I heard about the opportunity to attend the summer school through a presentation in our department by the International Office and started my application process immediately. I would advise to find out when application dates open and start applying as soon as possible. This gives your referee sufficient time to write a reference letter and it also gives you enough time to make the video that accompanies the application. I made sure to specifically choose summer schools which 1) offered housing in order to reduce costs and 2) would take place during the June/July holidays because I did not want to miss out on any classes. I officially received confirmation that I had been accepted to the summer school about a month after submitting my application. A week later I received confirmation that I had been awarded a travel bursary.
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.
"When it comes to suitcases: backpack beats duffle bag, suitcase with wheels beats backpack and convertible backpack with wheels trumps everything. " Summer School Traveler Corneli Smit
