Adventure Time

want to study abroad? shona scorringe tells you how you can make it happen

The most influential moment of my Deakin life was the moment someone approached me in O’week and asked if I’d be interested in going on exchange. I was with my mum at the time and I remember feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of ‘experiences’ Deakin was offering me from each of the stalls. Do you want to be a DUSA member? “What’s that?” Do you want to try cheerleading? “I’m not very flexible”. Do you want to be an exchange student?

12 months later I was about to embark on the craziest three months of my life, during which the phrase “I’m an exchange student from Australia”, would become my ‘get out of jail free card’ (not literally), as I studied in London and travelled across Europe.

Deakin has connections with over 100 universities across the globe with multiple study options: Student exchange, faculty-led study tours, and the Global Citizenship Program, all of which are readily available for you to take advantage of.

If, like me, exchange is something that you think is not only a great educational opportunity as well as an excuse to see some more of the world, then here is some information on how you can get involved...

Any Deakin student can apply to the study abroad office to do an exchange that will count towards the completion of their degree. Your only requirements are to have 8 credit points completed at Deakin (with at least a credit pointaverage) and you must have 4 credit points still to complete on your return to Deakin.

Exchange is affordable. There are no extra study fees because you continue to pay fees to Deakin as you normally would. You are also eligible to apply for OS-HELP loan to help you with the costs of airfares, accommodation and any personal or study expenses you may have. The maximum you can borrow is $6250 (or $7500 if you will be studying in Asia) for a 6 month period. This amount is then added to your HECS debt. On top of this the Study Abroad office will offer all successful exchange applicants a $500-$1000 travel grant, which you do not have to repay. There are also a number of other grants and scholarships offered depending on your destination. All of this information is available on the ‘How can I cover my costs?’ page on the Deakin Exchange website.

If this sounds appealing and you’re interested in taking part in the exchange program, the first step is to attend a compulsory information session, run by the Study Abroad office. This is where you will receive all of the infomation as well as the application forms. From personal experience this is when most people freak out.

Applying is the most difficult part of the exchange process, but it is the most helpful and beneficial part as it prepares you for all aspects of your trip including budgeting, accommodation and destination selection.

The best advice I can offer you is to get onto it early and do your research. The most difficult part of the application is choosing a destination and matching up your Deakin units to units that your exchange university offers. This can be very time consuming because you must get a Deakin academic to approve each unit, who needs to confirm that the unit you will complete on your exchange will cover the same material, or is an appropriate alternative to the unit you would have been studying at Deakin. If you have any electives in your course it is much easier to use them whilst you are on exchange.

The easiest way to complete this part of the process is to go on to the university’s website and find as much information that you can about the units or ‘modules’ that they offer in your course or area of study. It is essential that these units be at the same level as your Deakin units, i.e. if you’re in second

shona did exchange in london at the university of roehampton and travelled extensively in europe. she completed a three-week study tour in south korea, and will commence teaching rounds in the northern territory later this year.

year, don’t even bother looking at first year units because Deakin will never approve them. If you can’t find much information online, email any contacts that they have on their website. Be annoying. Ask for as much information as possible. Usually they will send you a module or unit guide that will have a brief description of each unit that you can undertake. This is what you need to send to your Deakin academic (usually the unit chair) to approve. You must do this for two universities as you need two destination preferences for your application. It may sound simple, but it is the most time consuming part of the process, especially when, like me, you get fall and autumn semesters mixed up and find out once you have already arrived that your chosen units aren’t offered that semester.

Also be prepared that even though you have gone through all of this tedious research, universities may not always run every unit, or classes might be full and you may not actually get to study what you intended to. and do your research” Finally, once you have submitted your application, the next step is to wait whilst Deakin does the hard work for you in assigning each student to one of their preferred universities. Once you have been officially accepted by Deakin you can start doing all the fun stuff like booking flights, finding accommodation and making travel plans. Before you know it you will be walking through the departure gate at the airport thinking ‘What the hell am I in for?’ From my experience, here are a few things you might expect when going on exchange:

Expect that at some point, no matter how prepared you are, something will go wrong, i.e. you might lose your camera (or if you’re me, you may leave your passport in an apple tray at a supermarket).

Expect to fail if you don’t do any work. Keep in mind that you are still a student.

Expect that your liver may suffer.

Expect life to continue while you are away, your friends and family will continue on without you. You may at some point feel homesick, but don’t waste all your time on Skype.

Expect your plans to change, you may delay your

“the best advice i can offer you is to get onto it early

return or you may never come home at all. Don’t expect to meet someone. I never met the exotic Italian man (later identified as ‘Fabio’) I dreamed of before I left.

Expect your exchange to end. At some point whether you return home or not you will have to say goodbye to the friends and life that you created. Embrace your emotions for what they are, let yourself feel sad when you leave, but don’t dwell on the negativity of

returning home. Finally, expect that not everyone will understand or want to listen to all your stories. Some will be satisfied with a simple ‘it was good’ when they ask you how your trip was, even if it was (and it will be) the most adventurous, exciting and rewarding experience of your life.