A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: Summer School

  • Phila at the University of Adelaide, Australia

    Phila at the University of Adelaide, Australia

    Pre-departure:

    Toward the end of April, I received my acceptance email from the Adelaide University International Office. From that moment on I began to make a list of all the important preparations, first for the visa application and supporting documents. With knowledge of how expensive Australia is, I had to be 100% sure that I would be able to afford the trip as the university did not supply accommodation and I knew that it wouldn’t come cheap. I first explored the price range of accommodation in the area of the university and drew up a budget for the month which included visa costs, flights, food, transport and entertainment and from there I decided whether I should go on with the trip or not.

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  • Johan at the Helsinki Summer School, Finland

    Johan at the Helsinki Summer School, Finland

    Pre-departure:

    Visa application:

    When applying for the visa, go to the website of the Finnish Embassy of Pretoria to read the important information and to download the application form. One very important thing to note is that there will be no fee charged for the visa if you state on your form that you are applying as a student going to follow a course. However, with this option, you will only receive a Schengen visa for the dates of your departure and return to South Africa and it will only be for one entry into Finland. You thus need to keep this in mind if you will be visiting other countries except for Finland.  To apply for the visa, you will need your letter of acceptance from the summer school, bank statement showing you have at least R10,000 available, proof of registration at SU and a letter of recommendation from the SU International stating that you will return to Stellenbosch to finish your studies. 

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  • Matthew at the University of Lausanne’s Summer Undergraduate Research (SUR) Program

    Matthew at the University of Lausanne’s Summer Undergraduate Research (SUR) Program

    Opting for an All-year Summer:

    There’s nothing quite like applying for an overseas experience as a student. You fill in a form with little expectations and send it away with minute hopes of an acceptance notification finding its way back to you. The incredible benefit of this situation is that when that email does come back to you, it should be a pleasant surprise. You can hear opportunity hammering at the door, eager to steal you away – but don’t get ahead of yourself, there’s plenty of delicate planning and managing to do before the trip.

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