Experiences unique to your host country/university
I can confidently say that my exchange experience inspired me to grow up and challenge myself. Through my exchange, I realized that the world is wide and the sky is high! I went to the City University of Hong Kong as an exchange student for one year. In that year, I had a lot of memorable experiences, and at the same time, I was able to think about my future by taking time for myself and meeting lots of people with different perspectives. Some students may still think that there is no specific reason to apply for the exchange program, so I would like to talk about one advantage of going on exchange: you can focus on whatever you want. I don’t mean that you can just hang out with friends all the time. Rather, I mean that, by adapting to a new environment, you can use your time to explore new interests. In other words, you have relatively little academic burden compared to the regular university students, and you can freely choose to spend your time doing activities you’re interested in. For example, I focused on three things: travel, my knowledge of finance, and getting new cultural experiences. During that year, I traveled to five countries, tried to get A+’s in all of my courses, and participated in four memorable activities, one of which was a volunteer experience which I could only participate in from Hong Kong.
I hope you challenge yourself in a new environment! You can only apply for exchange as a university student!
Words of advice/encouragement for students who want to go on exchange in the future.
Do you want to change yourself for the better? Have you ever considered taking on a new challenge, at least one time?
If so, why not look outside of APU and participate in the Exchange Program? You may find yourself with new perspectives after living overseas. Can’t believe it?
Try it and see whether it’s true or not!