Applying to Sogang!

Sogang

So I just arrived a couple of days ago at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea on Friday February 25, 2011 at 7:00am. I took a direct flight from the Los Angeles International Airport better known as LAX. If you're from L.A. and want to come to Seoul, prepare yourself for a 13 hour flight!! YES!! 13 hours!!
I guess it isn't so bad considering what other exchange students at Sogang have gone through.

My internet was down for about 3 days so I wasn't able to post right away, but now I can. YAY!! So lets begin with some basic information. *School starts March 2, 2011, so I will be posting pictures and a mini tour of the campus once school starts.* For now let me tell you about what to do to apply and preparing to leave to Korea.

The main thing you should always keep in mind are APPLICATION DEADLINES. You can visit the Sogang website at the Sogang website for more information. When I applied, some of the information wasn't up to date, so I highly recommend to e-mail Jin ok Ahn. Jin ok Ahn is in charge of international students coming from the U.S. and Canada, so you can e-mail her if you need help or have a question.

Before applying you may want to speak to your Office of Interantional Affairs so they can give you information or direct you to the correct people. For California State University- Northridge students, you can speak to Juliet Aylmer, but you will be forwarded to Dr. Clara Park. Dr. Park is the one in charge of applications and helping you through out the application process. Be sure to thank her very much because she is amazing and goes above and beyond what is expected from her. You should probably just speak to Dr. park directly. She is located at the College of Education Room 3114, which is on the 3rd floor or you can call her office at (818)677-2500.

So now that you are all excited and ready to  apply to Sogang, here are important documents you should prepare and obtain in advance. *If you are planning on transeferring credits to CSUN towards your major, make sure you speak to each department of the classes you are planning to take to make sure it will be equivalent to the CSUN class. For example: FIN 303 (Financial Management) at CSUN is equivalent to Sogang's MGT3004 course.*

1. Valid Passport and photo copy of passport

2. Dormitory Application

3. Report of Health Examination

4. A Letter of Recommendation

5. About 6 passport photos. You will send in 3 with your application, 1 for your Foreigner's registration Card, 1 for you VISA, and the last keep as a backup because you should always prepare for the inevitable.

6. Official Transcript

7. Proof of Insurance (You could probably wait on this because the last thing you need is to find out you didn't get in and now you are out $300 for insurance. Purchase after you are sure you will go to Sogang and you can just wait and purchase it when you come to Sogang. *CSUN students, I recommend you buy the insurance from Wells Fargo because it covers everything. For 6 months it was about $300.*
You can then visit the website for the application to Sogang via the 
Office of International Affairs (OIA)


After this just wait for confimation. I recommend you e-mail Jin ok Ahn often to check on the status of your application. It's like my teacher once said, "Squeaky wheel gets the oil." You need to be persistent!


So the above is a general summary of how to apply.

Once you have been accepted, the fun begins. It means you need to prepare things to take on your trip. It's really helpful to write down of list of everything you may need, even things you think you will remember. Trust me, you will end up forgetting something. As stupid as it may seem to write down something as simple as socks or pajamas, just do it!
Make sure you know how many luggages you are allowed, how many pounds each luggage can have, and how much an additional luggage may cost in case you need a third luggage (this goes for the girls). For the most part, you are allowed 2 luggages that can weigh up to 50lbs each, a carry-on of about 20lbs, a backpack, and you can bring along like your hangbag or laptop case, etc.
You may want to consider taking some essentials along. You can easily buy those things here, but it may take a while before you find your way around Seoul so bring a small shampoo, soap, lotion, toothpaste, etc. This will help the first couple of days.

Well, this is it for today. School starts tomorrow so look forward to my next post which will most likely include the mini tour of the Gonzaga Dormitory and Sogang. I will post pics later. I need to resize them. Bye~! ^^_^^