A Blog about Education Abroad

Category: Semester Exchange Postings

Blog Postings by Returning Stellenbosch University Students

  • Peter-John at the University of Amsterdam.

    Peter-John at the University of Amsterdam.

    Pre-Departure:

    I think that the most valuable advice that I can give you for the period before you leave is to try and complete all the admin which comes your way as quickly as possible. Both the University of Amsterdam (UvA) as well as Stellenbosch provide clear guidelines and deadlines which allow the process to run as smoothly as possible. STICK TO THE GUIDELINES AND SUGGESTIONS!!!! Applying for the necessary visa for your stay is fairly straight forward and the international office at UvA provide clear instructions on how to do this. Fortunately for students who do exchange at UvA, the university works directly with the Dutch Immigration office. This means that the time that you have to spend in an embassy is cut down to just over 10 minutes over two separate visits around a week apart.

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  • Blain at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

    Blain at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro

    Pre-departure:

    I remember receiving an email in September to tell me that I have been accepted to participate in an academic exchange at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). I was so excited to embark on this new adventure. Of course, before I could go I had a lot of admin to sort out.

    In the months preceeding my take-off I had to do a lot of paperwork – learning agreements, course selections, bank statements, flight tickets, and a visa application. Being a master’s degree student with no course work at Stellenbosch University, I did not have to worry about credits being tranferred back home. I sat with my superviser and we decided on courses that would benefit my research. The IPC at UNCG was a great help – they register all your courses for you. Do not hesitate to contact the IPC or PGIO if you have any queries/questions. Also, make sure you keep all your documents filed, and make sure you have all the orignal copies as well as certified copies – you can never be too safe.

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  • Dalaine at Science Po

    Dalaine at Science Po

    Pre-departure:

    I can honestly say that I underestimated the administrative load accompanied by a semester abroad in Paris. Selecting courses for the learning agreement was made difficult by the fact that Sciences Po only uploads an updated version of its course modules in the December before the Spring semester. However, the lecturers at Stellenbosch were very relaxed with this and I only had to email them the updated modules once I received them.

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