First steps to study abroad
The first thing I looked into before selecting my school for study abroad was the program. UH Manoa has two offices that handle study abroad, Manoa International Exchange and Study Abroad Center. After comparing what each had to offer, I decided to go with Manoa International Exchange (MIX) mainly because the universities that they offered were partnered with Shidler. Once I selected my program, I filled out an application!
Information and Tips about the MIX program
The MIX application I did was filled out a whole year in advance. The spring applications open on January 1st and close on May 1st. Some things that the application requires are:
Something to note is that Japanese semester for all schools except Akita University, Nanzan University, and Nihon University's JLS Program, have fall semesters that overlap with UH Manoa's spring semester. So MIX recommends students who want to study in Japan (at any school besides the three listed) to either study either in the spring only or for the entire academic (fall to spring) year.
Also, another helpful tip is to meet with and talk to the outbound coordinator! I was really unsure about a few things regarding my application and school choice. However, talking to the coordinator really helped clarify a lot of things. The current coordinator answers my emails relatively quickly.
Information and Tips about the MIX program
The MIX application I did was filled out a whole year in advance. The spring applications open on January 1st and close on May 1st. Some things that the application requires are:
- Your top 5 universities - My top two choices were Waseda and Keio (both Shidler partner schools and both located in Tokyo). I also listed three Korean universities as well (just in case). However, you can read about the exchange programs offered by MIX on their website. You can also read about Shidler's partner universities here.
- One letter of recommendation - When you ask a professor for a letter of recommendation, make sure they fill out this form from MIX, per application requirements.
- Short essay questions - I originally did not realize that the app included these, so I made sure I spent a lot of time ensuring that my answers reflected all of the countries I selected on my application.
Something to note is that Japanese semester for all schools except Akita University, Nanzan University, and Nihon University's JLS Program, have fall semesters that overlap with UH Manoa's spring semester. So MIX recommends students who want to study in Japan (at any school besides the three listed) to either study either in the spring only or for the entire academic (fall to spring) year.
Also, another helpful tip is to meet with and talk to the outbound coordinator! I was really unsure about a few things regarding my application and school choice. However, talking to the coordinator really helped clarify a lot of things. The current coordinator answers my emails relatively quickly.