I struggled to contain my excitement when I received the news about my acceptance to the Europe Inside Out summer school in Leuven Belgium. Attending a summer school was something I had wanted to do so badly, since I heard about these opportunities offered by the university during my first year at Stellenbosch. I had never travelled alone and it was something I was really looking forward to do.
Author: Sarah-J
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Melanie at the VU Amsterdam Summer School, the Netherlands
Pre-departure:
I applied for a Schengen visa through VFS Global agency. I had the choice of applying online or in person at their offices in Cape Town. I opted for the latter, as the sequence of the application and required documents were clearly explained on their website. Unfortunately, when I arrived for my appointment, I was told one of my documents still required certification. This meant an extra drive through to Cape Town again. Moral of the story: make doubly sure you have everything before handing in your document during your appointment. The application itself was processed and delivered to me in a remarkable 3 working days!
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Nicola at the Radboud Summer School, The Netherlands
The application process:
Heading into my third degree I knew it was time I take the opportunity to travel abroad as part of an exchange program. I had been toying with the idea throughout my time at Stellenbosch University and as I look to finishing my MA soon – I knew that the time was now. Selecting a Summer School location was the easy part. I had decided a while ago that I wanted to travel to the Netherlands. My mother spent a few years of her childhood in Amsterdam, and I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to see where she had grown up. Additionally – most of my MA research deals with gender studies, and with the Netherlands being regarded as progressive in this field – I thought it would be fitting to travel to the heart of it all.