How Do I Prepare For Exchange? (from Western University to Yonsei University)
Many people only see the bright, sparkly side of exchange – the Instagram stories, the YouTube vlogs, the blogs describing life-changing experiences. Exchange is understandably looked up to as a paradise resort in comparison to the drabs of university towns. However, as someone who is 19 days away from flying out to Korea for exchange during COVID, I can guarantee you that the application and preparation processes for exchange have not been easy, to say the least.
First of all, what is the difference between study abroad and exchange? When I was applying for an exchange, this question puzzled me as I saw the terms “study abroad” and “exchange” seemingly thrown around everywhere. From my understanding, study abroad involves paying tuition to the school abroad (which is usually more expensive), whereas exchange involves paying tuition to your home school/current university (much more convenient and probably cheaper). At Western, my program’s full-year tuition costs around $7k, so my exchange term in the spring will cost me around $3.5k.
Next, how does one go about securing an exchange? What happens after I submit my application to my home university?
Here’s a snapshot of my exchange timeline so far (in chronological order):
Early January 2021 → Worked on exchange application
There are long answer questions required, so start early! The application can be found on Atlas if you’re from UWO.
January 15, 2021 → Submitted application on Atlas
Note that you can only apply to ONE exchange school for ONE exchange period. For example, you would not be allowed to apply to both the Full Year and Spring term exchanges at Yonsei University.
You can see my exchange nomination application here: Yonsei Nomination Application - Sammi Yeung
January 27, 2021 → Received exchange results via email
I had until February 8, 2021 to accept my nomination offer and agree to pay a non-refundable placement fee of $165 (which will be charged to your tuition account on Student Centre).
IMPORTANT: Nomination and acceptance by the exchange school are not the same thing. Later on (when it’s closer to the exchange term date), you will need to submit a separate application to the exchange school.
Western also warned that 2020-2021 exchanges got cancelled, so they advised that we don’t make any travel arrangements or financial commitments for the 2021-2022 exchange period until Western announces decisions closer to.
January 29, 2021 → Submitted Ivey HBA Application
February 8, 2021 → Accepted exchange nomination offer
All of January and February → apply for Summer 2021 internships (you’ll see why I included this later)
February 25, 2021 → Received an offer from RBC for an 8-month Data Analytics internship (that would run from May to December 2021)
March 10, 2021 → Signed the official RBC offer letter
March 12, 2021 → Got charged the exchange placement fee on my student account
March 31, 2021 → Submitted my ITR (intent to register) for Western
I filled out the ITR as normal, indicating that I intended to continue with my specialization in accounting.
April 30, 2021 → Western International representative connects me with other Western students going to the same exchange school (via email)
May 28, 2021 → Received an offer from Ivey for the HBA program
Ivey gave us until June 18, 2021 to accept or decline our offer. This was one of the biggest decisions I had to make because if I chose to decline my offer, I would plan to take a gap year during which I would work during the fall term and do exchange during the winter term. I weighed both options and bet on exchange.
July 14, 2021 → Enrolled in Western courses for the full year in case exchange gets cancelled
Note that Western requires you to be a full-time student in order to participate in exchange, meaning that you would need to be enrolled in at least 3.5 credits for the upcoming Fall/Winter year. To oblige with this, I enrolled in 2 essay distance-studies courses for the fall term and 5 in-person courses for the winter term.
August and September 2021 → Applied for Summer 2022 internships just in case exchange falls through
September 1, 2021 → Inquired with Western International about status of nomination
September 7, 2021 → Nomination was sent by Western; received first email from exchange school (Yonsei University) about application process
I was able to access the exchange school’s application portal from this day on. I had until October 31 to submit my application.
October 8, 2021 → Western suspends exchanges
Western gave us three options because Canada’s travel advisory was still in place: either we could defer our exchange by a year, complete the exchange remotely, or withdraw from the program.
We had until October 31 to respond with our decision.
October 13, 2021 → Heard from other students that there was a way to continue exchange by filling out a Special Appeal form
Mid-October 2021 → Freak out about Special Appeal form
This form was so long. Like seriously.
October 21, 2021 → Canada lifts the travel advisory
This saved me from completely filling out the tedious Special Appeal form.
October 22, 2021 → Western resumes exchanges
We had until October 27 to respond with our decision. Of course, I chose to continue the exchange process.
Late October → Worked on long answer responses for application to exchange school (Yonsei University)
October 25, 2021 → Completed Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) test [optional]
This wasn’t required by Western nor my exchange school, but I wanted to get an official evaluation of my Korean language abilities so that I could identify areas for improvement.
October 28, 2021 → Paid for passport photos; submitted application to Yonsei
Yonsei’s application was much more detail-probing than Western’s. I was asked about my intended purpose behind exchange, the reasoning behind my intended exchange major, my personal life philosophy, my aptitudes, my hobbies, and my academic achievements.
I submitted a few days early because the application deadline was in Korean Standard Time, which is 14 hours ahead of EST.
You can read my exchange application here: Yonsei University Application - Sammi Yeung
Yonsei not only requires long answer responses, but also transcripts, passport scans, proof of sufficient financials (showing that you have at least $4000 USD in the bank for one exchange term), proof of medical insurance, and passport-style headshots.
November 4, 2021 → Mailed out documents to Yonsei
Yonsei gave us until November 30 to mail hard copies of our transcripts and financial statements to them. I paid $80 for express shipping of 4 pieces of paper.
Mid-November → Joined multiple Facebook groups, KakaoTalk chats, and scour Airbnb for possible rental places
From chatting with realtors, I learned that, in Korea, renters have up until 1 month before they move out to provide the realtor with a notice. This means that, for a February move-in date, I would only be able to ask realtors about availabilities in January.
November 30, 2021 → Received acceptance letter to Yonsei University
In their email, they provided more details on visa application, dorm room applications, health insurance, course registration, and student orientation.
December 7, 2021 → Received admission packet from Yonsei
The admission packet included the Certification of Admission and Yonsei’s Business Registration Certificate, which were crucial in the application for the visa.
December 8, 2021 → Took an updated passport-style photo.
As part of the Korean visa application process, they require a passport-style photo that is taken within 6 months prior by a commercial photographer, with the date stamped on the back.
December 9, 2021 → Applied for D2-6 (Exchange Student) Visa
The Korean Consulate of Toronto doesn’t accept mailed or online applications unless you can prove that you live 2 hours away, so I had to go downtown to apply in-person.
You can view the D2-6 visa requirements here: Korea D2-6 (Exchange Student) Visa Requirements
December 13, 2021 → Requested purchase of Korean cash from RBC
December 14, 2021 → Dorm Room Applications
It was basically a first-come, first-serve game. Their servers were terrible, so I failed to get a spot in the dorms (wasn’t really sad about this though). Living off-campus would give me more flexibility in guest policies.
December 16, 2021 → Western suspends exchanges (again)
They gave us until December 20 at 9am to submit our Special Appeal forms. This meant only one business day was available to obtain dean and faculty member sign-offs. However, I didn’t know that I needed these signatures until I finished my exam on the 17th and worked on my application on the 18th.
December 17, 2021 → Received Visa results in the Korean visa portal (it took them 5 business days to review my application and issue the visa)
December 18, 2021 → Picked up order of Korean cash from RBC
December 19, 2021 → Frantically email my Dean for a sign-off on my Special Appeal form
I wished with all my might that somehow the Dean would check his email on a Sunday.
December 20, 2021 → Emailed Western International my Special Appeal forms without the signatures and asked for a deadline extension to obtain the signatures
They replied that it was still acceptable because they could request the required signatures on their end as well (even though they never told us this before).
Late December → Stressed over which insurance to buy
December 26, 2021 → Applied for travel credit card
I got instant approval for the RBC Avion Visa Platinum card. Whether or not you’ll need a travel credit card depends on your needs, but I primarily purchased this one for the trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
December 29, 2021 → Bought travel emergency medical insurance from Blue Cross; uploaded proof on Yonsei’s portal
TLDR; I chose Blue Cross because they seemed to be most responsive and affordable for the coverage I wanted to receive. If you want to hear my full rationale, PM me!
I paid for a coverage period from February 2 to August 20 because I plan to travel after Korea (your visa is only valid until up to 30 days after your exchange term ends)
January 3, 2022 → Started working remotely for a part-time internship: PM intern at Vietnam’s leading dating app (bc I have FOMO about missing out on summer internships)
January 4, 2022 → Scheduled a PCR test for January 31st (2 days before flying out)
January 5, 2022 → Transferred over the payment for quarantine
I used Wise.com to help me transfer over the money with low fees (cheaper than Paypal or bank transfer).
January 7, 2022 → Transferred over down payment to Korean realtor for my long-term housing arrangements + bought Korean SIM with data plan for first month
January 8, 2022 → Signed housing contract
January 10, 2022 → Received travel credit card in the mail + bought my plane tickets
I decided to buy my one-way plane tickets from Korean Air because they’re known for their airplane food.
January 12, 2022 → Paid $145 for a next-day RT-PCR test
I was really anxious after the test because I learned that Korea doesn’t accept proof of recovery, so if I tested positive, I would not be allowed to board the plane. I had previously come in close contact with a COVID case, and I heard that people with COVID continue to test positive for 90 days on PCR.
January 13, 2022 → Got back results from 2 separate PCR tests
I came in close contact on December 19. I did rapid tests on day 5, 17, and 24; they all came back negative, but I didn’t fully trust it. Today, I finally got the results back from my PCRs on December 30 (government) and January 12 (private). Both came back negative, thank god.
Although some of the above timeline events may not be relevant to your specific case (i.e. internships and Ivey), I included them to show how the uncertainty of exchange required me to craft backup plans for backup plans.
To illustrate, here’s an entry from my journal during an emotionally-charged moment in this exchange preparation process:
“January 4, 2022 - 5:59am
I was researching quarantine options tonight to make sure that the place my friends and I are quarantining at is the cheapest and that we follow quarantine requirements. Related to that, I stumbled upon quarantine exemption rules (which are currently suspended but may resume), what to wear in Korea, and COVID testing requirements. I booked two places for the 31st for a PCR because I like to have options. Information is literally flying at me from left, right, and center. I also learned from reading the Discord channel messages (for once) that it’s apparently better to buy a SIM before Korea? COVID is really making a lot of things uncertain, and it’s testing my need for control. I always like to have backup plans for backup plans for plans, but I can barely keep up with priorities right now. Lisa helped me apply for an international drivers’ license, so let's hope it arrives in time eek. I’m thinking of dyeing my hair blue before I go, in the spirit of Yonsei. Or maybe brown? I’m still sitting on the Airbnb option and might try to cancel and re-book it tonight so that I have an extra 48 hours to think. Exchange is so much decision making in a short timeline. As an opportunist, I’m questioning and FOMOing everything. My inner perfectionist wants the prep costs to come out to a solid number, like 1000, 1500, or 2000. Goddamn I’m worried about budgeting holy shit. Thankful my travel journal arrived in the mail yesterday though! There’s so much to be done. My desk is scattered with post-it notes. I feel so behind on everything for some reason. Major chaos vibes.”
Exchange preparation has felt like a horror rollercoaster that I can’t get off of. It has been a flurry of emails, confusion, and anxiety. I had been dreaming of an exchange in Korea ever since high school, and although the process has been painful, I continue with hopes that it will be worth it. I’m thankful for all the friends that have helped support me throughout this process :)
If you’re applying for exchange, Google Calendar and email services will be your best friends. It is crucial to take initiative to find the deadlines yourself and keep on top of them! Good luck, and you got this! Feel free to message me whenever <3