5 Reasons Why You NEED to go on Academic Exchange

You have seen the pictures. The ones of classmates a couple years older than you at the Eiffel Tower, the Berlin Wall, on a beach in Australia or in the jungles of Asia. You wish that could be you (like seriously how do these 20 year olds afford this?) but, it is actually a lot easier than it seems. An academic exchange is the perfect way to cure your travel bug while checking off a semester of school. After having the most magical semester in the north of France, I have compiled a list of five reasons that will have you picking out your exchange destination before you are finished reading.

1. Two Birds, One Stone

You have to spend the semester going to school anyways so why not do it somewhere new? An academic exchange means you pay regular Dalhousie tuition that you would pay if you stayed in Halifax but instead you get to attend a partner institution somewhere else in the world. Sure, some of courses might not transfer or the housing costs may be slightly more expensive but, if you are like me and start the planning early, you can ensure you are getting all of the credits you need while traveling the world.

2. Dirt Cheap Travel

We all know that traveling across our own country of Canada costs a small fortune but, trust me we are pretty much the only country like that. Once you pay the ticket price to get overseas, travel becomes fairly cheap. Whether you are exploring Europe (I once paid the equivalent of $16 dollars for a flight from France to Italy!) or Asia, the means of travel get easier with options like trains, buses or discount airlines to take you from one country to the next. Hostels are the norm overseas, sometimes with prices as low as $5 dollars a night. Traveling on a budget has never been easier!

3. School? What is that?

Europe especially is known for its irregular schooling that make us North Americans utterly confused. There is no such thing as a regular class schedule. One week you might have class every day from 9am until 8pm and the next you might have two weeks completely free. If you like routine as much as I do this might come as a shock, but once you are booking flights to new places in between your classes, you begin to forget how you ever went to school 5 days a week.

4. New Besties

We know university can sometimes force you to be around the same people all the time so why not branch out? An exchange gives you the opportunity to meet new friends from around the world and learn about their traditions and cultures. I had the opportunity to make friends with students from Mexico, China, The United States and even from across Canada on my exchange. BONUS: you now have a place to stay when you go to visit their countries later in life.

5. Good Eats

While this reason may seem less important, the food was actually one of the best parts of my exchange. Getting to try new foods from all around the world was incredible- the cheese in France, the sangria in Portugal, unlimited pizza, pasta and cannoli’s in Italy and Belgian chocolate, the list goes on. The best (worst) part is that food is relatively inexpensive overseas... the Freshman 15 has now become the Exchange 15.

Truly, the list could go on and on. If these reasons are not enough, the feeling of pride when you accomplish something huge such as traveling across the world by yourself is indescribable. Moving somewhere new for a semester may seem daunting and scary but I promise the experiences you have, friends you meet and copious amounts of ice cream you end up eating are worth it!

About the writer: Olivia Fitzpatrick is a fourth-year Commerce student at Dalhousie University, majoring in Marketing and hoping to move into Public Relations. She is the VP Conference for the Rowe Women in Business Association, where she works towards organizing WIBA's Annual Conference, taking place this year in January of 2019. Olivia recently completed two co-op placements at Dash Hudson in Halifax and has recently become an instructor at SPINCO Halifax/Bedford.