Embarking on a study abroad journey is an exciting opportunity that requires careful planning and research. As someone who eagerly sought out this experience, I will tell you how I got started from the initial steps of contacting the international student office to navigating through the paperwork.
“Study abroad” is an opportunity to pursue an educational program in a foreign country. Some people study abroad to develop foreign language skills or to improve their ability to work productively with other cultures.
1. Start your research and contact the international student office
I had heard about student exchange programmes before starting university from one of their brochures handed out at those college invite sessions during high school. I had made up my mind that I was gonna try it out. By the 2nd month of my first semester, I was already researching to see what are the requirements, guidelines, etc. My plan was to complete my first year, do the exchange in my 2nd year and end my college experience back home in my third year.
The first place to start researching is the international student office. At the University of the West Indies, there are various study abroad programmes with universities worldwide.
Then I contacted the international student office directly with my interest and they provided further details such as deadlines. I would also advise to keep updated with the school email as that is how I found my particular exchange programme that provided a scholarship/stipend.
2. Start planning and making decisions
My next main area of focus was to identify which country I wanted to do the exchange and find a partner university with UWI in that specific country.
https://www.mona.uwi.edu/iso/our-partners-0 - This link above shows a list so take your time and go through it.
I created a list with my top 5 places/universities that I was interested in.
Next is to decide how long you would want to do the exchange, if it's an entire year or semester (and which semester).
You might not be aware of the term mobility which may pop up in your search. This is basically stating the study period abroad must be part of the student's study programme to complete a degree. So finding courses that matched my UWI courses not only based on the name but course content and grading scale. This was a big challenge and maybe the hardest part if you are doing a major that is not easily transferable such as Applied or Natural Sciences.
3. Getting the Paper Work Done
As part of the agreement to do the exchange, you have to ensure that the courses you are doing are accepted by your faculty in order to get the credits transferred at the end of the exchange.
Each university programme has a specific curriculum and course description. You need to be very careful before choosing — you don’t want to end up realising halfway through your that you’ve picked the wrong courses.
I had to do a bit of running from the Medical Sciences and Science and Technology faculties to get signatures from the Deans since my major spans across those two.
Additionally, you have to apply to the international university once the application has been sent from the international student office. Important documents such as the latest transcript and passport are crucial.
Start saving and connecting with past participants
Unfortunately, studying abroad cannot be funded by sheer will or brute force. I started getting primary and secondary sources for the cost of living in the host country as well as the travel expenses.
Good sources include past study abroad participants, your international office, the host university website, as well as reputable websites from the host country. Depending on what type of study abroad programme you are pursuing, you may even get financial aid or waivers. Official study exchange programmes between universities allow students to pay tuition at their home university and eliminate the need for you to pay international fees.
Other programmes allow for grants and scholarships, such as the Erasmus programme (which is the one I got accepted for). Other funding may come from a donor, your family, or a job.
Once you have accumulated the funds, the next step is to organise the various expenses you may incur. Here are some examples:
Visa expenses
Travel Insurance
Airfare
Tuition
Housing or rent
Food or groceries
Extracted from: My blog entry in Butex scholarship
Learn more about the programme from past participants, ask questions and do not be afraid to reach out. I have attached a few extra resources too. 😉
Leave a comment, and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions.
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