Exchange Student Life in Shanghai: Before I Departed from Taiwan

Li Jeon (李政恩)
Sep 8, 2018 · 5 min read

The process I went through before I entered my new period of life was recorded here.

I had tried to applied for the exchange student program already in 2015 when I was a junior, and I chose some universities which were located in some western countries as my options. However, my name was not on the list in that year, which means that I was defeated by my competitors.

I was the only person who tried to apply for it but failed in our department in that year, and I still remembered that night when I knew this news and cried on the sixth floor of NTPU library lugubriously. In retrospect, my strengths were not enough then. For instance, my English communication skill is not proficient, my motivation is not strong and clear, my experience of preparation of resume is not enough, and so on.


In 2017, I decided to apply for this program again, since I chose to keep staying in NTPU. Originally, I hoped that I could go to two different universities continually, which included one university in China and one university in the USA, through some technique of application. I even spent half of a year preparing for the TOEFL test in order to make this dream come true. However, I finally could choose one university as my option due to some unexpected reason.

Therefore, after I evaluated my ability and my life plan for the future, I decided to choose China as the country in which I am an exchange student. Fortunately, I defeated other competitors this time, and I finally could become an exchange student.

I would illustrate my life of exchange student through several articles, and I would only mention my process of application and preparation below.

Application

Around September to October in 2017, the online application system of the exchange student program was opened to students. Each student who wants to apply for this program should enter this system and fill in the forms. Moreover, we also need to submit the CV and studying plan to the office of international affairs (OIA) of NTPU. Since I had applied for this program before, I had been familiar with these procedures.

In November, I was informed that I could attend the interview which is the second stage of the application of this program. On November 28, 2017, I attended the interview. This is my second time to attend this interview. The location of the interview is the same, the rule of the interview is the same, but the time is different…

In January 2018, OIA released the list of the result of this application. I still remembered the moment when I heard this news, I sat on my bed, clicked the download button and checked the list through my iPhone. I could not believe that I was admitted by OIA this time, and I even could get my first option — Fudan University, which academic rate is the best in the list of universities of exchange student program of NTPU. After I submitted the agreement OIA required us to sign, I knew that I only was approved by NTPU, I still need to be approved by Fudan University, too.


Preparation Before I Got The Admission

On April 9, 2018, after I waited for Fudan for three months, I finally got an email from them for the first time. I was asked to submitted several materials, such as application form, certification of insurance, and so on. I remembered that I also required to finish an online form of Fudan University. I finished all of the works before the deadline which is around the middle of May.
Furthermore, they also sent me a list of the courses students could choose in 2017. Although it is outmoded, I still could refer to it.

Moreover, they also required us to choose a department as the department we belong to when we stay there. I wondered whether I could choose some departments which were not closed to the finance, since I hoped that I could take more courses about information technology during that half of year. Nonetheless, because I am afraid of rejection by them, the advantage of the department I dislike outweigh the disadvantage of the department I like, I finally chose finance subject which was included in the college of Economy as my exchange department.

Afterward, the only things I could do is to wait for my admission. Without this thing, I still could not become a formal exchange student. As other exchange students got their admission from their universities, I felt depressed and disappointed. Sometimes I would ask my friends who had been to Fudan about when I could obtain the admission, sometimes I would ask OIA some similar questions. However, they only hoped that I should keep waiting patiently.


Preparation After I Got The Admission

On July 25, 2018, I finally received the admission letter from Fudan University. Before I got their admission, I felt concerned because I could not finish some works NTPU required. However, since my internship which I mentioned in this article was too close to the date on which I got the admission, I did not finish those works until I return to Taiwan.

(By the way, it seems that some NTPU students who applied for the exchange student program were rejected by Chinese universities this year, one of them faced this bad news because of the department he chose. I also heard some similar news which occurred in other universities, so even though I dislike the department I chose, I still chose a department which is closed to my subject when I studied in NTPU in case of this kind of misery.)

On August 20, 2018, after I ended my summer internship in Shanghai, I returned to NTPU to finish the works about the application of foreign courses. Originally, I assumed that I need to spend several days doing it. Fortunately, I finished all of the works within one day. Afterward, I returned to my hometown and started to prepare for my luggage.

On September 1, 2018, I went back to Taipei. I remembered that I need to arrive at the Taoyuan International Airport tomorrow morning. I would take the flight to Shanghai again, but this time, the ticket I bought is one-way…

Li Jeon (李政恩)

Written by

My name is Li Cheng-En (called "李政恩" in Chinese), and my moniker is Jeon. Although my major is finance, I am still allured by other fantastic things.

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