So much to do, so little time....

Hello everyone!

Exciting news from the exchange front - I just received an email from the International Programs Office stating that my request for an International Letter of Permission (ILOP) has been approved. In layman's terms, this means that the Faculty of Arts and Science has granted me permission to study abroad for one semester, as well as telling me that the courses I take while down under will be the equivalent as 2.5 credits worth of courses back home. This is step number one in the whole pre-departure process, and now that I have these documents I really feel like this is going to happen.

As well, I finally got in to see my undergraduate chair. For those of you who know the Life Sciences department, it's quite the task to get an appointment with Dr. Rose. I've been trying for the last couple months, and each time I was told that "exchange is bad for a) my degree, b) the possibility of me getting into medical school and c) whether or not I want to graduate on time." In other words, I was told by uneducated sources that I would not graduate on time due to the fact that the University of Queensland had no approved courses for credit here at Queens within the Life Sci department. I kept trying to indicate that was the reason behind the meeting, I was asking for approval for the courses I'm interested in taking!! Anyways, I was able to meet with Dr. Rose and all my fears were calmed.

I was told that the two science courses I was looking at, pharmacology and anatomy, would directly transfer over to Queen's credits. My pharmacology course would even count as a 400-level credit, which is extremely rare! I was cautioned against taking this course at UQ, since I have no pre-requisite course in pharm, but I still have to wait until later on in November to actually sign up for courses. So I have time to think about what I want to take....I just wanted to make sure that I can complete my degree on time, still graduate next year etc etc and still be able to go on exchange. The simple answer is yes, and exchange in no way will hinder my degree or the requirements for graduation. Brilliant!!

I'm just in the process now of finalizing my accommodation applications, which entails me trying to describe myself in less than 75 words and other random "get-to-know-you" questions. One thing that I'm a bit worried about is the fact that I need my offer of acceptance from the university to apply to residence, but the International Office here has yet to send out my application forms. Apparently, they want to cut costs by sending both my application along with the second Queen's student's in the same envelope. Since the other student is not as on top of things, I'm forced to work at his/her pace.....which may hurt me in the end. If things start to get dicey, I may just offer to pay for the additional cost of mailing it out on my own!! I've been told that accommodation at UQ is in high demand, so if I miss the deadlines, I will probably have to search for accommodation off campus. Not good.

Until I hear back from the University of Queensland, I can't do much more. I'm going to submit some more safety forms on my end this weekend, and then I'll be crossing my fingers and waiting to hear back from UQ before madly sending out accommodation applications!

Wish me luck!

Danielle

Hello All!

Here's a quick update since I'm now back in Kingston and preparing for the upcoming semester....I just handed in my application form for the University of Queensland! This means that I won't hear anything until the end of the month or so, and once I become an official Queensland student I can then start to apply for accommodation, visas and flights.

There's still much to finish up, but the ball has started to roll!

Until next time,

Danielle