I know some of you are already studying abroad, while others are planning on studying abroad. This is an experimental thread - ie, I don't know how this will really work, but I think it's a neat idea if it does take off.

Anyway, I just wanted you guys to be able to post questions here about studying abroad, share experiences, etc etc.

If you've already got a place in mind, try to build your network here!

eh, why not? I'll jump start this thread:D

WOOHOO!!!! I just got an e-mail from my school that I've been selected to study at Yonsei in Korea for the summer! Although it's not official yet since Yonsei has to confirm, my school is giving me permission to go. I'm so excited yay!

ooh..What does the program include??

ummm....not sure what you mean but

it's 6 weeks at Yonsei. I have the option of staying in the dorms. I can take up to three classes for a total of 13.5 units (which i plan to take advantage of to get rid of some of my GEs). Other than that I'm not sure what else is to come until I go to the workshops for more info. Either way, I'm so excited I get to go! It'll be my first time ever traveling outside of the US (besides Canada, but that doesn't count).

an congrats
im planning on study in korea too but im having diffculties

i can decide if i want to do it for a year or for a semester
and im having trouble finding a good school
im a film major and i think it would be grea to get some film credits there
and if i dont ill probably end up being a super senior since there are a million film credits required at my school

What are some good places to apply to for a study abroad summer (Japan, Korea, Chine etc.)?

I was wondering what college level (freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, other, etc) should someone go?
Because I'm starting as a freshmen starting from Summer 07 and I'm just 16 so it would be really difficult for me to go anywhere since I'm underage. & I know this is a stupid question but how do you apply as an exchange student? Or is it the same as if you were a resident of that country? Can I get a scholorship? Would it have to be from (insert)country or would I have to find an American program which gives scholorships to people studying aborad? Wait..is there even such a thing I personally don't know anyone who has done this, and I have no information of this at all so thanks for putting up with me >___________<

i will be entering college fall of 2007 and im really interested in studying abroad in a different country.
i wanna do it like in the summer, how much do you usually have to pay to go?
do you have to pay for like your food, airplane ticket, room/board, tution?
if other people experienced studying abroad, could you tell me how much it cost to do it?
thanks

I'm studying abroad starting this September in Cairo, Egypt at The American University in Cairo.

I'm going for the whole year, and maybe another if I'm too in love with it after that, heh. I visited the campus over the summer and I loved it. ^^

I decided to directly enroll in the college though, because it was cheaper, and the credits will still transfer back to my school. It's going to cost me 15,000$ tuition plus 3,000$ for a dorm the whole year (and the dorm is awesome.. free tv/cable/telephone/nurse on call/housekeeping/T1 internet/gym) plus a few extra costs for health insurance blah blah..

I don't think its too expensive because the tuition would be about the same here and the dorms with all of those benefits would NEVER be that price. I don't need too much money for spending either, because meals are served in the dorms for cheap and you can eat cheaply there.. and pretty much everything else is cheap as well.

pikapika- i was thinking of studying in s. korea too, for film. i would love to do some internships or whatever in that film industry. if you find anything good.. let me know!

I was wondering what college level (freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, other, etc) should someone go?
You can apply whenever. I think most programs require that only sophomores+ can go (prolly to cut down on applications to allow people a better chance to go). Career wise, you should aim to go before you're a junior so you can use your remaining summers/smesters/quarters to apply for internships/jobs/research opportunites/etc to apply towards your career. Unless you're like an asian studies major or something to that effect where going abroad really would apply towards your major. You can still definitely go as a senior or whatever, but that's just my advice.

Because I'm starting as a freshmen starting from Summer 07 and I'm just 16 so it would be really difficult for me to go anywhere since I'm underage.
No, I don't think that it would be difficult. Just when you're applying for programs and stuff you just need your parents to sign those consent forms.

& I know this is a stupid question but how do you apply as an exchange student? Or is it the same as if you were a resident of that country?
You apply through your home institution to go abroad as an exchange student. You usually have to apply for visas and stuff once you know you've been accepted abroad. You should go to your program office at your school to get more details on application procedures.

Can I get a scholorship? Would it have to be from (insert)country or would I have to find an American program which gives scholorships to people studying aborad? Wait..is there even such a thing
It really depends on the program/country. You can scholarships/federal aid/loans wherever, but for more specific details you should check with the program you want to apply to and your school's financial aid office.

hahaha ben might already know this but.......I'm in california studying and I'm from canada =P..hahaa school wise I like it better in california HAHA SORRY BEN!!! SCREW UBC LOLOL *not to offend anyone =P* LOL had to get away from my home and experience college life =) and what's out there..haha..I might go abroad for one year to europe..who knows =)

Thanks for your help theedqueen.
I'll edit later - on break right now >_______<

I'm planning to do study abroad at Ewha University in Korea during my sophmore year.

Just wondering if anyone had something to share about that certain region/school.

I'm a sophomore right now, going to be a junior in Fall 2007. My college doesn't have stuff towards study abroad; I was curious if I can still get financial aid?

Hi, I've applied to study abroad at Yonsei, South Korea this fall. Anyone else planning to do the same? We should be friends

Well, I was thinking about going early to Korea a few weeks before school started and just messing around there before I started school. I'm concerned about visas and when they become valid. Does anyone have any idea of when visas usually become valid? If it's early enough, I can have some fun and maybe find an english tutoring job before I start school.

I was considering studying abroad however, the circumstances don't seem to allow this; also doing applications to transfer to other schools. If I get accepted into another college, wouldn't I technically have a 0.0 GPA because I would then be a student of "Y" University, instead of "X" College? Does anyone know anything out of this, or would I have to wait a full year for a real GPA to take root in my next university?

Incoming freshman of any college/uni technically has a 0.0 gpa. What they receive in their first year is their foundation or starting GPA.
Those that transfer schools usually have their GPA carried over to the prospective school.
However, I don't know about transferring to a school that is out-of-country.

I finished my FAFSA; it's completed and I have an EFC of 0. I checked online and people said it's good because I can get a full ride etc.

I want to study at Yonsei for a year, however my college doesn't have a thing with Yonsei? What should I do?

I'm about to do a study abroad in Korea soon. Soon as in a week, here - Soonchunhyang Uni.

looking forward to it. everything except the tuition (it is an exchange program) is paid for, as well as an attractive stipend every week (~150,000 won)

i'm going to doing summer school in switzerland this summer.
i'm excited cuz we're going to go on field trips every weekend to different european countries.
and my cousin lives in germany so after i'm done with summer school...i'm gonna hang out with him.

I would talk to someone in your college's study abroad department. From what I know, this means that you can do one of two things.

The first is to apply directly to Yonsei. They have the KLI program, which is just for Korean language learning, and also DIEE, where you take language classes along with a couple English-taught college courses. If you apply to Yonsei directly, you would apply for the visiting program instead of the exchange program. If you go through the visiting program you won't be taking the KLI intensive course like the exchange students (or so it says on the website: http://ysid.yonsei.ac.kr/)

The second is to go through another school's study abroad program, which I am not as familiar with and am not sure how wide spread that is. I live in Florida and I can't remember if it was just other Florida state schools that this option applied to or if it applied to more. (Obviously I didn't pursue this path.)

Like I said first, though, the best thing to do is to talk to someone in your college's study abroad department. They should be able to help you out even if you aren't going abroad through them.

HEY GUYS!

i have a question for UC EAP in South Korea. I currently attend UC Riverside and i'm a 2nd year, i want to study abroad next spring quarter, so spring 2008.

I'm a biology major so i have some questions. i've been on the site for EAP and i have the korean eap brochure but it doesn't seem like they offer a lot of biology or science classes. i really can't get behind because i already am wayy behind in my sciences. i just want to make sure they offer a sufficient amount of courses that is required for my major here in the states. i just want to ask if there is anyone here that went to EAP KOREA being a bio major and was able to take classes that met the UC system requirements. like...if i need to take OCHEM next year then i'd be able to take that in korea? and it would fulfill the requirement for the UC's? lol sorry for so many questions, i just don't want to get further behind by going to korea.

also, yonsei is on a semester schedule meaning their spring semester starts in febuaray and goes to mid june while riverside is a quarter system, and our winter quarter starts in jan-end of march then spring starts in april-june. how would that affect my scheudle? i mean i'm missing two quarters, so that 1 semester in korea would fulfill all the requirements?

btw i am planning on talking to my advisor and going to the EAP office on campus. but i just want your guys' experiences with the courses.

thanks a lot!

Does anyone know how the process of visas work for Americans studying abroad in Korea? If I can, I'd love to go to Korea a few weeks earlier than my semester starts and find an english tutoring job. Any inputs on this?

i'm from the philippines...i'm just about to finish my freshman year in the university of the philippines..i'm also a scholar here...

i was wondering if there are any scholarships given to foreign students that you know?....

i cannot financially support myself....because both of my parents have died already...so i really need a scholarship if ever i would study abroad....

hope you can help me...

oh wow, i'm in the same shoes as you! i'm at ucsd n i'm planning to go next spring too! i'm not too sure about the bio classes but i know that cause we're quarter system, we have to be missing 2 quarters whereas places like berkeley only miss 1 but we do get 21 units while we're away which is more than what we'd be taking in a quarter. We'd just have a longer winter break from dec-feb. For the classes, i'm pretty sure u have to get it approved by your major department then it's fine...good luck! maybe we'll meet!!

Has anyone done an international exchange? Where you pay your home school's tuition and attend a university your school has partnership with. But you pay for airfare, housing and everything else on your own. I'm wondering if this would be a better option vs. studying aborad.

If your home school has a good sister school, then I would say it is definitely better. Paying your home school tuition means that you do not have to pay tuition as an international student, which makes it cheaper. With these programs, at least with my school, you are guaranteed equivalent credit with all of the classes you take while abroad. You also have your school's study abroad office there to help you through the application process and with any questions you might have about it.

I think it really does depend on if they have a partnership with a college you want to go to, though. I would love to go back to the Netherlands for a semester, but the sister college my school has in the Netherlands only offers business classes, which isn't what I'm interested in.

On the other hand, I'm planning on going to South Korea in the fall through an international exchange with my school. (I got the acceptance letter from my school yesterday! ) Personally, for me, this is the best option, because, like I said, it's cheaper and it's less of a headache for me as far as transferring credit goes. (I had to try to deal with getting high school credit with my previous exchange student experience. Annoying to say the least.) This particular program also fits me well, because I want to gain a lot of experience and information on the Korean language and culture and I am less concerned about academic classes.

hmm..not sure if this is really contributing but, I just got into Sophia University in Tokyo =)

I was wondering if anyone had any experience there that they would like to share~ or anything related!

I've been to their website a bajillion times, but I still need more info >.< not sure if I'm brave enough to go live in Japan for four years. I just got back from a 6 month study abroad thing in Hong Kong (but then I lived with my grandma ^__^)

Hi guys, I plan to do University in Japan.
What are the more recognized universities I should look for?
I'm open to Tokyo and other parts of Japan.

I am definitely going to Yonsei for the fall semester!! We have to be friends! Its my second year in college but I'm qualified as a junior (so happy). Oh, about the visas, I haven't talked to my sponsor yet, he has most of the details. I am attending Baylor University in Waco, TX so contact me sometime about your plans for Yonsei. I haven't completely finished filing for Yonsei but my heart is set to go! I can't wait for this semester to be over so that I can look forward to going to Yonsei. It will be a blast!

I'm going to be studying abroad in Japan in Sept '07 at Kansai Gaidai University. Very excited

im considering studying abroad in Yonsei during my 2nd or 3rd year (i'm in 1st year right now) and it pretty much would cost me the exact same amount as it does to go to school here (the school would give me a $1500 bursary), so im pretty interested and trynna figure out the best place for me to go to.

has anyone spent time at Yonsei? any additional info about it aside from the stuff on their website??... theres actually a big list of korean universities i could choose to go to, but i wanna be in seoul (seeing as how im a major city boy). Yonsei University and Korea University are pretty much my choices, in that case.

I was accepted to Study Abroad at Sogong University in Korea this summer. Im so excited because its my first time going to Korea ^-^

Im going to Korean 101 & Korean History for credit

Has anyone doe this program before?

Or is anyone going this summer?

Here are some pictures of the campus

I'm a junior currently in high school, and after my senior year, I wanna take a year off from college and go study abroad, does anyone know if thats possible? I don't know any programs in my area, and I live in Northern Virginia, so if anyone has any idea, please let me know XD. I wanna go to Japan.

Ive been selected by SMC (SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE) to study at Yonsei University for Fall Semester
gyeah cant wait, hopefully i dont get lost over there, but still if my grades drop this semester i get dropped from the program

I'm going on exchange to Waseda University in Tokyo this winter 07.
Am a Japanese major so I'll be doing the Japanese Intensive Program there.
Anybody at Waseda now?

I can probably answer some questions about living in Japan because I've lived in Osaka for a year already in a previous private exchange.
Really awesome place to go but just wanted to try out Tokyo this time.

aren't exchanges at Waseda only for a year (you can't do a semester)? I was looking into their exchange program since my schooll is a partner school but I was looking to do a semester not a year.

I'm going to be studying at Ewha Women's University (even though i'm a guy) this upcoming fall semester...i don't know what to think. I'm a sophomore at Rutgers U. now on the east coast.

I lurve you Ben, for starting this awesome topic. You rule <3.

In Spring 2008, I hope/plan to go to Wales for a semester. The program costs a whopping $15,000 (it includes food, limited medical, room/board, the plane ticket, personal expenses). Basically it's the cost of everything, but still WOW.

I have two interviews for scholarships, $5000 each. I don't think I have much of a chance in getting either of them. But wich me luck guys! One of the interviewers gave me a tip and told me I say "like" too much in my everyday speech. Completely freaked me out because I didn't notice it. He called me a California Valley girl. And I retorted saying that technically, I am. haha

Haha. Yeps, I'm a California Valley girl too. But question for all you guys who are planning to go study abroad, do you guys have some knowledge in the foreign language of the location you plan to go? This may sound like a very stupid question, but will the courses that you plan on taking be taught in English since most universities in Asia teach subjects in their native language? Like, if you plan to go to China or South Korea to study biological sciences for a semester, but you speak neither Chinese nor Korean, how would understand what the professor is saying? I mean, even in English, it would still be hard to grasp the concepts so how would you understand it in a foreign language (even if you can speak it a little)?


Btw, I'm not trying to discourage others. I want to go study abroad too! A LOT! But I want to make sure that I won't be behind on my studies.

I plan on studying abroad!
I have a 2.61 GPA and I go to a State university. Anyone around the same boat ever studied abroad before? I know i read some other thread that some guy got to study for the summer but I wanna do more than just 1 semester.

I want to go study abroad too but how can I go there by having no money.
I mustdo some job T__T
NOT SO GOOD FOR ME

Great to see so many ppl deciding to spend a part of their school year abroad. Last summer, I spent my last summer semester of university abroad on an academic exchange. As much as I loved and dreamed of Asia, I actually decided to go to South Africa (considering the fact that I wanted to peruse my career in foreign aid and international development). For those of you wondering should I, shouldn't I, how on earth am I going to survive in a totally different country, rest assure everything falls into place. You learns so much about yourself personally, academically, professionally. Trust me when I told my parents (Asian parents too) I was going to South Africa they nearly had a heart attack, but they got over it because they knew this is what I wanted to do. I just wish I was able to stay longer.

Many universities have partnering sister university's abroad. Depending what you're major is, what schools there are abroad there are many places to go. Even for High School students there are many opportunities to study abroad too actually.

Hey guys, I have an interview today for a scholarship. I know I don't have much of a chance, but wish me luck anyway. I am nervous. It's $5000 on the line. *whew*

which scholarship is it??

It was the Cultural-Envoy scholarship provided from my school. AND I GOT IT!!!!!!!
Now, I just need to get the other $5000 from the other scholarship. haha

Congratulations! Good luck with the other scholarship.

I'm hoping that I'll get at least one of the scholarships offered by my school. I can't apply until I'm officially accepted by Yonsei, though. I hate waiting. XP

Congrats on the scholarship!

Yay! I'm studying abroad in Beijing, China this summer at Tsinghua University!! Public health and Traditional Chinese Medicine! I'm excited. It's a long program though...June - August!

Congratulations!!!@ I know how excited you must be to have that over with


I just found out today that I got accepted by Kansai Gaidai in Japan!! I was kinda scared they wouldn't accept me so when my adviser told me I actually cried I was so happy
Now all that's left is moreeeeeeee scholarship applications >.<
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