For fall 2009, the staffs at Education Abroad expect exchange students from 26 different countries those who will extend their study at OU like the past students did. The students will be able to enroll in 12 hours of undergraduate level credit, 9 hours of graduate level credit, or 10 hours of credit for law students, according to Education Abroad Web site.


Exchange Students Extend their Stay at OU

The exchange students tend to extend their stay at OU to widen their experience of the United States culture and continue with their studies.

This summer, there are 29 students from 6 different countries who have decided to extend their study at OU, according to the record from Tina Henderson, a staff assistant of Education Abroad.

“I plan to transfer to OU when my exchange program finishes, because it is better for me if I finish my degree here (in the United States), I can find better job when I go back to my country,” said Daniel Ferrufino, an exchange student from Bolivia.

Henderson said, in fall 2009, the estimation of 260 students from 26 different countries are expected to come to experience the university life at OU.

According to the Education Abroad Web site, the requests for the exchange program extensions can only be approved under exceptional occasions, and the students are required to know the exact number of the semesters they are extending for with the explanation for their extension of the program.

Zehra Tosun, OU graduate research assistant from Turkey, said she first came to OU in summer 2006 as an exchange student to do research on her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering.

Tosun said, within one month, in fall 2006, she was determined to come to OU to broaden her area of study and work on her Ph. D. in chemical, biological and materials engineering.

“What attracted me the most to come back was the environment of study of my major at OU, and the professor’s offer of a position as graduate research assistant,” said Tosun.

According to the University of Oklahoma Web site, OU ranks as first in the Big 12 and at the top in the nation in international reciprocal exchange agreements with 174 universities in 66 countries around the world.

Tosun said, she has seen so many of her friends from Columbia, especially majoring in petroleum engineering, who came as exchange students and decide to carry on with their study at OU as transfer students or start working on another degree.

Accepting the exchange students is beneficial to the university, because they are getting the students who they are already familiar with, not a stranger from scratch, said Tosun.

Jack Hobson, the director of Education Abroad, said that in general, for exchange students, the way in which the United States classroom is run would be different, so the Education Abroad staffs help them to let them know about the classroom expectations in the United States.

Magali Pagnon, an exchange student from France, came to OU in fall 2008 to work on her master’s degree in biological engineering.

Pagnon said, studying at OU is impressive, because compared to the universities in France, for her, there seems to be more individual work rather than going to class to listen to the lectures.

When exchange students come to OU, they expect to only experience the United States college life, however, many of them have opportunity to meet other exchange students from many countries, said Hobson.

“One thing that surprised me was that at OU, there are so many students and professors from all over the world, so I can experience different culture not just the United States,” said Ferrufino.

The exchange students are suggested to be fluent with their English language skills in order to integrate themselves into the campus community during their stay at OU, according to Education Abroad Web site.

The common problem the exchange students deal with would be being away from home for the first time, and the communication problems, said Henderson.

One of the problems Ferrufino faced when he first arrived in the United States was the language. To catch up with his language skills, he studied hard so that he doesn't fall behind with his class work.

Ferrufino said, since he has been in the United States for six months, he is now flexible with communicating with people. So now, he has decided to transfer, and is also thinking of continuing his master’s degree in civil engineering at OU.

According to the Education Abroad Web site, the exchange students for the fall 2009 are recommended to arrive no later than August 17. There will be two orientations that they are required to attend on August 20 and 21.


Click here to listen to Tina Henderson, a staff assistant at Education Abroad, talk about how the Education Abroad office help with the exchange students.