For those of you who don’t know what NSE(National Student Exchange) is, it is a program to study outside of California for either a semester or a whole year. You can go anywhere in the U.S., and well I chose New Jersey. I will be attending New Jersey City University for Fall 2017-Spring 2018. I don’t have any regrets, don’t get me wrong. I am super excited to live in the east coast! But there is a few things I wish I would’ve known before applying for schools. Here are a few tips and suggestions before deciding which is the perfect school for you!
1) Pick States
One thing that helped me narrow down what school I wanted to attend was to make a list of states that I was interested in. There are a couple schools in each state, so choosing the state first helped me narrow it down to Virgin Islands, New Jersey, and New York.
2) Plan A or Plan B?
Once you have one of your many meetings with Hope(study away advisor), you will get a better understanding of the options you have to pay for school. Plan A can sometimes be better for students who do not receive finacial aid. There’s a chance the school you want to go to is cheaper than SSU and you will end up saving some bucks. If you do receive financial aid, Plan B is probably a better option for you. You will be paying your fees to SSU but you will be attending a different school. If you are worried about being able to afford studying away, keep in mind some schools out there are cheaper than our school. You have so many different chances!ac
3) Check Course Catalog & Units
When I saw the course catalog for my major, I assumed many of the classes were going to transfer over since they had the same descriptions as the classes at SSU. But when I talked to my advisor, he informed me on how I had to take certain classes at our school. Since this was the prerequisite for many other classes, I was limited to my selection of courses. Something else that I did not notice was how many of the classes were 1 unit less than the ones at our school. Although I will be losing some units, it all worked out at the end.
4) Check The Dorms!!!
Okay…this might sound kind of lame but make sure you look up the dorms for the university you are interested in. Most schools require you to live on campus, so that is something to keep in mind. I didn’t find out until after I was accepted to NJCU that there is a dorm hall where communal bathrooms are a thing, like they are in most schools. I was terrified at first, and then gladly found out there were other dorms available that didn’t have communal bathrooms. If communal bathrooms aren’t a problem for you, check out what else the dorms have to offer. Also, compare housing prices to fit your budget…this will help you narrow down your search.
5) Don’t Be Afraid
I know, I know… super cliché. But don’t be afraid to travel outside of your comfort zone! Whether it’s within the U.S or abroad, go explore! When’s the next time you will get the chance to study in a new state/country? A lot of people say their biggest regret is not studying away while they had the chance. Set up your meeting with Hope now! https://www.sonoma.edu/cie/nse/ http://www.sonoma.edu/cie/study-abroad/