That’s referring to you
reading my whinging, not study abroad. Ok so I said I won't moan too much but some people will want to know about the application process. I'll admit I can get
myself stressed very easily, but I don't think my sensitive and emotional nature
are to blame for the sleepless and tearful nights I spent up in my flatmates
room (hail Tara). I’d been warned it would be stressful, but nothing could
prepare me for this. Every single hurdle was exactly that- another great big
task I had to throw myself at and cross my fingers I hadn’t effed up before I’d
even left the country.
At every stage something went wrong. At first I was almost late for submission. I think it’s because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and had been anticipating study abroad for so long that when it actually came to stepping up and putting myself forward I left it all to the last minute as I’d viewed it as such a big task I had to wade through to produce perfect results. I ended up having a last minute meeting with my English lecturer (hail Paul) and he advised 3 universities. Only problem? It is just my luck that the year I apply is the busiest year for study abroad known to man, apparently. My top 3 choices got rejected and I was asked if I wanted to back out. I panicked big time, but with reassurance and help from friends and family I quickly gathered a new fabulous 3 and landed myself a nomination for Griffith University.
At this point I had to put together a big portfolio of documents, all very formal and therefore confusing. Each form was a big stress, requiring umpteen different signatures from Brookes staff across Oxford. Deadlines had to be met, not forgetting my actual coursework too. Luckily this is all now one big stressful blur, so I won’t and can’t go into too much elaborate detail, but I’m guessing it’s like after women go through labour there’s a hormone that supposedly makes them forget it all and they end up doing it all over again a few years on? I think it’s like that, by the time I’m in Oz it’ll all be worth it.
I do remember one ordeal however, which affected flatmate Tara more so than me. A form had to be filled in and signed by various people, but I was told about this two days before I was due to go back home to Teesside. Of course I couldn't catch the required people in time and had to leave it all up to Tara. One subject coordinator missed the meeting and the other refused to sign until he’d seen me. Feeling guilty for sending Tara round in circles I rearranged and made phone calls, subsequently solving the situation, but it wasn’t without its strains. Most recently I've had to sort out my travel insurance. Brookes helpfully gave me the wrong email address to contact. Luckily the right person managed to find me and all is now well.
Griffith haven’t made it easy for me either. My latest trouble was with enrolment. Brisbane is 9 hours ahead, so when enrolment opened at 10am for them I’d waited up patiently till 1am, counting down the minutes, seconds until I could finall- no. One of my courses was full, despite my immediate and hasty mouse clicking. After 2 hours of crying to my dad and emailing and calling chirpy Australians, I finally enrolled in my 4th class (they’d had to add an extra run of the tutorial), by 3am I went to bed emotionally drained.
These are a few brief troubles I've had along the way. I’m sure if you’d have spoken to me a few months ago I’d have been more than happy to cry on your shoulder and give you full and repetitive detail about every aspect of the application process, but for now, if anyone’s interested, comment below and I’d be happy to chat about it all.
At every stage something went wrong. At first I was almost late for submission. I think it’s because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and had been anticipating study abroad for so long that when it actually came to stepping up and putting myself forward I left it all to the last minute as I’d viewed it as such a big task I had to wade through to produce perfect results. I ended up having a last minute meeting with my English lecturer (hail Paul) and he advised 3 universities. Only problem? It is just my luck that the year I apply is the busiest year for study abroad known to man, apparently. My top 3 choices got rejected and I was asked if I wanted to back out. I panicked big time, but with reassurance and help from friends and family I quickly gathered a new fabulous 3 and landed myself a nomination for Griffith University.
At this point I had to put together a big portfolio of documents, all very formal and therefore confusing. Each form was a big stress, requiring umpteen different signatures from Brookes staff across Oxford. Deadlines had to be met, not forgetting my actual coursework too. Luckily this is all now one big stressful blur, so I won’t and can’t go into too much elaborate detail, but I’m guessing it’s like after women go through labour there’s a hormone that supposedly makes them forget it all and they end up doing it all over again a few years on? I think it’s like that, by the time I’m in Oz it’ll all be worth it.
I do remember one ordeal however, which affected flatmate Tara more so than me. A form had to be filled in and signed by various people, but I was told about this two days before I was due to go back home to Teesside. Of course I couldn't catch the required people in time and had to leave it all up to Tara. One subject coordinator missed the meeting and the other refused to sign until he’d seen me. Feeling guilty for sending Tara round in circles I rearranged and made phone calls, subsequently solving the situation, but it wasn’t without its strains. Most recently I've had to sort out my travel insurance. Brookes helpfully gave me the wrong email address to contact. Luckily the right person managed to find me and all is now well.
Griffith haven’t made it easy for me either. My latest trouble was with enrolment. Brisbane is 9 hours ahead, so when enrolment opened at 10am for them I’d waited up patiently till 1am, counting down the minutes, seconds until I could finall- no. One of my courses was full, despite my immediate and hasty mouse clicking. After 2 hours of crying to my dad and emailing and calling chirpy Australians, I finally enrolled in my 4th class (they’d had to add an extra run of the tutorial), by 3am I went to bed emotionally drained.
These are a few brief troubles I've had along the way. I’m sure if you’d have spoken to me a few months ago I’d have been more than happy to cry on your shoulder and give you full and repetitive detail about every aspect of the application process, but for now, if anyone’s interested, comment below and I’d be happy to chat about it all.
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