Your Study Abroad Prep List

It seems like almost everyone talks about wanting to study abroad during their time in University, and who wouldn’t want to experience living in another country? Going to study abroad can be very daunting and at times requires months of advanced planning to ensure that every last item is taken care of. As I am jetting off soon to take my studies to Spain, I’ve made a cheat sheet to keep myself organized, and thought that I would share it with you (since it might help to make your dreams of studying abroad can come true too). 

Give yourself a head start

Image courtesy of ET Online

The very first thing you need to do is to set aside planning time; give yourself enough time to prepare. Being in university doesn’t allow much free time to run around planning a stay halfway across the world, so check for the program application and scholarship deadlines as soon as you start to consider a semester abroad. Ideally, you’ll do this months in advance.

To get started, check out the program and scholarship sites:

Go Abroad - Find a Program
Go Abroad - Funding

Having months to prepare means that you will have time to take care of all the requirements for staying abroad, and trust me, there are a lot more than meet the eye!  

Consult an Expert

Make sure you consult with the study abroad coordinator (usually a professor). The coordinator is experienced when it comes to sending students abroad and will be able to answer most of questions about the abroad program. 

Tell Your Faculty

Alert your faculty of your plans to study abroad because they need to know what courses you will be taking, for how long and where. This step will allow you to verify the transfer-ability of the course credits that you hope to pick up abroad. After all, it would suck to come home only to find out that your course work didn’t count towards your degree.  That being said, you should still triple check to make sure that your abroad courses will align with your graduation requirements before checking with your faculty. 

Find a Home Away from Home

Image courtesy of treehousemischief

Find your accommodation well ahead of your stay and research the cost of living. Doing so will allow you to put together a proper budget for your time abroad. To avoid financial surprises, verify the costs for your both your accommodations and flights. Look into the city and its surrounding area to see where you might like to travel during your stay - and then budget in those travel costs. (Think of things like bus tickets, taxis fares, bike rentals, etc. – they’ll all cost money, and you’ll want to have enough.)  Once you have all of your cost estimates, list them out and create your budget. Just remember to leave yourself a little wiggle room and a little pocket money. 

UGo

Before you leave, sign up with the U of A’s UGo registry.  Ugo (which is managed by University of Alberta International and Protective Services) helps to protect students studying abroad by monitoring the areas students are studying in for any potential dangers. 

If an emergency were to occur while you’re abroad, you’ll be able to contact Protective Services for assistance (since they’ll make sure you connect with the people who are best equipped to help you). You can call them collect at any time of the day (780-492-5050) or you can send them an email if that would be easier.


You should also check out (and sign up with) the Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad program. The point of this service is to provide assistance to Canadian citizens abroad in any emergency situation (like an earthquake, civil unrest, or even an emergency back here in Canada). 

Currency Check

Image courtesy of Giphy.com

Canada is the only place that really uses the Canadian dollar, so you’ll need to find out what the currency is in your study abroad home. Knowing that information in relation to the amount of money that you’ll need to take with you (refer back to your budget), will help you to determine how you want to deal with the currency exchange. Depending on the amount of time you will spend away from Canada, opening a bank account abroad might be the best option to save on exchange rates. Note –Most exchange counters have terrible exchange rates, so try to avoid them if you can! 

Prepaid travel Mastercards offer an easier alternative to opening an account as the money can be transferred directly from your debit account and will be accepted anywhere a credit card is. These generally only have a $10 annual fee so they should be budget friendly.


Be sure to look into your banks international alliance as some, like Scotiabank, have international counterparts, meaning that your account will be accessible though partner banks abroad.

Health Checks

Book an appointment with your doctor before your trip. Doing so will ensure that you have all of your prescriptions updated and filled for the time you are away. Visiting your doctor will also help you to determine your vaccine needs. Visiting your doctor will also ensure that you are 100% fit for travel. 

Insurance

Medical insurance a huge must! Anything can happen, so make sure to check out your options for travel insurance plans during your stay and look into what emergency clinics are accessible ahead of time.  

Paper Work

Image courtesy of UTS Global Exchange

Renew your passport well in advance.  When you travel abroad, you want your passport to have at least 6 months left on it BEFORE you return to Canada. This is also very important for the visa application process (if required for your stay). 

Visa applications are generally only needed for stays over 3 months but be sure to check on the visa requirements for the country that you’ll be studying in AND check the visa requirements for any other nearby countries you might like to visit along the way. Once again, allow enough time for this application, as they require a lot of different documents that can take time to compile. 

Pack!

Give yourself tons of time to plan what you need to pack! If you start to pack early, you’ll be less likely to forget the things that you need. You’ll also have more time edit your packing list (i.e. you’ll be able to take things out of your bag that you don’t really need). With the right packing hacks, you'll even be able to fit it all in.

Get Happy!

Image courtesy of Carlton Dance on Tumblr

Get super excited because you’re going to be studying in an amazing location where you’ll have the time of your life. And because you’ll have prepared for everything in advance, you’ll get to enjoy your time abroad stress free!

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About the Author

Paige

Now entering the fifth year of her BA, Paige is an aspiring Conference Interpreter who has a passion for everything cultural.  A self described linguistic nerd, Paige can also be found training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. She loves getting involved on campus and meeting new people so you can usually spot her in the crowd at campus events... you could almost say she's a little like "Where"s Waldo" but without the glasses... or the striped shirt. 

Summer Predictions: I Bet I Know What You’re Doing Right Now

I bet I know what you’re doing right now! Or at the very least, I bet that I can predict what you’ll be doing over the next few months. So, here is my prediction. (Be sure to keep track to see how accurate I am!)

The first week after Winter finals was a shock to the system so you laid in bed for hours catching up on all your missed sleep thinking “Is it really over?”

In the following two weeks you started work, which seems to have erased all your memories of late night cramming. Your time seems to fly by now that you’re in a study free (and likely stress free) “zone”. This new “sleeping” thing has been proving to be pretty amazing too. 

Getting the Bear Tracks grade notifications is now the only reminder of the exhaustion that had been brought on during finals. Although you still feel like you’re having a mini heart attack while you wait for the grades page to load (although I’m sure that you’ve done just fine.)

It won’t take too long for you to start missing everything about the U of A though. Getting to see friends and classmates everyday, grabbing coffees and eating Cookies by George or getting mid-day drinks at Dewey's or RATT seem like distant memories. 

The next weeks will be a process… a process to figure out how to coordinate your work hours with your friends’ work hours so that you can hang out. It’s been FOREVER.  

And of course once you figure out when you can see each other the following days will be filled with a slew of summer activities that will all take place under the sun (literally).  

In the coming months, one of your greatest challenges will be figuring out how to spend all the extra hours you now have in your day (since you aren’t studying or writing essays). To fill those hours, you’ll pick up new projects or hobbies that you’ve always wanted to try! 

Summer will go by quickly once you get into the routine of working and seeing old and new friends and before you know it, the new term will creep up on you. But you’ll be ready for it! 

Note: the above will all apply if you take Spring or Summer classes… eventually.

So, how accurate do you think my predictions are?

----About the Author

Paige

Hi, I’m Paige! I’m a fourth year student aspiring to become a Conference Interpreter after completing a bachelor of arts in French, Spanish and Japanese. I have a passion for everything cultural and am a total linguistic nerd. 

Away from my favorite study spot on campus, you can find me training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. I love getting involved on campus and meeting new people so I’m always attending events happening around the University. 

I hope to share stories that highlight student life at the U of A; showcasing the bright and creative minds we have here at the U. I also hope to provide you with helpful tips to improve the time that you spend here on campus.

Things to do after your finals

It’s finally here! The end is in sight and you’re in the last 100 meters to the finish line! Give yourself some incentive for the final cramming hours of the semester and take a break to check out these awesome plans to make for after finals! 

Rest

Let’s be honest, you’re probably going to experience a little mental exhaustion after finals, which you should definitely take care of! If your preparing to start a new summer (or even post-school) job, are just starting your job search, or are planning some travel time, or even a trip to summer school, it is extremely important to do so after a little rest. Getting some rest will help to put you in a positive, healthy mindset which will allow you to get the most out of whatever is next. So, take the time to catch up on sleep and do your best to kick your newly found caffeine addiction. 

Find a great summer job! 

Find a great summer job! It’s not too late to get an awesome position for the summer break (just in case you’ve been too studying to apply for jobs). CAPS is always the best place to start (since it’s usually the first place where employers put their postings for university students). Jobkin.ca (which is hosted by the SU) is another campus job search site to check out. You might not have a job lined up right now, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t find one.

Go Outside

After spending months in the air conditioned libraries it’s finally time to head outside where you can enjoy the great weather and – say it isn’t so – SUNSHINE. Play outdoor sports, exercise in the park, just read a book while lounging in the sun (or lounge in the shade if you have a pesky habit of burning…).Warmer temperatures don’t last long, so make the most of the nice weather. 

Get fit for a good cause! 

If you have a health goal that you’re trying to achieve and need a little extra motivation then running a marathon might be just what you need to do. Plus, running a marathon usually means that you get to help out local YEG causes. Click here for a list of the runs set for Edmonton this year. 

Take a short trip with some close friends. 

Take a short trip with some close friends. The weather is really warming up and there are plenty of great day trip locations close to Edmonton.  Jasper and Banff are obvious favorites to visit, but the lesser known Pembina is only an hour away and makes for a great day trip with friends once the summer heat settles in. 

Join the crowd.

Edmonton has festivals all throughout the summer. Some are big, others are small, and regardless of their size, they cover so many different activities, that you should find at least one that appeal to your interests. These local festivals are also great because the costs associated with them are way less than some of the bigger ones held far away.

Try something new. 

Join a new sports team with friends, find a new hobby or finally read that book you’ve been meaning to- take time to explore new things and make some great memories.

Go camping. 

There’s nothing like getting back into nature to re-center your stressed out mind.  If all your notes happen to end up in the bonfire then so be it, just make sure you won’t need them for the next year. 

Binge watch. 

Just think, you can’t procrastinate in the new semester if you’ve watched everything that there is to watch on Netflix! Procrastinate now for productivity later. It’s a genius plan. 

Slide

Check out slide the city, or go slip n’ sliding in your own backyard! You’re never too old to hurl yourself down a wet piece of plastic at high velocities. It’s the simple things in life. You can check out their website here.

----About the Author

Paige

Hi, I’m Paige! I’m a fourth year student aspiring to become a Conference Interpreter after completing a bachelor of arts in French, Spanish and Japanese. I have a passion for everything cultural and am a total linguistic nerd. 
Away from my favorite study spot on campus, you can find me training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. I love getting involved on campus and meeting new people so I’m always attending events happening around the University. 

I hope to share stories that highlight student life at the U of A; showcasing the bright and creative minds we have here at the U. I also hope to provide you with helpful tips to improve the time that you spend here on campus.

How to Pose with UAlberta's Newest Bear

The University of Alberta’s proud new addition to the PAW center has been unveiled! Our new furry friend, the Alberta Bear, is both a great mascot and ze also serves as the perfect prop for some patriotic UAlberta photo shoots! 

We nabbed some passersby to show us how to take the optimal picture for all levels of bear tamers, beginner to expert. 

The Classic

First we have the classic standing pose, a very good starter pose for those with less experience in the art of posing with “wild” animals. 

The Pet

Next is the slightly more advanced version: tentatively petting the bear. 

Getting closer to the bear for a more intimate pose is only for the brave of heart. 

Of course if you really want to get friendly with the bear, we suggest getting on his good side by stroking under his chin. 

The Bear Hug

Who doesn’t love hugs? The bear loves hugs. 

Be careful when hugging the bear however, and don’t end up getting mauled by accident. 

The Wrestler

Fighting the bear is only for the very advanced. Note the expert technique of using the bear’s nose as a handle. 

The Squad Shot

Need a great squad picture, but the squad is nowhere to be seen? The bear is there for you. Show the world that no one should mess with you because you have an awesome bear friend. 

The Ride

Finally, we have the most extreme pose- not for the weak of heart- of riding the bear into victory. It’s impossible to not feel on top of the world while riding a bear into battle. 


Whether you just need a hug or are need to do an epic battle cry before heading into a final, the new Alberta Bear is there for you. Make sure to go meet our new friend and share your creative poses with us! 

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Paige! I’m a fourth year student aspiring to become a Conference Interpreter after completing a bachelor of arts in French, Spanish and Japanese. I have a passion for everything cultural and am a total linguistic nerd. 

Away from my favorite study spot on campus, you can find me training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. I love getting involved on campus and meeting new people so I’m always attending events happening around the University. 

I hope to share stories that highlight student life at the U of A; showcasing the bright and creative minds we have here at the U. I also hope to provide you with helpful tips to improve the time that you spend here on campus.

What Food Describes You, and 8 Other Random YA Questions

Fellow UAlbertans!

Have you ever wondered how other students take their coffee, or secretly wished that someone else shared your desire for teleportation? Lucky for you, we at YouAlberta were able to ask our 9 random questions to some of the students studying/eating/relaxing on Cameron second floor. Besides the general consensus that pizza is the best food to be, and that midterms are a student’s greatest stress, the interviews also showcase a strong sense of camaraderie at the U of A. Thanks to the interviewees for sharing your answers and smiling faces with us and our viewers!

Let us know how you liked the video, and feel free to share your answers to the interview questions in the comments!

----About the Author

Kiera and Paige

My name is Kiera and I’m a fourth year Biological Sciences student with an English minor, trying to keep life interesting. I like to consider myself a glass-half-full type, and am most at peace spending quality time with loved ones (with a little wine and cheese on hand). When I’m not trying to balance my student group with studying, I am testing out different hobbies, slowly working towards becoming a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

I am drawn to creativity and adventure, which there seems to be an abundance of amongst the U of A’s bright students. I hope to shed light on some of the inspirational individual stories that have resulted from unique campus opportunities, and also hope to encourage other students to tap into one of the many meaningful learning opportunities that are available outside of the classroom. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the U of A’s stories that make our campus community so rich with experience and opportunity. 

 - Kiera

Hi, I’m Paige! I’m a fourth year student aspiring to become a Conference Interpreter after completing a bachelor of arts in French, Spanish and Japanese. I have a passion for everything cultural and am a total linguistic nerd. 

Away from my favorite study spot on campus, you can find me training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. I love getting involved on campus and meeting new people so I’m always attending events happening around the University. 

I hope to share stories that highlight student life at the U of A; showcasing the bright and creative minds we have here at the U. I also hope to provide you with helpful tips to improve the time that you spend here on campus.

 - Paige

How To Use A Student Planner... Seriously

I’m sure if we could have the next seven years of our lives planned out and color-coded we all would. Planners are the lifeline and saving grace to all students. Having a daily agenda is probably the most common and useful system for keeping track of project deadlines and due dates, however they aren’t as easy to use as they might seem. Being an organizational freak that has more color-coded stationary than she can count, I want to show you how tracking your time can be your key to avoiding the procrastination bug.  So what makes a planner really helpful? And what are the best systems for planning? 


First, try mapping out the next three months’ worth of course assignments/readings and extra-curricular activities because seeing what your workload and social calendar will look like in advance will make it easier to make time for last minute commitments. This mapping exercise should also make it easier for you to evenly distribute (or redistribute) your time, for when extra course work pops up. This way you’ll be able to see what readings you might be able to bump to do a week earlier so that you can attend a special event that you just heard about.

Available on Worksheet Works.com 

Worksheet Works.com is perfect for making customized hourly planners and has options that allow you to choose how many days you’d like to layout (up to a week). Being able to see everything laid out in front of you really does help prevent procrastination, and also has the added benefit of highlighting future events and study breaks that so you feel more optimistic about what’s coming up!  Planning your time out in this way will also let you see if things are looking too crowded in advance, making it easier to consider taking fewer courses this semester or changing your work schedule to allow for more study time.  

Image courtesy of karenkavett.com

The new semester is a great time to form new habits that might have been neglected the last semester. Forming a new habit takes 21 days, so these first couple of weeks back is the perfect time to kick bad habits (in exchange for good ones). And how do you do that? By adopting a “Don’t Break The Chain” system! Each day you complete the task that you’ve set out for yourself, you just cross off the day and form a chain of successful days. Be realistic with ambitions though, since it’s easy to get over zealous around the New Year. Keep yourself well rested and healthy while going after those goals and don’t set yourself up for disappointment! 

If keeping a pen and paper agenda or system isn’t your thing then try out some new apps like Evernote, Remember the Milk, Coursemate that sync between all your devices like Google Calendar so all of your due dates are easily accessed. The Momentum app for Google Chrome is another useful app that lets you set a daily goal as well as tasks and is on every new tab, making it difficult to wander off to Reddit or Tumblr as it reminds you of your tasks. 

Give some reflection on the past semesters up’s and down’s –what were your strong points, the less strong points? Work with those aspects and develop a system of organization and motivation that works best for you. The only way to find the best way to progress is to find out what makes you tick, not all the conventional ways of learning or staying organized work for everyone but knowing what works has a huge impact on your success in staying stress free in the future. 

Most importantly: vow to take it easy and keep your thoughts positive and bright. Remember to breathe and smile, because you’ve got this.

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About the Author

Paige

Hi, I’m Paige! I’m a fourth year student aspiring to become a Conference Interpreter after completing a bachelor of arts in French, Spanish and Japanese. I have a passion for everything cultural and am a total linguistic nerd.

Away from my favorite study spot on campus, you can find me training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. I love getting involved on campus and meeting new people so I’m always attending events happening around the University. 

I hope to share stories that highlight student life at the U of A; showcasing the bright and creative minds we have here at the U. I also hope to provide you with helpful tips to improve the time that you spend here on campus.

10 Things To Do Before Your Finals and 4 Bonus Things To Do During

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! 

FINALS!

Just kidding, but finals aren't all that bad, you've all gotten this far in your university career so take a moment to pat yourself on the back and appreciate all your hard work and success. 


We at YouAlberta want to make sure all our peers are confident and calm going into finals this year, so here is our quick list of tips and tricks for ensuring success! 

Before the Test 

• The work you put in is the work that you will get out. Unless you’re one of those geniuses that can skip every class and ace the exams (which, let’s be honest not many of us are)… So in the next three weeks give it your all and save the vegging out for Christmas break.

• Visit your professors to double check that you’re understanding materials and to ask questions about material you’re concerned about. Professors can also offer you additional resources if you need extra materials to help you understand the information that you’re studying. 

• Make sure you know what you don’t know. When you’re feeling stressed it’s likely that you’ll just want to copy the whole textbook and risk misidentifying the information that you do need to focus on vs. the information that you already know. If professors give out practice exams start there; you can use them to verify what kinds of questions you know how to answer and which kinds you don’t.  If your professors don’t share review materials with you, then do a quick read through of your notes and textbook to see if there are any ambiguous terms or concepts you don’t remember (or easily recall). Be sure to also check the online Exam Registry to find any old practice exams for your course.

• Create your own practice exams. Doing so will help you practice thinking about how concepts could be tested and will also help to highlight the areas where you might need a little extra practice. If you can’t answer your own questions, then you know that it’s likely something that you need to study more. 

• Look over your past exams to identify your weak points and to familiarize yourself with your professor’s grading style. If they usually leave comments like “expand” or “explain” or “spelling” then you should probably try to keep in mind how much detail they like to see (or how many terms you need to practice spelling, etc.) for your next exam. Doing so should help you avoid losing marks on format or missed specifics. 

• Use the student services! The services exist specifically to help us, so be sure you get your use out of them.

• Student Success Centre (They're great if you need help with your study/learning strategies and writing.)

• Math and Applied Science Centre (Checkout their review sessions for math, science, and engineering courses.)

• The Centre for Writers (If you'd like someone to review your prof's feedback on written assignments with you, then they are the people to see!)

• Specialized Support and Disability Services (If you find that you need to write your exams in a specialized environment, visit them for help!)

• InfoLink (They have the Exam Registry and the Tutor Registry, plus they can help you find your faculty advisor if you need to talk to someone about your program. They'll even help you find all of the other services that you might want to checkout.)

• University Wellness Services (This includes the University Health Centre, Counselling and Clinical Services, all of the wellness workshops that you hear about on campus, and Unwind Your Mind. So if you're feeling unwell in any way or if you want to take some preventative steps to keep yourself healthy, they're here to help.)

• Peer Support Centre (If you just need to talk things out, talk with them. They'll listen. It's what they do.)

• Start early. If you have final papers and portfolios due make sure that you get started early and chip away at essays and corrections day by day. Doing so will help prevent you from having to re-write papers all at once… and let’s be honest, if you’re scrambling to finish an assignment the night before, it can be difficult to catch errors and unclear sentences. 

• Catch up on any missed readings- they might seem pointless but professors made them required readings for a reason. Even just a brief flip through to highlight the main points will help you tie in important concepts when writing long answer questions.  

• Study with your classmates. Everyone learns material a little differently and getting the opinions of others can fill in the gaps of your understanding and can help add detail to what you know. You can book study spaces in the libraries or you can always take over a table in a place like CAB or SUB where louder group conversations are allowed. 

• Change up your environment. Sometimes having a favourite study spot can be very helpful, but if you find that it isn’t helping you, you might want to consider trying out a new space. Being in a new space can sometimes help you to refocus your attention and can even improve your ability to retain information. Plus, you might just discover some new favourite study spots on campus.

Day of the Test 

• Know that you put effort in all semester and trust yourself to recall what you'll need to know. Panicking about whether you know the material or not will only set you up to sabotage yourself. So don’t become your own distraction! Instead have a little faith in your own abilities.

• Be sure to eat a good meal before the test. Your mother knows best and you will perform better when filled with a healthy meal. 

• Arrive early to get out any pre-test jitters, get your materials out and take some deep breaths to calm down and get into a focused mindset. 

• Reward yourself with something relaxing or that you enjoy before studying for the next test to avoid negative thinking. If you stay positive, stress is easier to avoid and you will have more energy to keep studying !

We’re all in this together, fellow students, so be brave and be confident! Don’t forget that there’s always someone to talk to, be it family, friends, our student resources or professionals, so please make sure that you put your needs first in order to stay healthy and happy throughout these stressful times. 

Wishing you all the very best, 

Paige 

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About the Author

Paige

Hi, I’m Paige! I’m a fourth year student aspiring to become a Conference Interpreter after completing a bachelor of arts in French, Spanish and Japanese. I have a passion for everything cultural and am a total linguistic nerd. 

Away from my favorite study spot on campus, you can find me training with the Rowing Team or taking naps wherever possible. I love getting involved on campus and meeting new people so I’m always attending events happening around the University. 

I hope to share stories that highlight student life at the U of A; showcasing the bright and creative minds we have here at the U. I also hope to provide you with helpful tips to improve the time that you spend here on campus.