Exchange

So, how this exchange began.

During freshman year, I was talking with some friends who attend schools in New York. They talked about how the school systems were out there and we got to joking that I should transfer out there. For fun, I decided to see if there was an exchange program. Lucky for me, there does exist such an organization.

The National Student Exchange (NSE) is a national program that allows students to exchange to another school within the U.S. and parts of Canada. The student remains a student of their home institute, but is also submerged in the host institution, just the same as a study abroad.

After finding the program at UNC, I looked at different schools in NY. Most of the SUNY schools were members, as well as the school I will be attending: Skidmore College. I looked into Skidmore and found that it is a very nice, small, liberal arts school. It is about 45 minutes north of Albany, in a city called Saratoga Springs. Whilst the school itself is very appealing, I also thought the location was very interesting. As I have stated before, U.S. history is not one of my favorites, less military history. The Battle of Saratoga is perhaps one of the most important battles in the American Revolution. The school and the campus are close to that very battlefield.

Anyway, I went to the NSE office and talked with Dee Schriner and asked if there were any openings for the 2009- 2010 school year. Unfortunately there were none, so I had to wait a year in order to get my application completed.

Starting in about October of 2009, I started all the paperwork together, which consisted of filling out the papers and thinking about the application questions. The application itself was not due until late February. I got most of the application completed in December, except the letters of recommendation and the fleshed out essay questions.

As it got closer to the deadline, I got the letters of recommendation that I needed and worked on the essays. Finally, I got everything together, paid the fees, and waited rather impatiently for the NSE conference, in which the exchange placements would be decided.

I waited for about a week for Dee to get in contact with me.

Finally, I got in touch with Dee and was told the good news: I was accepted to Skidmore! \^o^/ This was the Friday before spring break. It took all of my strength to not hug every single person I saw on my way back from class. n_n

After that, more paperwork ensued and I had to get in contact with Kendra Nelson, the NSE coordinator at Skidmore. Throughout the rest of the semester, I filled out paperwork, course requests, and other needs for the exchange.

As of now, everything is in order and I am awaiting housing assignments.

"Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such shaping fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends" ~William Shakespeare