Nineteen-year-old sophomore David Apelbaum lives in Mitchell Hall, participates in the student organization STAND and is taking classes in history and international affairs. When the school year ends in the spring Apelbaum will go home like most students, only for Apelbaum, home is in Paris.
While studying abroad is a popular path for many GW students, the 36 undergraduate exchange students who came here to study abroad often go unnoticed.
Apelbaum has been a student at the French university Sciences Po since he was 17 and will be receiving a master’s degree in law in three years. GW was one of six universities Apelbaum was deciding between when looking at spending a year abroad.
“GW was quite the obvious choice, for its location. I knew I would like it,” he said. Yet, the D.C. nightlife, Apelbaum said, is not what he expected.
“The age limit for drinking and to enter places is quite amazing,” Apelbaum said. “In France, it is 16 to drink. Here, you get your driver’s license at 16 but cannot drink until you are 21. It is quite odd. Between this and restaurants closing early, the nightlife is a bit boring.”
Apelbaum, who has been at GW for a month, said that he hasn’t made many new American friends yet, but he plans to get more involved in campus life soon.
The application process to study abroad at GW is “very competitive,” said Amy Mireku, the executive coordinator for the Office of Study Abroad.
Students first apply for a spot from their home institutions, which have set guidelines. GW has its own requirements – like having a GPA above a 3.0 and having necessary English skills, Mireku said.
Once the students are on campus, the International Services Office tries to help make the students feel more at home.
“We have a four-day orientation with all incoming international students, followed by the fall CI. One of our goals is to create a sort of group for them, because coming here can be stressful,” said International Student and Scholar Advisor Amy Fisher.
A group called C3 caters to such students. It meets each Wednesday and is open to American and international students to discuss different topics and to allow the students to network, Fisher said.
Annie Hill, a senior international student and scholar adviser, said that exchange students often have a different academic experience at GW than degree-seeking students.
“As an exchange student, you are only here for one or two semesters. It limits you because you don’t have an academic adviser,” Hill said.
Japanese exchange student Sakiko Adachi said that part of the reason she chose to study abroad was to meet new people.
“I thought that if I come to the U.S. I would meet students from all over the world and broaden my horizons,” Adachi said.
Like Adachi, Mari Kishida is also a Japanese exchange student who came to GW hoping to befriend Americans.
“I was imagining people having more interaction with international students in class, but I’m too scared to talk to other students,” Kishida said.
Mireku said that her office does try to get exchange students involved in various extracurricular activities, but there is often little that can be done.
“It is their semester. It is up to that student to make themselves part of the community,” she said. “I think the ones that have the best times here get involved.”
