Applying for International House

This was definitely unexpectedly tricky!

We had an info meeting with the organisers of the exchange with some US students who were studying in UCD for the year attending. Basically the dealio was that our only hope of living on campus was to apply to International House, as all the dorms are guaranteed for 1st and 2nd years and there was no hope getting a place from the waitlist.

International House is a block of apartments for 4/5/6 people which house half american students, half international students. The US students who were at the meeting said that they are actually the nicest place to live on campus so its v.competitive to get in. Also, since it's the only on campus option for international students, there are always more applications than places.

The application process involved all the usual things that you would expect, name, address etc but also a series of four essay style questions about your past experiences and how you could bring your culture in to the i-house community etc.
I put in absolutely everything I could think of that I had ever done that held any relevence. It took a long time to complete these questions and I would absolutely recommend you not to rush this and to take your time in your application. If you ARE applying and want some advice, email me.

A few weeks ago I found out that I had been accepted to live in I-House which was a MASSIVE relief because the thoughts of heading over to San Diego without anywhere definite to live was very daunting. But it wasnt over...
We then were all sent the contract by email which had to be signed and returned within two weeks. The tricky part was that it was to be accompanied by a bank draft/cheque in US dollars drawn from a US bank for $650. Luckily for me I was able to get one of these in AIB but alot of students were having trouble with their banks. I sent it off by courier and it got there on time (phew)

So I have somewhere to live, happy days!