By: Brittany Chenelle
Studying abroad is not the only way students can experience education at a different university. UGA offers a program that allows students to discover their academic potential at another school in the U.S.
A year ago UGA student, Morgan Poole, participated in the National Student Exchange. Through this program, she was able to spend an academic year at the University of her choice. After weighing the pros and cons, she decided that the University of Alaska, Fairbanks was a perfect choice.
“Alaska was entirely like everything that I wanted to do,” Poole says. “So it just made it a lot more special.”
A select number of students from other universities, like Paige Wear who came from Iowa State, get a chance to exchange here at UGA.
“It’s been really great obviously, I’ve been taking classes that I wouldn’t normally be taking at Iowa State and so I’ve made new friends within those classes and I’ve made choices to get involved,” Wear said.
There are currently 200 campuses nationwide that participate in this program. Students can go to any of those universities for a semester or a year and pay UGA tuition. Students interested in the National Student Exchange should stop by the Center of Student Organizations office in the Tate Center on campus to grab an N.S.E. booklet. It contains information on all the schools that participate in the program and could be helpful in deciding on which schools to apply for.
Senior Coordinator of the Center of Student Organizations, Josh Podvin, said he sees how UGA students make inroads all the time while on exchange and bring back ideas that help better the campus. He also said NSE gives students a chance to explore other places.
“If you’ve been living in Georgia for most of your life, you can get out there and see a different part of the country that you otherwise would have never had the opportunity to see.”
There’s still time to sign up for the exchange, but don’t wait. The deadline is the end of the month on Feb 28th. Students are encouraged to stop by the CSO office on the first floor of the Tate Center to see Josh Podvin for more information.
