I realize I've been really general in my previous posts, so it's about time I start talking about me and where I currently am in the study abroad process.
TL;DR: A master procrastinator, I finally registered my study abroad credits and finished my scholarship paperwork yesterday. I finished packing to move out of my apartment too late, so I missed my bus home. I'm writing this in Dunkin Donuts while I wait for the next one. While waiting, I, with difficulty, called AA and JAL to change my flight seat, but was unable to. Last night, I also got the paperwork I need to bring my prescription medication to Japan, with the warning that it might not be accepted. Since I still have wait time, I'm writing this.
EXTENDED VERSION: It's really amazing how many things you can get done last minute if you
really put your mind to it (packing is not one of them, though).
Yesterday I finally registered for my study abroad classes with Pitt and
finished the paperwork for my scholarships. Now the question is when
will I get billed, and how to use the money for my expenses in Japan.
Before I leave the country, I'm going home. Unfortunately, I took too long to pack, so I missed my bus. I had to make a new reservation for later today. I'm writing this while I'm whiling away 5 hours at a Dunkin Donuts, taking advantage of the free wireless. I am reluctant to move since my luggage is big, heavy, and unwieldy. It exceeds the luggage limit for the bus I'm taking, so I hope I get away with just a scolding when it's time to board and they tell me my suitcase is too heavy and I have too many items.
Since I have a ton of free time right now, I decided to try calling my flight carrier to change my seat reservation. When I first made my flight reservation, I was being a stubborn hard-head and requested a window seat instead of an aisle seat, despite recommendations from experienced fliers like my dad. Now that I've thought about it, I realized that I was being stupid, so I tried to get my seat changed. Ugh, international flights are a hassle, and here's an example why:
My call to American Airlines did not go smoothly. First of all, I was answered by a menu listing options to direct me to the right line. But this wasn't your typical "Listen to the options and press a number" menu. Instead, it used some sort of voice recognition software that, of course, had trouble understanding what I said. Right when I got the hang of it, it booted me on to a representative, stating that, "It seems that I'm having difficulty understanding you. Please hold while I direct you to an agent."
According to the AA representative, she couldn't change my seat because AA wasn't the operating carrier of my flight. Meanwhile, Dunkin Donuts had music playing in the background, which made it difficult to understand what the representative was saying, especially when she gave me the number for the other airline, JAL, that's actually operating my flight. Since I couldn't hear her well, I asked her to repeat it. She got irritated with me and stopped waiting for me to repeat it back to her...
....which sucked, because I ended up with the wrong number. When I called, I was answered by the American Mortgage Services or something. I had to go look up the number online, where I discovered I had messed up a digit.
So I made call number two again, this time to the right number. JAL's phone menu was the normal automated kind where you press a number to get to the next option; no problem there. However, the representative I spoke to informed me that since AA was in charge of flight, AA were the ones who had to change my seat.
I called AA again. They told me that my seat could only be changed at the airport. *sigh* More stress to deal with at the airports, when I'm already nervous enough as it is. But, on the bright side, I also found out that my connecting flight from Tokyo to Kansai International Airport had magically changed my seat so that it was now an aisle seat. Yay! No effort required.
I had some good (?) news while I was packing late last night. I checked my email, and I had gotten a response from the Japanese government regarding my prescription allergy medicine. I had had to fill out a form called a Yakkan Shoumei to let me bring more than one month's worth of prescription medicine into Japan. However, I had found out about it last minute, so I had been emailing the government office to get the forms filled out correctly. Last night's email had a PDF of the completed Yakkan Shoumei, but warned me that since the procedure normally can't be completed by fax or email, I could try presenting the document at Customs, with no guarantee that it would be accepted. My plan is to print out both the document and the email and hope for the best.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Choosing a Program
There are a lot of considerations to look at when choosing a study abroad program. Looking at a Pitt's study abroad website, these are some of the factors to consider:
Country and/or City
Term (Spring, Fall, Summer, Year (Spring and Fall), Spring Break, Winter Break)
Program type (Exchange Program, Independent Research, Panther Program (program created by your school for your school), School-recognized Program, Direct Enroll)
Housing (apartment/flat, cabin, dormitory, host family, hotel)
Language Prerequisite (No prerequisite, 1 term of college-level language instruction, 2 terms of college-level instruction, 3 terms...) Note: College-level instruction is generally much more rigorous than high-school level instruction.
Number of Credits
Internship/Research (optional)
Open to Outside Students (meaning, are students from other school allowed to apply?)
Language of Instruction (This is important, because the classes you take will be more difficult if they're not in your native language.)
Program Length (Generally, programs run week(s), semester(s), or 1 year.)
Courses of Study (Some study abroad programs allow you to take classes in any subject, but many are targeted towards specific majors/minors/certificates.)
Minimum GPA (If your GPA is lower than 2.5, don't plan on studying abroad. I suggest having a GPA of at least 3.0. If your GPA is 3.25 or higher, you probably don't really need to worry about your GPA.)
Satisfies Gen Ed Requirements (Study abroad courses don't automatically count for credit since standards and education methods may vary among international institutions. Before you study abroad, you have to have academic advisors sign a Study Abroad Contract Agreement guaranteeing that the classes you take abroad will count for credit at your home institution, providing you meet the rules set for you.)
Cost (Look at the price of the program, then add about $3000-4000 to that to estimate what it'll really cost you. Costs that are not always included with a program include room and board, insurance, internet access, phone, travel fare, visa and/or application fees, and entertainment.)
As you sift through information about programs, keep in mind your academic and career plans, and update your academic advisors on what you're thinking so that they can give you the best advice possible. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask; in a complex process like this, being open and communicative is the best way to handle problems.
Stay on top of deadlines. Start your research early if you can, at least a year or two before you plan to go, so that you'll be ready when deadlines start piling up. If you need teacher recommendations, ask for them at least two weeks in advance, and be as polite as possible. Stay organized. Set aside folders for your application/research materials both in hard copy and on the computer. Date your materials and give them descriptive titles so that you know exactly what you have and how recent it is.
Apply for your passport as soon as you start considering going abroad, if you don't have one already. If you do, check to make sure it expires at least 6 months after your expected return date for your program. Renew it if necessary. Government documents can take a while to process, so don't wait.
Thoroughly read any information you get, including infomation provided on the study abroad website or program websites. If you don't understand something, look it up or ask someone knowledgable.
If you have difficulty choosing a program, talk to your advisor, as well as other people who have studied abroad, preferably in the country you want to go to. They can serve as valuable resources of information about navigating the study abroad process and give you more personal insight.
Keep your family updated on how the process is going. Depending on your circumstances, they may be the ones providing the money or paperwork you need. Regardless, they'll likely be worried about you, so be considerate and let them know what to expect.
Hopefully, this gives you an idea of how to start the process of studying abroad.
Country and/or City
Term (Spring, Fall, Summer, Year (Spring and Fall), Spring Break, Winter Break)
Program type (Exchange Program, Independent Research, Panther Program (program created by your school for your school), School-recognized Program, Direct Enroll)
Housing (apartment/flat, cabin, dormitory, host family, hotel)
Language Prerequisite (No prerequisite, 1 term of college-level language instruction, 2 terms of college-level instruction, 3 terms...) Note: College-level instruction is generally much more rigorous than high-school level instruction.
Number of Credits
Internship/Research (optional)
Open to Outside Students (meaning, are students from other school allowed to apply?)
Language of Instruction (This is important, because the classes you take will be more difficult if they're not in your native language.)
Program Length (Generally, programs run week(s), semester(s), or 1 year.)
Courses of Study (Some study abroad programs allow you to take classes in any subject, but many are targeted towards specific majors/minors/certificates.)
Minimum GPA (If your GPA is lower than 2.5, don't plan on studying abroad. I suggest having a GPA of at least 3.0. If your GPA is 3.25 or higher, you probably don't really need to worry about your GPA.)
Satisfies Gen Ed Requirements (Study abroad courses don't automatically count for credit since standards and education methods may vary among international institutions. Before you study abroad, you have to have academic advisors sign a Study Abroad Contract Agreement guaranteeing that the classes you take abroad will count for credit at your home institution, providing you meet the rules set for you.)
Cost (Look at the price of the program, then add about $3000-4000 to that to estimate what it'll really cost you. Costs that are not always included with a program include room and board, insurance, internet access, phone, travel fare, visa and/or application fees, and entertainment.)
As you sift through information about programs, keep in mind your academic and career plans, and update your academic advisors on what you're thinking so that they can give you the best advice possible. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask; in a complex process like this, being open and communicative is the best way to handle problems.
Stay on top of deadlines. Start your research early if you can, at least a year or two before you plan to go, so that you'll be ready when deadlines start piling up. If you need teacher recommendations, ask for them at least two weeks in advance, and be as polite as possible. Stay organized. Set aside folders for your application/research materials both in hard copy and on the computer. Date your materials and give them descriptive titles so that you know exactly what you have and how recent it is.
Apply for your passport as soon as you start considering going abroad, if you don't have one already. If you do, check to make sure it expires at least 6 months after your expected return date for your program. Renew it if necessary. Government documents can take a while to process, so don't wait.
Thoroughly read any information you get, including infomation provided on the study abroad website or program websites. If you don't understand something, look it up or ask someone knowledgable.
If you have difficulty choosing a program, talk to your advisor, as well as other people who have studied abroad, preferably in the country you want to go to. They can serve as valuable resources of information about navigating the study abroad process and give you more personal insight.
Keep your family updated on how the process is going. Depending on your circumstances, they may be the ones providing the money or paperwork you need. Regardless, they'll likely be worried about you, so be considerate and let them know what to expect.
Hopefully, this gives you an idea of how to start the process of studying abroad.
Monday, March 26, 2012
How do you study abroad?
Well, maybe the question I should answer first, is "Why should I study abroad?" Sure, the process can be difficult, complicated, and expensive, but I've never personally met anyone who has studied abroad and doesn't recommend it. One time, I went to a presentation where students talked about their study abroad experiences. One student said he hated a bunch of individual aspects of living in Japan (my personal favorite was his complaint about being forced to wear a "man-purse" (messenger bag/satchel) in order to fit in). Even so, you could tell that these were half-hearted complaints; he didn't have anything really seriously bad to say about the country. Another reason to study abroad, if you've been studying the language, is that it offers an invaluable opportunity to immerse yourself in it and become more fluent. You have the chance to experience a culture different from your own and see other people's perspectives on life. Plus, studying abroad makes you develop skills that can help you with your career later on. In addition, with the world becoming more global, having foreign contacts can be an investment in your future.
Despite all these wonderful reasons, when I was in high school, I never really considered studying abroad. I didn't think it was a possibility. Studying abroad was a thing you maybe did in college, I thought. But when I began researching study abroad in college, I became aware that there are programs available to take students of high school level or higher to other countries.
You may worry that you don't know the language of the country you're going to well enough. That is a valid concern, but shouldn't stop you if you're really determined. Many programs require little to no language proficiency, depending on the country. There are plenty of options, depending on your age, school affiliation and/or level, language proficiency, and financial ability.
The first step, if you're thinking about studying abroad, is to talk to an advisor at your school. If you're in college, your school should have a study abroad office. The study abroad office will let you know what programs are available through your school and guide you through the process. For the University of Pittsburgh, the website for the Study Abroad Office is abroad.pitt.edu . If you're in high school, you'll probably have to do research on your own. I don't know much about it since it isn't something I have experience with.
It's late, so I'll wrap up here for now, but in my next post, I'll elaborate more on what to look for in a program and how to choose. I'll also post about scholarships eventually.
Despite all these wonderful reasons, when I was in high school, I never really considered studying abroad. I didn't think it was a possibility. Studying abroad was a thing you maybe did in college, I thought. But when I began researching study abroad in college, I became aware that there are programs available to take students of high school level or higher to other countries.
You may worry that you don't know the language of the country you're going to well enough. That is a valid concern, but shouldn't stop you if you're really determined. Many programs require little to no language proficiency, depending on the country. There are plenty of options, depending on your age, school affiliation and/or level, language proficiency, and financial ability.
The first step, if you're thinking about studying abroad, is to talk to an advisor at your school. If you're in college, your school should have a study abroad office. The study abroad office will let you know what programs are available through your school and guide you through the process. For the University of Pittsburgh, the website for the Study Abroad Office is abroad.pitt.edu . If you're in high school, you'll probably have to do research on your own. I don't know much about it since it isn't something I have experience with.
It's late, so I'll wrap up here for now, but in my next post, I'll elaborate more on what to look for in a program and how to choose. I'll also post about scholarships eventually.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
I'm excited to be studying abroad in Japan. I'm excited, but before I leave (which is next week: Sun, Apr 1) I have a lot of pre-departure preparations I need to finish. Fortunately, despite difficulties cropping up due a mix of procrastination, last-minute details, and complications, the people around me are doing their best to help me out. Once I step on that plane, my thanks will be telepathically radiating to my family, my friends, the faculty and staff at the University of Pittsburgh and Kobe University, the US Post office staff for kindly, safely, and quickly delivering my mail, and the government officials (American and Japanese) who okayed my Certificate of Eligibility and my visa and are helping me legally bring my prescription allergy medicine into Japan.
Studying abroad is a complicated process, and I'll be posting more about the intricacies of going through the process in later posts. Wish me luck--moving out with no car is hard!
Studying abroad is a complicated process, and I'll be posting more about the intricacies of going through the process in later posts. Wish me luck--moving out with no car is hard!
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