So, let’s say you got accepted into your program. Congratulations! But now comes the most difficult part, dealing with all of the administration related to your program. So, what are the things you need?
- Visa
By far, the most important thing you need to worry about is your visa. In my case, I needed to apply for a D-2-2 Visa (D2 is student visa, D-2-2 is a 2-year student visa, fitting for dual degree students). If you are applying for an exchange program, you need a D-2-6 visa (6 months). It’s best practice to check with the embassy directly, as the documents may have changed, but in my case, I needed to prepare:- Letter of Acceptance (KIT)
- Business License (KIT)
- Certificate of Admission (KIT)
- Letter of Recommendation (Telkom University)
- Certificate of Enrollment (Telkom University)
- Apostille of High School Diploma
- Bank Transcript of 3 months
- Bank Reference (with a minimum of 300 million)
- Photocopy of Akte Kelahiran
- Photocopy of KTP Orang Tua
- Photocopy of SPP Pajak
- Surat Izin Orang Tua
- Photocopy of Kartu Keluarga
- Official Transcript of Telkom University
- Photocopy of Passport
- English Proficiency test (TOEFL score>530 or equivalent in other certifications)
In addition to these, in our case for South Korea, we also needed a Tuberculosis test.
- Time
Connected to the previous section, you need to prepare all of it ahead of time before you even begin to worry about studying overseas. Most countries are very stringent on the documents you need in order to apply for a student visa, and if even one of your documents is incorrect, say goodbye to getting your visa on time.
So, it is of most importance that you deal with all of the administration well ahead of schedule. Ideally, months ahead. If not, you may be cutting in too close. - Finances
While this is not a given for all countries, a lot of countries require you to prove that you have enough money to live in their country. The way they do this is by checking your bank statements. As such, you need to be able to prove that you are able to support yourself financially during your time in their country.
As an example, during our time in South Korea we needed to make our own bank account, and when we had to renew our ARC (Alien Registration Card), we need to provide them with a bank statement that proved that we had more than a certain amount of money. - Accomodation
This might be quite different depending on where you are going. But, in most cases, you need to find your own accommodation, whether it is in a dormitory, or outside your school campus. Dormitory is usually easier, as you only need to contact your university who will provide you with a place to live. It is this option that I recommend doing, especially for your first time, as trying to find accommodation elsewhere is quite difficult without having a contact in that country. - Mental Strength
Living and studying in a foreign country may be fun, but it can also be quite challenging, especially if it is your first experience living outside the country. The cultural difference may be quite big, and you might even have some days where you feel burnt out living overseas.
It is during these trying times that having friends can really help. Make sure that you keep your mental spirit up, and to go on, even when it’s difficult. - Understanding Cultural Difference
Living overseas means learning about how differently people elsewhere live. They may have certain behaviors that you might find disagreeable or weird. But it is part of the experience, and you must learn to keep your head down and accept that things work differently.
I personally have always found cultural differences to be an eye-opening experience, as it made me question my own behaviors, and made me realise how odd some of our own behaviors may be to people outside the country. Especially seeing what other values other cultures may consider to be more important. - Choosing what classes to take
By far the most difficult thing that we had to deal with was choosing what classes we needed
to take during our time in Dual Degree Program. The reason it is so difficult is that Telkom University requires certain classes to be taken, but those classes may not always be available in foreign universities. Thus, you need to make sure that you fulfill those mandatory classes. If those classes are not available, then you would need to find another class that fulfills similar requirements, or even take online classes back in Telkom University.
While these requirements seem very steep, and the mental effort you need to handle all these seems high, I still think that the Dual Degree program is worth doing. It allows you to have experiences that a lot of other people can only dream of. It helps you get connections with other people, and maybe even get opportunities like jobs or scholarships in your foreign university. It is a very fulfilling program that I highly recommend you to join.
