Pre-departure tips
These are a few of the many things you should consider completing or looking into as soon as possible, once you have committed to study abroad. Although there are many other preparations you may have in mind, completing these tasks early will save you lots of stress and give you a much easier time to transition into a new environment.
To give you a better idea of the timeline and so that you know when to expect things from MIX/ESC/Campus France/French Embassy, here's some dates relevant to my pre-departure process:
1. MIX Application
Just like many students who studied abroad before, I have spent a good amount of time considering and deciding the right study abroad program. As you may already know, while the Study Aboard Center provides a more structured program for students, the Manoa International Exchange (MIX) program gives students more opportunities to be truly independent at a relatively lower cost. If you are interested in learning more about the comparison between the two, see the following matrix:
To give you a better idea of the timeline and so that you know when to expect things from MIX/ESC/Campus France/French Embassy, here's some dates relevant to my pre-departure process:
- November 9, 2018 - Submitted MIX application
- January 14, 2019 - Received nomination
- March 15, 2019 - Received information regarding partner university application
- March 19, 2019 - Received official application instruction from the partner university
- May 28, 2019 - Received an official Acceptance Letter
- June 7, 2019 - Submitted Campus France application and fees
- June 26, 2019 - Campus France application was approved
- July 6, 2019 - Submitted my passport and documents at the visa appointment
- July 22, 2019 - Received my visa and passport
1. MIX Application
Just like many students who studied abroad before, I have spent a good amount of time considering and deciding the right study abroad program. As you may already know, while the Study Aboard Center provides a more structured program for students, the Manoa International Exchange (MIX) program gives students more opportunities to be truly independent at a relatively lower cost. If you are interested in learning more about the comparison between the two, see the following matrix:
Personally, I picked MIX since I preferred having independence in terms of picking classes and accommodation. However, for those who want to study abroad in Paris, unfortunately MIX did not offer any programs there as of Fall 2018.
The MIX application is very straight-forward and the staffs are also very helpful whenever you have questions (so do not hesitate to contact them if you have any questions!). Just keep in mind the following deadlines and try to finish your application as soon as you can:
Summer, Fall, & Academic Year Exchanges:
- Application Opens: August 1st
- Application Deadline: December 1st
Spring Exchanges:
- Application Opens: January 1st
- Application Deadline: May 1st
The application link and steps are all on the MIX website. Once you have completed your application, patiently wait for your nomination and more information on how to apply for the partner school, which is a separate application with a different deadline.
2. Visa
Getting the French Visa is a very, VERY important step before you depart for your study abroad program! The Visa application process can also take a long time, so don't wait once you have received your acceptance letter from ESC. Campus France will take around 4 weeks to process your application, meanwhile, you can start your Visa application and start booking your Visa appointment. Unfortunately, we do not have a French embassy here in Hawaii so students would need to go to San Francisco for their Visa appointment, which was actually a nice weekend getaway for me.
Here's a quick recap of the steps:
- Complete your Campus France application (register for an account here: https://www.campusfrance.org/fr/user/register)
- Complete your visa application (https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/us)
- Book your visa appointment through VFS Global (register for an account here: https://online.vfsglobal.com/Global-Appointment/Account/RegisterUser?Length=7)
Important tip: You do NOT need to wait for the approval of your Campus France application to book an appointment with VFS Global. Simply book an appointment 4 - 5 weeks from the date you submitted your Campus France application, and it should work out fine. If not, it may be way too late to get your visa and the appointment slots may get filled up towards the end of the summer. If you need more time or Campus France is taking too long, you can always change your appointment date to accommodate, but definitely book your appointment as soon as you can!
3. Accommodation
ESC has a very limited on-campus dorm space for its students; although there is a building specifically for international students, majority of it are occupied by or meant for students who stay for a longer period of time (one year or more). Luckily, the school has partnered with a third-party platform called Studapart, which is very similar to Airbnb but for students. On Studapart, you can find many posting from many owners for many different options including studio and/or house with roommate(s). It is important that you book your accommodation before your visa appointment, because the proof of booked accommodation was the one of the things that they asked for. It is also good to keep in mind that studios and rooms do run out pretty quickly towards the end of the summer, and I know many students actually struggle with finding the right accommodation when school starts. So don't wait!
4. Flights
As you can tell by the time difference between France and Hawaii (12 hours), you already know that it will be a long journey to get there. For this reason, I decided not to go directly from Hawaii to France; instead, I made a one-week stop in China. This changed my flight category from one-way to multi-city, and to my surprise, it actually brought down the total price by nearly $2000! By adding in a stop in between, I got to rest a little before taking another long flight of 12 hours. If you have the chance, I also recommend you to look into train tickets if you will be taking the train from Paris to Rennes, as I found out that buying these train tickets at the train station can cost almost twice as much.
5. Health Insurance
Health Insurance is mandatory to study abroad in France but luckily, it is not very expensive to get! You can get your insurance through ISIC (https://www.myisic.com/get-your-card/) and purchase a ISIC Basic Card prior to departure. You will have the option of getting the physical ISIC card or having an electronic copy on your phone, or you can always do both for free. Once you complete this step, you will need to send MIX your receipt and a copy of your ISIC card.
6. Housing Insurance
Housing Insurance is also compulsory by the French government. Whether you are renting a studio, sharing a house with a roommate, or planning to stay in an Airbnb, you must get housing insurance for where you plan on living for your time during the study abroad program. I got my housing insurance through Luko (https://www.luko.eu), which is also not very expensive. However, there are other housing insurance companies or websites that you can look into and compare prices. With whichever one you choose, just don't forget have the insurance certificate ready because the owner will ask for a copy of it before or when you arrive in France.
Fees to consider
Prior to departing for France, I have to admit that there are many "hidden costs" to this study abroad program that I didn't know about. To give you guys a heads-up about these costs, here's a quick recap of the expenses related to the pre-departure process:
Of course, there are many scholarships and grants that you can apply for to help you pay for these expenses. So my advice is: apply to as many scholarships as you can, since it is definitely not cheap to study abroad in France!
- MIX application: $80
- Campus France: $190
- Visa Application
- VFS Global: $28
- Flight to visa appointment and other related expenses (food, hotel, etc.): varies
- Passport delivery fee
- Flight: varies
- Studapart booking fee: varies
- Health Insurance: $28
- Housing Insurance: varies
Of course, there are many scholarships and grants that you can apply for to help you pay for these expenses. So my advice is: apply to as many scholarships as you can, since it is definitely not cheap to study abroad in France!
arrival tips
Check out this blog post for some of the best surprises I have experienced on my first day in Rennes!