The Essentials
Booking Flights
I will be flying out on February 15th!
Once I received my acceptance packet in back in December, I started looking at flights and I purchased a one-way ticket from JinAir because they were the cheapest out of all the airfares I compared. Even though it was very affordable to purchase from JinAir, I have my doubts with this airline due to the experiences that my friends had prior with this company. I have heard stories of over 2-hour delays, random flight cancellations, and overall bad customer service.
I ended up being about delayed by an hour but nonetheless, still arrived safe and sound. I would recommend doing more research on which airlines would potentially provide you with the most comfort on this 11-hour international flight.
Student Visa (D-2)
Once you receive your physical acceptance documents, you should start applying for your student visa as soon as possible.
You will need to go to the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea located at:
2756 Pali Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96817
They are open from 8:30am to 4pm but keep in mind that they are closed during lunch (12pm-1pm).
What you will need are:
Housing
The dorms at SNU are extremely competitive. For exchange students, dorm applications only just opened from February 7th to February 13th but local Korean students had already applied in December and been selected early January. If they had allowed for us to apply earlier with other students, I would feel more secure about getting dorms but given such a tight timeframe and small window of document submission, I did not want to handle the stress and risk of not knowing if I had a place to stay until waitlist results in late February.
I opted for off-campus housing, specifically Goshiwons (or “One Rooms”) and looked through www.goshipages.com for rooms near SNU. I found Naejari OneRoomTel and was immediately attracted to the high-quality pictures, modern-looking rooms, clean facilities, and how close it is to SNU (it is just 3 bus stops away from SNU College of Business).
I immediately messaged the manager/owner on Kakaotalk and they responded swiftly. The monthly rent came out to be about 415 USD per month which I thought was very reasonable compared to the housing costs in Hawaii. I had to put a down payment of 100,000 won or about 100 USD so I went to my bank to make the wire transfer. I needed to provide the name of their bank, SWIFT code, bank account number, full name, and address. I initiated the transfer on December 18th and they received it on December 27th.
I decided on moving into my Goshiwon on February 28th. In the meantime, from the 16th to 27th, my friend and I decided on staying at an Airbnb in Hongdae because this district is close to the places we want to visit and activities we want to do.
Fun Activities
Creating a bucket list of activities was the next thing I needed to plan for. These websites below helped tremendously:
www.funtastickorea.com
www.trazy.com
These websites provide discounted museum tickets, tours, food suggestions, shows, etc for foreigners and tourists of Korea. My friend and I filled our itinerary with museum tours, theme park visits, food tours, and more. I highly recommend utilizing these websites! 😊
I will be flying out on February 15th!
Once I received my acceptance packet in back in December, I started looking at flights and I purchased a one-way ticket from JinAir because they were the cheapest out of all the airfares I compared. Even though it was very affordable to purchase from JinAir, I have my doubts with this airline due to the experiences that my friends had prior with this company. I have heard stories of over 2-hour delays, random flight cancellations, and overall bad customer service.
I ended up being about delayed by an hour but nonetheless, still arrived safe and sound. I would recommend doing more research on which airlines would potentially provide you with the most comfort on this 11-hour international flight.
Student Visa (D-2)
Once you receive your physical acceptance documents, you should start applying for your student visa as soon as possible.
You will need to go to the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea located at:
2756 Pali Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96817
They are open from 8:30am to 4pm but keep in mind that they are closed during lunch (12pm-1pm).
What you will need are:
- A completed Visa Application (PDF)
- 2x2 colored passport photo following these regulations
- Certificate of Admission (from the acceptance packet)
- Bank statement that shows you can cover the costs of studying which is indicated on the Certificate of Admission. On my certificate, SNU indicated the costs totals to $5,500 thus I was able to use my Freeman Scholarship Award Letter to prove the coverage of costs.
- Certificate of Business Registration (from the acceptance packet)
- Most recent, original, sealed official transcripts
- $45 cash or money order
- Your physical passport
Housing
The dorms at SNU are extremely competitive. For exchange students, dorm applications only just opened from February 7th to February 13th but local Korean students had already applied in December and been selected early January. If they had allowed for us to apply earlier with other students, I would feel more secure about getting dorms but given such a tight timeframe and small window of document submission, I did not want to handle the stress and risk of not knowing if I had a place to stay until waitlist results in late February.
I opted for off-campus housing, specifically Goshiwons (or “One Rooms”) and looked through www.goshipages.com for rooms near SNU. I found Naejari OneRoomTel and was immediately attracted to the high-quality pictures, modern-looking rooms, clean facilities, and how close it is to SNU (it is just 3 bus stops away from SNU College of Business).
I immediately messaged the manager/owner on Kakaotalk and they responded swiftly. The monthly rent came out to be about 415 USD per month which I thought was very reasonable compared to the housing costs in Hawaii. I had to put a down payment of 100,000 won or about 100 USD so I went to my bank to make the wire transfer. I needed to provide the name of their bank, SWIFT code, bank account number, full name, and address. I initiated the transfer on December 18th and they received it on December 27th.
I decided on moving into my Goshiwon on February 28th. In the meantime, from the 16th to 27th, my friend and I decided on staying at an Airbnb in Hongdae because this district is close to the places we want to visit and activities we want to do.
Fun Activities
Creating a bucket list of activities was the next thing I needed to plan for. These websites below helped tremendously:
www.funtastickorea.com
www.trazy.com
These websites provide discounted museum tickets, tours, food suggestions, shows, etc for foreigners and tourists of Korea. My friend and I filled our itinerary with museum tours, theme park visits, food tours, and more. I highly recommend utilizing these websites! 😊
February 18, 2018
The Application Process
Choosing a University really depends on your personal preference and what you hope to gain from your international exchange.
My choice of an University in Korea was heavily influenced by my older sister and fellow Freeman Scholar Jessica Lee (link to her blog: http://seoulost.weebly.com/). She studied at Yonsei University during her college career and shared many insightful tips with me. I am grateful to even be presented with an opportunity to travel abroad, explore new cultures, and expand my horizons.
Once you have decided to take on this leap of faith, it is time for research, research, and more research!
These two websites will provide you with much more details on what you can expect from each exchange program:
Manoa International Exchange (MIX): http://manoa.hawaii.edu/mix/index.html
UHM Study Abroad Center (SAC): http://www.studyabroad.hawaii.edu/
General Timeline of what has happened so far:
March 14, 2017: Submitted MIX Online Application for Outbound Students
June 15, 2017: Received MIX Nomination & Next Steps Email – Provides valuable information about the secondary application process.
August 27, 2017: Received 1st email from Seoul National University about the SNU Application Process –
I had to prepare the following documents:
1. A Statement of Purpose
2. Two letters of Recommendation
3. An original copy of Official University Transcript
4. A Certificate of Enrollment issued by the university you are currently attending.
WARNING WHEN FILLING OUT SNU’S ONLINE APPLICATION: I had difficulty modifying my information once I clicked “Save”. The changes I made would not save after the first initial save... Thus, I would recommend filling in your personal information as accurate as possible in one sitting, and then clicking “Save”. Scan your documents into PDFs and upload it on the online application.
September 28, 2017: Submitted SNU’s Online Application and turned in hard copies of Application Documents to Vinnie who is the MIX Outbound Exchange Specialist and Advisor.
October 10, 2017: Received MIX Pre-Departure Checklist Email. Make sure to handle every mandatory task in this email as soon as possible. There will be a lot of information about Pre-Departure Orientation, Financial Aid, Course Approval Process, MIX Health Clearance, and MIX Health Insurance.
November 23, 2017: (Best Day EVER!): Received SNU Notification of Acceptance Email
December 14, 2017: Received Physical SNU Admission Documents
My choice of an University in Korea was heavily influenced by my older sister and fellow Freeman Scholar Jessica Lee (link to her blog: http://seoulost.weebly.com/). She studied at Yonsei University during her college career and shared many insightful tips with me. I am grateful to even be presented with an opportunity to travel abroad, explore new cultures, and expand my horizons.
Once you have decided to take on this leap of faith, it is time for research, research, and more research!
These two websites will provide you with much more details on what you can expect from each exchange program:
Manoa International Exchange (MIX): http://manoa.hawaii.edu/mix/index.html
UHM Study Abroad Center (SAC): http://www.studyabroad.hawaii.edu/
General Timeline of what has happened so far:
March 14, 2017: Submitted MIX Online Application for Outbound Students
June 15, 2017: Received MIX Nomination & Next Steps Email – Provides valuable information about the secondary application process.
August 27, 2017: Received 1st email from Seoul National University about the SNU Application Process –
I had to prepare the following documents:
1. A Statement of Purpose
2. Two letters of Recommendation
3. An original copy of Official University Transcript
4. A Certificate of Enrollment issued by the university you are currently attending.
- This is requesting an Enrollment Verification from UHM.
WARNING WHEN FILLING OUT SNU’S ONLINE APPLICATION: I had difficulty modifying my information once I clicked “Save”. The changes I made would not save after the first initial save... Thus, I would recommend filling in your personal information as accurate as possible in one sitting, and then clicking “Save”. Scan your documents into PDFs and upload it on the online application.
September 28, 2017: Submitted SNU’s Online Application and turned in hard copies of Application Documents to Vinnie who is the MIX Outbound Exchange Specialist and Advisor.
October 10, 2017: Received MIX Pre-Departure Checklist Email. Make sure to handle every mandatory task in this email as soon as possible. There will be a lot of information about Pre-Departure Orientation, Financial Aid, Course Approval Process, MIX Health Clearance, and MIX Health Insurance.
November 23, 2017: (Best Day EVER!): Received SNU Notification of Acceptance Email
December 14, 2017: Received Physical SNU Admission Documents
- List of Documents:
- Notification of Acceptance
- Certificate of Admission
- Certificate of Business Registration (This will be needed for your Korean Student Visa)
- Seoul Survivor Guidebook
January 26, 2018