Hello there! Join me, a British journalism student, as I venture into Australia to study at Melbourne’s La Trobe University as an exchange student.

In this post, I will discuss everything I did to prepare for studying abroad. That includes the application process, the cover letter stage, interview and visa.

Buckle up. Things are about to get a little “admin heavy”.

Applying

The year I applied to study abroad in the University of Lincoln, around 16,000 students were given this opportunity.

Some partner universities would only be available for students studying media. Others were open to all 16,000 students who might want to apply.

That included Melbourne’s La Trobe.

My lecturers said that everybody wanted to study here. So, who was I to apply? I was only few months into my degree, still a newbie.

It might sound underwhelming. But the answer to the above was simple:

“Why not?”

Studying abroad was a scary concept, but I was always up for a challenge. Especially if it meant I would be opening up my employability prospects.

So, I registered my interest and applied. But first, I needed to write a cover letter. Ideally, using more than “why not?” as an argument.

My Cover Letter

A cover letter is not always the most exciting thing to write. Even if you are excited to apply for the job or opportunity that requires it.

But genuine enthusiasm is definitely a necessity.

Thankfully, I had grown more eager to go as the prospect became more real.

In my cover letter, I included:

• A general understanding of the culture and course to show I had done research.
• An eagerness to go.
• A promise to represent both universities well.
• A specific understanding of why the international course is beneficial to my academic and personal interests.
• Examples of me being a good student.
• Some light reassurance that I could afford this.

It must have worked, because sometime after, I was then called for an interview with my lecturers.

But that did not go how I expected. At all.

Stand Your Ground

It felt quite intimidating at the time, but looking back I can understand why they needed to make sure I was sure of my decision.

Before walking into that interview, I was mostly certain. But during a near-debate with my lecturers, I HAD to be certain. They gave me every reason to doubt I would ever be accepted, and tried to persuade me to consider joining other universities.

But I stood my ground. By the time I left my interview I was very certain that La Trobe is where I wanted to go.

Acceptance

The acceptance stage is a funny one. Just because you are accepted does not mean you are enrolled. And just because you are enrolled does not mean you are going.

Acceptance is the first step of enrolment, and enrolment is the first step of getting a visa.

But I still punched the air when I saw that I was accepted. Now going to another country to study was a bit more possible.

The To-Do List Stage

If anyone wants to study abroad, I would offer them this tip above all else: BUY A NOTEBOOK. One dedicated just to studying abroad, because after I was invited to the pre-departure conference, my to-do-list was never the same…

The conference was an informative session teaching us about the visa application process, when to purchase your ticket, how to fill in the risk assessment and so forth.

It was also an opportunity to ask questions like, how to get a new sim card for your phone once you arrive and the importance of telling your bank you’re going abroad.

This is where things started to get very informative.

And a little overwhelming. Studying abroad had moved from being an abstract into a visible destination in the distance.

GRANTS, GRANTS, GRANTS

This headline can also be “DEADLINES, DEADLINES, DEADLINES.” These are so important, especially if you don’t have a massive amount in your bank account. I set alarms on my phone and filled in my notebook to remind me of the deadlines to apply for things.

There was a deadline for grants, a deadline to arrange a visa, and a deadline to select my subjects.

Enrolling Is A Pain

Remember when I said “just because you are accepted does not mean you are enrolled. And just because you are enrolled does not mean you are going?”

That’s where this statement comes in.

I was accepted by La Trobe. But I was not enrolled. That took much longer.

In Australia, if you want a student subclass 500 visa, you need a certificate of enrollment (CoE).

So, for a few months there was essentially nothing I could do but fill in paperwork and wait for a CoE.

As soon as that came through, I could start the visa process.

Am I A War Criminal?

Filling the visa itself was not too grueling. I finished it after 2-3 hours.

However, all global visas have different processes and ask different questions. One of the ones I was given was “Am I a war criminal?”

To avoid any confusion, I should make it clear. The answer to that is no.

It took two months exactly before the visa was approved.

Packing

This is where you find me now. I am writing this in part due to procrastination. I will be flying in a week, and have barely started cramming my suitcase. Wish me luck on the next phase.

If you have any questions about the study abroad process, please feel free to ask!