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Studying Abroad: Interviews with UIC Students
Exploring the Academic, Professional, and Personal
Yonsei’s flourishing exchange program sends nearly 1600 students abroad each year, while receiving more than 1100 students from all over the world in return. Partnering with 665 universities across 70 countries, Yonsei’s study abroad program is one of the largest in Korea. Yonsei-wide exchange programs are open to all Yonsei students, but UIC also has its own UIC-exclusive programs.
Three UIC students Chorok Lee (Econ ‘14), Jeannie Yun (Econ ‘13), and Shannon Chew (ASD ‘14) share their dynamic experiences abroad in Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, U.S.), Wellesley College (Massachusetts, U.S.), and Keio University (Tokyo, Japan), respectively.
Q. What made you decide to go on exchange? How long did you contemplate it and why did you choose your particular program?
Chorok: I first heard about Yonsei’s exchange program during freshmen orientation. At first, universities in California were my top choice, mainly for their relaxing location. But when I talked to my advisor, she challenged me to apply to Dartmouth and seize the opportunity. I honestly did not think I would get in because there were so many other excellent students applying. At the end of the day, I got in and went!
Jeannie: I first learned about exchange programs at an information session during freshman year. Boston was a place in mind, which was recommended by Professor Michael Kim as the city in which he would want to live. During the interview process, I managed to narrow down to Wellesley College, located in the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Shannon: I had planned on going on exchange for a long time. There were, in fact, some specific reasons behind my decision for UIC’s 3 Campus Program. Firstly, UIC provides half of the tuition fee for the 3 Campus Program. There is a scholarship package provided by the Japanese government covering rent and living expenses in Tokyo. Secondly, an internship in Hong Kong was given as part of the program. Thirdly, I can speak Japanese. Also as a Singaporean, I thought it would be easier for me to integrate into Asian cultures and societies.
Chorok at Dartmouth (left)
Q. What was your experience like? In terms of academics, how were the courses in comparison to UIC courses? What was it like outside the classroom?
Chorok: As an economics major, I took a lot of economics courses at Dartmouth. The classes there were not so different compared to the ones in UIC in terms of how they were conducted. The pace, however, was quite different as one term at Dartmouth is only ten weeks. I ended up learning about a lot of graphs and submitted many term papers and projects using computer coding. I took a Spanish class as well as part of my explorations.
I traveled a lot by bus, and took the time to do so because I wanted to see the metropolitan side of the States. Some of the places I visited were Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York. It was the first time I travelled around as an adult, so I saw the world from a new perspective. They were certainly eye-opening experiences.
Jeannie: Studying at Wellesley was challenging but the professors were welcoming and warm. The largest class had less than thirty students. I took two courses at MIT on international development and a course at the business school. What I found particularly interesting and useful were the club fairs. When I joined a consulting club, I received so much help from the panels in charge of the meetings as they were the ones working as consultants. They talked about what consulting was and analyzed cases together. They also read over my résumé and conducted mock interviews for our club, which were altogether extremely helpful.
Outside of academics, I travelled to various places whenever I could, especially during breaks. I visited Washington D.C. to see a friend of mine who was interning there, and went on a road trip to New York. During the Thanksgiving holiday, one of my friends at Wellesley invited me to her house where I got to eat a lot of pies and played American games. Living as a guest in a huge family allowed me to experience classic American culture.
Shannon: Naturally, academics in Japan are very much Japan-oriented, which allowed me to learn a lot more about the country. The academics itself was not so challenging but based on a lot of self-driven studies. Japanese is not required in general because students attending Keio University speak English. However, writing a thesis on labor laws and human rights in Japan with a professor was challenging due to language barriers. This made me realize that one of my future career plans to work in academia in Japan was not for me—another valuable experience I gained.
Outside of class, I managed to make many good friends, I joined a boxing club for the first time, and travelled in and outside of Tokyo.
Jeannie at Wellesley (3rd from right)
Q. Did your study abroad experience meet your expectations?
Chorok: I thought it would be relaxing, but I didn’t get to relax. However, I am glad that I spent quite a large amount of time somewhere else so that I didn’t get fixated on only the things I see at Yonsei. Although it was difficult at times to be exposed to a completely different culture in the U.S., it was worth it.
Jeannie: What I experienced definitely exceeded my expectations. Besides all the benefits I could enjoy academically and personally, I also had the chance to work for the sustainability office at Wellesley over the summer and spring semester. Although getting a job at Wellesley definitely contributed to exceeding the expectations I had, the experience would have been just as worthy without the job.
Shannon: I had two expectations. As an international citizen, I aimed to explore different options abroad. This expectation was met to a certain extent because the exchange program made me realize just how fond I was of Japan. I ended up considering Tokyo as a very palatable city for a lot of Asians, and realized Japanese is not a difficult language to learn. On the other hand, as a student, my expectation to delve into legal studies was not fully satisfied because I found pursuing law in Japan was rather limited for a foreigner.
Q. Did you face any challenges adjusting back to UIC or Korea?
Chorok: My yearlong program ended around early June, which meant that many internships in Korea were already taken. Although I did not end up getting the internship I wanted at the time, I found a good alternative: Yonsei Rowing Team. I went on a five-week camp and participated in a rowing competition. This decision was based on my rowing experiences at Dartmouth.
Jeannie: What was not easy was saying farewell to the people I met at Wellesley. I ended up forming close relationships with many students there and even felt as if I was a Wellesley student. There were some moments of reverse culture shock back in Korea, though: I had to return to rigorous studies and dressing up wherever I went.
Shannon: Adjusting back was not a problem, as I was in Japan for only six months. Although I am a foreigner in Korea, I didn’t have difficulty back here, as it had already become my home. I would even go far as to say that the transition between Songdo and Sinchon posed greater adjustment issues. When you are used to life in Korea, it cannot be taken away in six months!
Shannon in Japan (3rd from left)
Q. To whom would you recommend your exchange program?
Chorok: I would definitely recommend my program to any UIC student who doesn’t have much experience living abroad. But someone who has just come to Korea from abroad may not find this program necessary. I believe some experiences in Korea are needed and four years of college life here are not enough. For those who are contemplating on getting jobs outside of Korea, go on an exchange program to ensure that what you think actually matches with reality.
Jeannie: On a more general note, if anyone who has never lived abroad were on the fence about studying abroad, I would strongly recommend going on exchange. One of the many merits of UIC is that the partner school knows who we are. That is, as many of us UIC students were raised in English-speaking backgrounds based on Western, liberal-arts education, the options offered for exchange are well tailored to suit our needs.
Shannon: I would recommend it 100%. When it comes to internships in the 3 Campus Program, there are 57 companies to choose from including finance companies, international organizations, MNCs (multinational corporations), and local partners in Hong Kong. Personally, I picked a law-related internship because it is something I want to pursue in the future. If you have a goal to experience Japan in mind, the program will allow you to be analytical and get out of your comfort zone.
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