Hello everyone!!
As I've mentioned before, I'll be blogging (extensively, in three parts) on how I started planning for this trip. Not sure if anyone got my hints, but I will be going on a student exchange trip for a semester to Korea University, located in the capital city of South Korea, Seoul!!!!!
Contrary to what everyone would be feeling right now, I'm actually pretty nervous for this trip because it'll be my first time being away from my family for quite some time (Five months isn't that long... but still...). It's also a first for me to organise everything, from visa application to accommodation to flight tickets, so I guess it's a good way for me to be independent. However, before all of this started, I had to do a lot of research.... which all up took a year.... and to whoever that is wondering, I started researching about this when I commenced my university studies in March 2015.
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First off, before I could even think of going on exchange, I had to ask for my mum's permission. Maybe it's a habit that I'm used to since I was in primary school... that I always ask for my mum's permission before I do anything. Initially, she didn't agree on the idea but with much persuasion and influence from her friends, she finally gave in and agreed.
After getting the green light from my mum, I had to do a lot (and I know it sounds like I'm exaggerating but it honestly took me six months in total) of research. First and foremost, I had to decide where I wanted to go. To be honest, if you've hung around me for long enough, you would know that I would go to Seoul, without a doubt LOL.
Open-advising session + second opinion
Anyway, after making that really difficult decision (lolol), I had to go to an open-advising session with the Global Officers, who are current students that have gone on exchange before. This session provided me brief information (i.e admin stuff mainly) about going on exchange. They also shared their stories while on exchange, which all sounds exciting to me, because their adventures are endless. However, while this session was informative, I still felt like I needed to hear more experiences from other people.
That's when I found a very nice person who has been to Seoul for exchange, in Monash University's exchange group (of which btw, a very good group to be in as they have so much information about exchange) on Facebook. She shared her Seoul experience and also gave me in-depth information on the application process for the student exchange program. It was very reassuring to listen to her experience as it helped me to eliminate all the doubts that I have about going to Seoul.
Research: university, credit transfer
Anyway, after that, comes the most tedious process of all: looking up on which university I wanted to go and researching for units at the exchange university. Luckily for me, Monash has exchange agreements with four universities in Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University and Sogang University. Originally, I had my eyes on Yonsei University because I've heard so much about it and it's a very popular university among exchange students... but after much research, I couldn't enrol as they didn't have the units that I needed to do. :(
It kinda sucks because for my degree, I have to do three core units and an elective every semester. And since they're core units, I don't really have much flexibility on what units I can choose, so it was a really tough process for me, because it involved a LOT of research (I know, it's my third time mentioning this). Anyway, after researching all the universities, only Korea University (KU) offered the units I needed to do. KU offered two of my core units for the semester, which was a huge sigh of relief.
Faculty approval
Afterwards, comes the second most tedious process of all: getting the KU units approved by my faculty. This has to be done in order for the units to be credited towards my degree. And as I've mentioned before, my units aren't flexible so it was a really tedious process. I had to compile the unit guides of all my KU units and forward them to my faculty exchange coordinator subject to approval. I had to email my coordinator a couple of times so that I can get more units approved... just in case the units I needed to do wasn't offered or maybe the classes are too full.
Statement of purpose
After all these tedious research, of which btw, it took me three months to do, I had to write up a statement of purpose, which outlines the purpose of my exchange, how I will represent the university and goals that I hope to achieve while on exchange. Writing a statement of purpose didn't take long because everything that had to be said has already been lingering in my mind for a long time.... This is a story for another day, so I'll probably blog about it very soon ^_^
Financial plan
Following the statement of purpose, I had to come up with a financial plan, which basically outlines how much you are going to spend while on exchange vs how much money you will actually have. It's good that Monash has included this in the application form, because it assists me in planning and budgeting for my trip.
Thankfully, Monash has an abundance of scholarships that they give out, especially for those who go on exchange/study abroad. Regardless of where ever you go, as long as you have the acceptance letter from the host university, you are entitled to get a scholarship worth a certain amount from Monash.
In addition, the Australian government also has the OS-HELP loan for students who are going on exchange/study abroad. Students can apply for this loan worth a certain amount, and for those studying in Asia, they give out a higher amount compared to those studying in other parts of the world.
It was kinda tough planning my finances because I couldn't really estimate how much I will need per week when I'm there, how much flight tickets are etc, simply because I've never been there before. For extra confirmation, I seeked help from the same girl I mentioned before, who once again, saves the day.
Referees + supporting documents
Last but not least, I needed to provide two referees and supporting documents for my application. It wasn't too hard finding a referee as I've known my Korean tutor for nearly a year and I got along with my other Stats tutor, of whom I've only known for less than three months. As for the supporting documents, I just needed to provide a copy of my passport and my bank statements, which isn't hard to obtain at all... You just need a scanner and the actual documents lol.
This summarises the application that I had to submit to the Monash Abroad team. Sorry for the lengthy post and lack of pictures lol. Anyway, do expect another lengthy post because I'll be blogging about the application process for my host university, which is a shorter process, but still very tedious!
Until next time!
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