Hey Again!
With the spring semester over and the summer in full swing, I am not as bogged down with distractions. I figured I’d write a post about some of the many steps and procedures I went through to apply for Switzerland and the steps I have taken so far in my onboarding process.
My first, probably most important step, was to figure out where I wanted to go. I knew I always wanted to study abroad – my mom went on one to Italy when she was in college, and she always had amazing stories about the experience. I also knew that I wanted to do an exchange program because I wanted to be fully exposed to a new culture and meet new people from other countries. To decide where I wanted to go, I first decided on the continent, and I picked Europe because of the ease of travel to other neighboring countries. Within the European Exchange programs CAES offers, I had to pick between Austria, France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland. I decided on ETH Zurich in Switzerland after weighing the notability of the school, the convenience of being near a large city, and the nearness to other countries.
My next step was applying to the UGA program. I had to submit a letter of motivation to the UGA Office of global engagement. After being accepted, I started applying for scholarships through the Office of global engagement, CAES, and the passport initiative. At the same time, I had to submit my application to ETH Zurich. This application was more in-depth and I had to submit a resume as well as my letter of motivation.
Now that I have been accepted to both, I have been following the steps the Office of global engagement and ETH Zurich have laid out to secure requirements like a visa and insurance. I have been working with both UGA and ETH engagement officers to make sure all of my information is correct and timely.
I have most of my applications completed, and only a few more steps (like buying tickets!) left to do. My next update will likely be from Switzerland.
