[lovecubedlee]

^ yay! when do you plan to do your exchange program?
I'm actually from France, on my 3rd year in a business school. I can't wait to go to Taiwan!! I've been dealing with all the administrative things to do (registration...) before leaving, it's making me so excited to study abroad!

ahhh.. i wanna do it (i think) second semester of my sophomore year. are your classes in chinese or english?

[pinkxlilies]

I went to Rikkyo University. I stayed in dorms. I'm not fluent, more like Intermediate to Advanced. Many people who came to my program didn't know very much or any Japanese at all. Although most people don't speak English well if at all, signs and stuff are in English and everyone got used to daily life Japanese after a while. Most of the people who got sick of Japan were actually mostly very good at Japanese, but they hated aspects of Japanese life or culture (especially how they treat foreigners) and just couldn't get used to them.
If you're in Tokyo, cost of living is really high. It's currently the highest in the world, with Osaka second. If you're in a smaller city like Hiroshima or the countryside, your cost of living will drastically drop (especially any rent) but food, clothing, and transportation all seem to be the same level of expensive countrywide. Of course, like anywhere else, you have to shop for sales and deals; you just seem to come across them less often there. ;P

ohh i see. thanks for sharing! it was very helpful

[leeleeX]

Im thinking about going to yonsei or ehwa (since its cheaper) this summer...has anyone been to any of them..pm me for answerss!!thank youu

[onesmartcookie]

^ im in HK for the fall right now!
you can ask me any q's if you have any

PS its awesome here ! the longer i stay, the more i love it here.

oh snap!
i'm going to submit my application soon. so excited about the possibilities!
are you staying for a semester or for the entire school year? which school are you studying at?

=)

[a217girl]

oh snap!
i'm going to submit my application soon. so excited about the possibilities!
are you staying for a semester or for the entire school year? which school are you studying at?

=)

i am just here for a semester, though the longer i stay, the more i want to be here for the whole year hahaha but i have other plans..
i am at HKUST, it's cool here but kinda far from everything. i recommend HKU or CUHK. but yeah! feel free to shoot q's, i have friends who went to both HKU or CUHK as well. where are you applying?

[kanako28]

ahhh.. i wanna do it (i think) second semester of my sophomore year. are your classes in chinese or english?

Nice! In which year are you now? Freshman? My classes are all going to be in English. Exchange students can also take Chinese classes for a semester though, and free of charge. You take a test before the Chinese Language Division assigns you to a group of your level in case you're not a beginner in Chinese.

[onesmartcookie]

i am just here for a semester, though the longer i stay, the more i want to be here for the whole year hahaha but i have other plans..
i am at HKUST, it's cool here but kinda far from everything. i recommend HKU or CUHK. but yeah! feel free to shoot q's, i have friends who went to both HKU or CUHK as well. where are you applying?

I chose HKU and CUHK. Well, those are my top two choices, if not.. I want to go to NTU in Taiwan.
I want to go for a year but the advisor recommends signing up for a semester and if I want.. then I can extend my stay!.
so i just checked the location of HKUST.. it is kinda far from everything.
HKU is the best.. imo. So close to central!!
btw, do you mind me pm-ing you?

[a217girl]

I chose HKU and CUHK. Well, those are my top two choices, if not.. I want to go to NTU in Taiwan.
I want to go for a year but the advisor recommends signing up for a semester and if I want.. then I can extend my stay!.
so i just checked the location of HKUST.. it is kinda far from everything.
HKU is the best.. imo. So close to central!!
btw, do you mind me pm-ing you?

haha you can PM me no probs
HKUST meh i take like 45 mins to get to central by MTR, kinda sucks! but yeah you should sign up for semester FIRST since you have the option of extending in case you get super homesick n stuff.. which i doubt, but you don't wanna be stuck somewhere you don't wanna be~

[Shinhwa LoVe]

I'm thinking about studying abroad in Japan during the winter session in January 2010, it's actually kind of short, it's only a month long. I really do want to go but I'm not sure if I'm really ready, since i'll be away from home for an entire month in a foreign country...but then again, i do want to gain more experience and independence lol I don't know if I should wait 'till I gain more experience n such, n go during my senior yr? Or does it really matter what year you're in? If i want to go, I have to apply ASAP since the deadline is next month plus, i'm also worried about the financial side; tuition is quite expensive and i heard getting a scholarship/grants are very competitive...sorry for writing so much~

[iluvhyukie]

@shinhwa love

you have your fellow school mates, i dont think you should be all that worried :]
for your financial situation, there won't be any grant/scholarship for one month....from what i know
they are usually for semester/annual

if really depends on you if you wanna or not, a lot of ppl had said that they wished they stayed for a year compared to a semester

winter in japan, its gonna be fun, all the snow festivals =]

[Redux-Analogy]

I went to Rikkyo University. I stayed in dorms. I'm not fluent, more like Intermediate to Advanced. Many people who came to my program didn't know very much or any Japanese at all. Although most people don't speak English well if at all, signs and stuff are in English and everyone got used to daily life Japanese after a while. Most of the people who got sick of Japan were actually mostly very good at Japanese, but they hated aspects of Japanese life or culture (especially how they treat foreigners) and just couldn't get used to them.
If you're in Tokyo, cost of living is really high. It's currently the highest in the world, with Osaka second. If you're in a smaller city like Hiroshima or the countryside, your cost of living will drastically drop (especially any rent) but food, clothing, and transportation all seem to be the same level of expensive countrywide. Of course, like anywhere else, you have to shop for sales and deals; you just seem to come across them less often there. ;P

Great...Osaka is the 2nd most expensive part of Japan.Funny how that's exactly where I plan to go. I kind of expected it, and you gave me some tips earlier. I'll just have to work on saving up. All the paper work just went in today! Hopefully I got it.

I'm thinking about studying abroad in Japan during the winter session in January 2010, it's actually kind of short, it's only a month long. I really do want to go but I'm not sure if I'm really ready, since i'll be away from home for an entire month in a foreign country...but then again, i do want to gain more experience and independence lol I don't know if I should wait 'till I gain more experience n such, n go during my senior yr? Or does it really matter what year you're in? If i want to go, I have to apply ASAP since the deadline is next month plus, i'm also worried about the financial side; tuition is quite expensive and i heard getting a scholarship/grants are very competitive...sorry for writing so much~

A month, I would say would be a good test period to see if you really want to go for a whole semester. I haven't gone yet, and I'm going for the whole she-bang, only because I've already been in college for a while and a change of scenery is far past due. I would say, if you're starting out as a freshman, give it a year (wait till' at least your sophmore year) that way a) you have time to go back if you like it (for like, half the cost of going on your own with scholarships opportunities

You'll be used to doing things on your own (for the most part), especially if you stay in the dorms. This way, when all of your resources are ripped right from underneath you gone when you study abroad you won't panic. No, I was kidding about that last part. Since you will be traveling with friends, I think this is the best way go.

[Shinhwa LoVe]

@shinhwa love

you have your fellow school mates, i dont think you should be all that worried :]
for your financial situation, there won't be any grant/scholarship for one month....from what i know
they are usually for semester/annual

if really depends on you if you wanna or not, a lot of ppl had said that they wished they stayed for a year compared to a semester

winter in japan, its gonna be fun, all the snow festivals =]

haha yea that's true...there is a grant offered at my school, but it's really competitive and i don't think they offer the full amount so yea i really do wanna go, but i don't know how i'm going to financially support myself to pay the tuition and all

i also heard from ppl who went that it was a really great experience xD

Great...Osaka is the 2nd most expensive part of Japan.Funny how that's exactly where I plan to go. I kind of expected it, and you gave me some tips earlier. I'll just have to work on saving up. All the paper work just went in today! Hopefully I got it.



A month, I would say would be a good test period to see if you really want to go for a whole semester. I haven't gone yet, and I'm going for the whole she-bang, only because I've already been in college for a while and a change of scenery is far past due. I would say, if you're starting out as a freshman, give it a year (wait till' at least your sophmore year) that way a) you have time to go back if you like it (for like, half the cost of going on your own with scholarships opportunities

You'll be used to doing things on your own (for the most part), especially if you stay in the dorms. This way, when all of your resources are ripped right from underneath you gone when you study abroad you won't panic. No, I was kidding about that last part. Since you will be traveling with friends, I think this is the best way go.

yea i think so too lol same here, i really do need a change; i'm tired of going through the same things over and over hehe yea i heard from ppl that it was an awesome experience and that they really got to learn more about the culture, plus you get to meet people...but i'm just worried about affording the tuition and such...

[Ringo.]

@shinhwa love

if you are worried about your financial situation and your scholarship is competitive, i think you should wait
if you study for a year or a semester because there will be alot of scholarships like bridging and gilman
there will also be financial aid and job money?

the worries of money is a burden i dont think you wanna have that throughout your month in japan?

[ibabyx3]

hey guys! iv been looking through this thread, and its been really helpful~

however, im still confused about the schools in Korea. not many ppl here seem to be in my situation (hs senior, applying directly to the intl school as an undergraduate). Do I have many choices? I know that several schools in Korea have study abroad programs, but most of them are summer/winter programs that are a few weeks ~ months or you must be enrolled in another college before applying to the program. But, I'm looking for schools in Korea that I can apply to as an undergraduate student. Any help, please?? ㅠㅠ

So far, I know of Underwood International College of Yonsei.

a reply here is okay, but I really really really would like it if someone would PM me ㅠㅠ thank you!!

[lovecubedlee]

Nice! In which year are you now? Freshman? My classes are all going to be in English. Exchange students can also take Chinese classes for a semester though, and free of charge. You take a test before the Chinese Language Division assigns you to a group of your level in case you're not a beginner in Chinese.

yep, freshman. haha
i needa take a year-long chinese language course first...yes, i suck at chinese =[ and for that reason, i hope the classes are in english haha
where are you living? is it like a dorm setting or do you find your own place? my dad lives in tw, but i don't know if i'd want to live with him if i had the chance haha

[kanako28]

^ sorry for the late reply!
Haha, no worries you still have time to improve your Chinese!

I'm gonna live on-campus if you apply for on-campus dorms in your application form, there's immediately a place to accommodate you, either at International Youth Center or Prince Shui Yuan Dorms (this one is more recent, like 2008), and I heard from a senior you can find what you want easily near the dorms. 7-11 for example! hehe. Of course your first choice is not necessarily guaranteed though. I've no idea when I'll know about my accommodation.. but I hope to get my first choice!

You get the main information on NTU's website: http://www.oia.ntu.edu.tw/ex-in/2_apply.as...0000368#Housing
otherwise there are various documents about the dorms you can download here and there on the website... feel free to ask me if you want them

[des monstres]

are there study abroad programs for pre-nursing students?
i know there are for nursing students.
but i'm only taking my pre-reqs right now.
and i feel like i really wanna go abroad.

thanks!

[-stitch-]

Hi, I'm just wondering (though it might sound like a stupid question) but if I decided to go study abroad and I've got no knowledge of the language whatsoever is it a good idea to go? I mean I shouldn't let the language barrier force me to rethink my decision since the point of studying abroad is to broaden your horizon, learn a new language and not to mention enjoy the culture. But do you think its a good idea to brush up on the language before going? Or am I just worrying about nothing because I'm sure going to learn it abroad anyways. I'm just worried that I might rush myself into something that I might not be totally prepared for^^;. By the way, I'm in my first year of college and I know my chances to go are probably are next year but I'll like to think my plans out before making an accurate decision. Thanks in advance

are there study abroad programs for pre-nursing students?
i know there are for nursing students.
but i'm only taking my pre-reqs right now.
and i feel like i really wanna go abroad.

thanks!

I'm pretty sure. I mean I had a friend's sister who was also a pre-nursing student who went to South Korea to study abroad. Though, I'm not too sure about the pre-reqs.

[firuz1363]

Hi

If u really wanna study abroad, just go for it! Try n try n try! We need to be creative in looking for opportunities: place to study n scholarships.

I'm a Malaysian girl n now I am studying for Masters in America with scholarship from American government.
I finished my first degree in Iran with scholarship from Iranian Government.
My younger brother is studying medicine in Egypt with scholarship from Malaysian government.
My younger sister is studying in Seoul, South Korea with a scholarship from Korean government.

The secret is the passion. the hard work n the interviews. Need to boost ur confidence. Show that y u r d best candidate to get d scholarship @ the university.

And of course pray to God always. Good luck 4 those who r trying 4 it. Going abroad is just like exploring a new world.

[blind_phoenix]

I'm planning to study abroad next year in Korea.
But I've having trouble deciding between programs to go to.
Right now it's between Korea University (through AsiaLearn) or Yonsei (through CIEE).
I'm majoring in Linguistics, so I'm looking mainly for language and some culture classes.

Has anyone been to either one? Which has a better linguistic program?
Any info would be helpful.
Thanks!!!