A Year in the Life: Pre-Departure Orientation

So, word finally came from the study abroad office with information about approvals and next steps for studying abroad! Congratulations on being approved! I am so excited to be moving forward with my application to study abroad in Dublin this fall! 

I read through the notification letter that was attached to our approval emails. The very first thing I need to start working on is my secondary application to UCD. Most of us have to also apply to our host program or university. For me, I have to submit the study abroad application directly to UCD. (I know other people may have to complete the CIEE, SIT, IES or IFSA-Butler application, or even a different application. This part is definitely specific to each of us so if you're not sure and can't find the information on your program brochure page, check in with the Office of Study Abroad!). 

In addition to the secondary application, we also have to go back in to our study abroad portal (http://studyabroad.tulane.edu) and complete a whole bunch of additional questions, like emergency contact information, health insurance selection, and others.


I'm so excited to start getting ready for next semester, which is why I'm pumped for the General Pre-Departure Orientation this week! I signed up for Saturday but every session has the same super-useful information about Tulane policies and procedures that apply to study abroad! At the PDO's, advisors and returned study abroad students will offer logistical information about everything we need to do leading up to our departure, as well as some intercultural skills that can better equip us for the big move. The orientation leaders will walk us through the in's and out's of academics, finances, health, safety, communication, and technology planning. They'll also provide us with tons of resources on campus to properly prepare us for things like culture shock while abroad. There's no better way to get ready to study abroad than attending one of the pre-departure orientation - I can't wait to meet all of you and learn more about what my upcoming months will be like. 

You can RSVP for the Saturday Orientation on OrgSync here.

See you all there!

A Year in the Life of A Study Abroad Application Part IX: Deadline Coming!

Hi there, Tulane!! 

Only 4 DAYS until applications are due for Fall 2017 study abroad! I know that around this time, we all start feeling a little panicky because it feels like there is So. Much. To. Do. and just So. Little Time. But, I’m here to tell you: don’t worry! Let’s walk through the final steps to complete the application. 

Take a deep breath and remind yourself: we got this!

Throughout this series, I’ve talked about the program-specific items on the app, like my Application Statement, learning goals, and the courses I want to take while I’m studying at the University College Dublin. As I mentioned last time, the same advice applies to pretty much wherever you plan on going! For this post, I’m basically going talk about my experience wrapping up my application and making sure everything is in check to hand it over to the Office of Study Abroad by the deadline.

If you haven’t finished your essay, or you aren’t ready to submit it just yet, schedule an appointment with the Writing Center. The tutors there will gladly help edit your statement and polish it perfectly so that it is ready to submit! Another good idea is to swap essays with a friend to get another set of eyes on it. You definitely don’t want to submit anything with a lot of typos, and you should make sure that you are answering the questions in the prompt! Don’t just talk about how excited you are to travel; try to write about all of the amazing cultural and educational experiences you’re hoping to have!

Beyond that, it's important to remember the bottom line: Don’t worry too much about what’s not in your hands. Just keep the OSA in the loop about pieces of the application you may still be waiting for. Whether it’s watching out for your new passport or following up with your professors to get those recommendations in, just make sure to finish everything that you can (as well as you can) and keep the office informed about anything that you’re still waiting on. 

If you have questions about this process and can’t make an appointment with an advisor, just call the office at (504) 865-5339 and we can answer your questions.

Once you’ve submitted your application, celebrate! Read a little bit more about your host country! Watch some interesting films or listen to music from the place where you may be living for six months! And then, relax. Focus on mid-terms. Enjoy Mardi Gras (and read our weekly feature on this blog about Mardi Gras celebrations around the world)! In the meantime, the OSA will be facilitating the review of applications. Notification letters will go out to all applicants on March 6 to your Tulane email address!

Going through the application process has been a crazy experience. It’s been so much fun to imagine myself living somewhere completely new, out of the country, for a whole year! I can’t wait to start the next phase, when I begin actually planning my move abroad!

Talk to you after March 6!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Fat Tuesday around the world! From left: Venice, Rio, Trinidad & Tobago, Belgium.

Weekly Newsletter • February 10, 2017

Happy Friday!! The Office of Study Abroad has launched a few new programs this week that we're excited to tell you about, along with some fun upcoming events around New Orleans. Here's everything you need to know:

 

Study Abroad Returnee Contact

Drum roll, please...we're thrilled to announce the launch of our new program, SARC! The Study Abroad Returnee Contact program serves to benefit both prospective and returning abroad students here at Tulane. SARC provides a platform for returnee study abroad students to share their advice and experiences with students preparing to study abroad themselves. Not only do the SARCs rep studying abroad, they also rep their specific program and individual experience. SARCs offer credibility, experience, and perspective into what studying abroad is really like.

If you're student looking into studying abroad, check out the SARC page and reach out to any of our returnee students - they're ready to help you out in this process!

If you are a returnee study abroad student and you're interested in becoming a SARC, it's not too late! Fill out this form to join our team of student mentors. 

 

Instagram Takeover & Meet the Staff

Second drum roll, please... we're also launching TWO new series on our social media. First, we posted our first ever "Meet the Staff" introduction on our Facebook and Instagram pages. This week, we introduced the amazing Professor Annie Gibson. Follow us to stay tuned for introductions to the rest of our staff and interns! 

Our second social media series is the Study Abroad Instagram Takeover! Tomorrow, Julianne Behrens, a Tulane junior currently studying abroad in Thailand, will be taking over our Instagram for the first time to show us what a day in the life of a CIEE Thailand: Development and Globalization student is like. Be sure to follow us, so you don't miss an inside look into her weekend!

 

Fall 2017 Study Abroad Application Deadline

The Fall 2017 application deadline is only 1 WEEK AWAY!! Be sure to complete your application by next Friday, February 17. 

 

Upcoming Events & Information

• "Mobilizações de jovens, artistas e coletivos no Brasil" a lecture in Portuguese by Rafael Schincariol 
• Friday, February 10 at 4pm in Jones Hall 100A
• Rafael Schincariol is a member of the Coletivo Quem artist collective in São Paulo and co-author of Lampejos: Arte, Memória, Verdade, Justiça. He currently works for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C.
• TEDxTU: Next Steps
• Monday, February 13 at 6pm in Dixon Hall
• "Latin America at the Crossroads Seminar with Dr. Ernesto Calvo"
• February 34rd at 4PM
• "Film Screening and Panel Discussion: Neruda" 
• February 16th at 6:30 PM

 

Tet - Vietnamese New Year

TONIGHT! Celebrate Vietnamese New Year at the Mary Queen of Vietnam festival! This year's festival is particularly important because it will support families affected by this week's tornado that hit New Orleans East. 

Check out these articles about Tet in New Orleans:

• TET Vietnamese celebrations on the horizon in New Orleans area
• Vietnamese New Year in New Orleans
• Tet festival at Mary Queen of Vietnam goes on despite tornadoes

Countdown to Carnival: Mardi Gras Around the World!

In the coming weeks leading up the Mardi Gras, we will be featuring weekly explorations into Carnival celebrations across the globe on our Instagram and Facebook.  

This week, we take a peek into Trinidad and Tobago's festivities. Check it out!

"The Caribbean’s biggest Mardi Gras builds its party around calypso and soca music performances and competition. “It’s like a battle of calypso bands,” Gillease says. The celebration, which brings African and Caribbean influences to a traditional Carnival, is known for exuberant dancing and parades."

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part VIII: I am a Study Abroad Application Completion Machine!

Hi everyone!

If you’re anything like me, you probably arrived back on campus with the best of intentions to get your study abroad application submitted as soon as you could! Well, I certainly didn’t, since I got swept up in seeing friends, starting classes and getting involved again in soccer and the other things I do around campus. But something about this cold weather makes me want to just hang out inside and work on my application! So, I thought I would loop you in as I work my way through it!

Last time I wrote, I went over the time-sensitive, logistical parts of the application, like the passport, advisor and faculty recommendations, and the transcript. This week, I’m working on the more program-specific items like my Academic Statement, learning goals and the courses I want to take. I’m going to keep up my application to University College Dublin, but don’t worry, wherever you plan to go, the same advice applies pretty much!

Once you are logged in to your application, over on the right-hand side, you’ll find a list of application questionnaires. Here is where I need to spend some time and, while I do, I’ll go over each one so we can get to the nuts and bolts of what we need to do.

First off, the Academic Statement is basically just your application essay, in which you explain why you want to study abroad on your selected program, and how the program will help you achieve your academic goals. You should definitely plan to talk about the academic connections between your field of study at Tulane and what you can do on the program when writing this essay! Does it give you a new perspective on your major that you couldn’t otherwise get? Or is it something that you can’t study at Tulane because of the constraints of your major? How have you prepared for the program and courses you will take?

When writing this essay, it’s also really important to make it clear that you understand what the program offers – whether the courses are in English or the local language, what type of support services are or aren’t available, etc. Don’t write about learning French on your program if that isn’t actually an option available to you! Finally, you should write a little bit about how your study abroad experience will help make your entire time at Tulane more “international.” How will you continue to engage in global issues when you come back to New Orleans?

The second part of this statement asks you to write down three questions that you might have about your host country that you can try to answer while you’re studying abroad. You can think about these questions as part of your learning goals. Then, write a brief essay about how you will answer these questions. For example, for me, I want to know how Dubliners carry on the literary legacy of such famous Irish writers as James Joyce. One way that I will try to answer that question is by taking courses at UCD like “Reading the Story of Ireland” and “Reading Joyce.”

But truth be told, I could also take similar courses at Tulane, so I want to make sure and list some additional ways that I can learn about Joyce that I could only do in Dublin. I would definitely plan to visit the James Joyce Centre, home to many of Joyce’s writings, and the host of the annual Bloomsday festival. They also offer walking tours all year that visit many of the places he frequented or put into his books. I’ll write about those two opportunities and explain how they will help me answer my question about Joyce.

The purpose of this essay is to give us an opportunity to really show that we have some plans for learning about our host country’s history and culture while we’re there! And it’s a good way to do some research about it before we go!

All of this research, by the way, has gotten me really excited about all the Dublin eye candy I’ll get to see. Here’s a sneak peek.

In and around Dublin...SO gorgeous!

OK, enough of that! Back to work!

The last part of the application I’m going to talk about in detail is your proposed course schedule. To answer this question, you have to be able to navigate to your program’s web page and find courses that may be available for you to take when you’re there. It’s okay if these courses don’t end up being the ones you ultimately enroll in once you’re on site. The important thing is that you’re able to find course listings and get an idea of how those courses might translate back to Tulane. That’s why the application asks you to list the course at your host institution AND list the Tulane department equivalent! 

It’s also really important that you demonstrate that you understand which courses you can and can’t take. For example, at UCD, I’ll take five or six courses during the semester I’m there. But, I have to take at least four of them within my major. So if I list 4 courses outside of my major, then the Office of Study Abroad might say, “Hey, wait a minute,” when reading my application! So before completing this part of the application, make sure you know the courses you can take and the rules and restrictions that you may have to think about!

One other, minor thing. The “Backup Study Abroad Program” questionnaire was added this year because some programs fill up or have too many applicants. So in the rare case that not every student can be accommodated on a program, the OSA has a space for you to put your second choice, just in case. This way, we can all act very quickly to make sure you still study abroad, if not on your first choice program. You’re not required to fill this out, but it doesn’t hurt anything if you do!

You’ll notice that, as you complete these items, a check mark will appear in the “Received” column on your application. This way, you’ll be able to track your progress!

Remember, the application deadline is not until February 17^th, so you have plenty of time to get it in, even if you haven’t started looking! For those of you who know where you’re going, check out the Study Abroad Facebook page because we regularly post scholarship opportunities that our students should be looking into!  

If you have any questions, just send an email to osa (at) tulane (dot) edu.

I’ll be back soon so we can do one final review of all aspects of the Tulane application! 

In the meantime, keep an eye out for our weekly newsletter, posted every Friday right here on our blog. Every week until Mardi Gras, we’ll be featuring Fat Tuesday traditions from around the world! Make sure and check it out!

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part VII: Starting my Application to Study Abroad

Hi everyone!

(Almost) welcome back for the spring semester! I know class is still one week away, but I’m already thinking about the things I need to do when I get back to campus. This semester will get off to a busy start for me – and all of my fellow Tulane students out there who are planning to study abroad in the fall – because our Tulane applications are due on February 17th! The application is online on the OSA website – basically, when you are visiting the program brochure page of the program you’d like to apply for (as an example, here is the University College Dublin program brochure), you can just click the “Apply Now” button on the top right-hand side of the page. Then you log in to the site using your Tulane username and password, select the term and, voila, you have created an application!

Before I get into the weeds here, I want to make sure that everyone understands the difference between the Tulane application and the secondary application. In order to study on a Tulane-approved program, you have to apply through Tulane on the OSA website. This post will go into a lot of detail explaining that application! Many other programs have what we call a “secondary” application as well that you will have to complete. For example, to go to UCD (University College Dublin), you have to fill out the Tulane application and the University College Dublin application, which is available on their website. These applications are not due by Tulane’s deadline, you can fill them out in advance of their deadline. It’s always a good idea to look at the secondary application while you’re filling out the Tulane application in case the secondary app requires something like a faculty recommendation or language evaluation – you can get them at the same time that you’re talking to your professors and advisors for the Tulane app! You can determine if your program has a secondary application by looking at the top part of the program brochure.

OK, back to the Tulane application: Make sure that you select the program you’re really interested in when you start your application! (If you decide to switch to a different program before the deadline, you should email the study abroad office to let them know instead of creating a new application. They’ll be happy to switch it over for you.)

Once you log in, there are two different places that are really useful to look. One is the Applicant Home. (I put a screenshot below – it’s one made by a staff member in the office, so it doesn’t have any of my info on it! She has a few more program applications out there, so ours won’t look exactly the same…) You can get there by clicking the little house icon on the left side of the toolbar. The applicant homepage is nice because you are able to see all of the messages that have been sent to you through the online system. It’s really important to check on those every now and then, in case the actual messages don’t make it through your spam filter…These emails usually contain really important information like deadlines and visa info and official letters…don’t ignore them so you don’t miss anything important!

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The second place where I will be spending a lot of time is the actual application portal. You get there by clicking on the program name on the left-hand side of the screen, under application! Once you click on the program name, you get to the application itself, which has a number of boxes on the right hand side. Basically, you should just click through each of the boxes and read the instructions. I’ll point out some of the things I think are really important for us to think about.

First off, there are some application requirements that we can control, time-wise, like our academic statement, the list of courses we plan to take, and our signatures on a bunch of the forms. They’ll be finished as soon as we finish them. On the other hand, we also have to rely on other people to complete the application! So, I’ll focus on those items today and in my next post, I’ll talk about the other requirements.

The big one: the passport! If you don’t have a passport yet, get one ASAP. Why? Well, first of all, you need to submit a copy of your passport as part of your study abroad application. If your passport application is being processed, you can write that and your study abroad application will still be considered, but I’d advise everyone to get their passports as soon as possible. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after the end of your study abroad program. So, if you’re going to Dublin until May of 2018, your passport should expire in December 2018 or later. (Seems like forever from now!) The reason for this is also the reason that you should get your passport ASAP: Visas and Customs!

Most of us will need to apply for a visa in order to study in our host country. (More details on that later.) Both, the staff who process visas and the officials that work in customs want to see that your passport is valid for at least six months after your program ends, so start doing that math and if you need to get a new passport, go ahead and apply before the semester gets too crazy.

The other part of the application that will require you to rely on other folks are all of the advisor approvals and a faculty recommendation! Since somewhere between 300 and 400 Tulane students study abroad each fall, professors and advisors have a lot of requests, so I think it’s a really good idea to ask them as early as possible. Most programs only require that a professor “approve” that you are a good candidate to study abroad. They don’t really even need to write a letter. With your academic advisor and major advisor, you’re expected to meet with them and go over the classes you plan to take and how you think they’ll fulfill your requirements at Tulane. (I did this at the end of the fall semester.) Then, just ask them if they’d sign off on your application. If they agree, you’ll type in their email address and the application system will automatically send them an email!

If your secondary application also requires faculty recommendations, language evaluations, or any other approvals, you can get all of this at the same time, or at least talk to your professors all at once. It’s definitely a good idea to know what your secondary application requires when you start the Tulane approval process

The last thing I will do is order an official transcript so that I can upload it to the application system. Ordering a transcript is super-easy and free, if you just walk over to the registrar’s office to get it. You can get one free transcript per week, and just keep in mind that it takes 3 days to process, so try to go get one as soon as you get back to campus. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks, you can also order them through. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks, you can also order them through your Gibson account online. The transcript should contain all of my grades from up to the fall semester, so just be sure that you request that the transcript is held until all of your fall grades are posted.  

OK, for those of us that don’t like big, thick paragraphs, here is a very concise pictograph to explain what I’ve just written!

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