been filling out forms and gathering various supportive material, your study abroad office will be adding to your file and when you satisfy all their requirements, you're done. It's not exactly a massive party, but it is nice to see a confirmation email saying your application is complete.
Now what happens next? When do I get Accepted?
There are two stages to getting accepted on exchange:
Your Home University: This is the straight forward one, if you meet the basic requirements and supply the information they ask of you, then within one month of the exchange deadline you can expect to gain confirmation of acceptance. With limited places at some universities, be aware that you may be required to accept one of your other preferences.
Overseas Institution: Once your uni accepts you, they send away your files and it's a waiting game to hear back from the exchange university. The time-line for this can vary greatly, it just depends on how big and efficient their exchange office is at processing applications but do be patient.
As the waiting game goes, you will eventually hear back and in most cases, you'll be getting a massive congrats because you're officially going on exchange! It will take a long time to compile all your documents, pick your subjects and plan on the best country and uni for you, but I promise that if you stick with it, you'll be feeling pretty darn good when you too receive this acceptance parcel in the mail.
Now, I feel this is enough information to unload in a single post, so I'm going to wrap it up. This was just the first part of my series on my overall university exchange at the University of Leeds, and I hope this helps or encourages you to get the ball rolling on applying for a similar exchange opportunity.
Don't stress, Part 2 will be out next week focusing on getting yourself ready to go and will cover things such as, visas, finances and accommodation. If you have any questions about the application process or anything else exchange related, don't hesitate to get in touch via our email hishertravelings@gmail.com. Thanks for your time, have a good week and good luck with those applications!