Academic Year 2023 Participant
My biggest piece of advice would be to prepare in advance. It sounds very tiring, but having all of your scholarships, applications, documents, health forms, etc. figured out at least 3 months before you leave allows you to enjoy your time at home, and to have a smooth transition once you arrive to your study abroad location. I also made sure to write down important emails or places to seek help once I arrived to my study abroad country, in case of emergencies or needing certain information. Knowing I had all of the information prepared relieved me of a lot as I went through the biggest transition of my life!
Academic Year 2024 Participant
One of the most important things I learned is that being open-minded and flexible makes the experience much smoother and more enjoyable. Japan has its own rhythm, customs, and expectations, and adjusting to those differences takes patience. I also learned that it helps to practice Japanese consistently, even outside of class, because small efforts every day add up quickly. Future students should know that it is normal to feel overwhelmed at first, but settling in becomes easier once you create routines and allow yourself to learn from mistakes.
Academic Year 2023 Participant
My favorite part of studying abroad was definitely having the ability to fully immerse myself in the language I'm learning, and to also learn about the culture alongside that. Through attending activities with my host family, club activities provided by the university I studied at, and making friends, I was able to gain a much deeper understanding of Japanese. Additionally, by doing all these things, there were a lot of aspects of Japanese culture that may be less obvious when looking in from the outside that I was able to observe and learn from.