(8/5/2023) | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, commonly known as UC Chile, is one of the oldest universities in Chile and one of the most famous educational institutions in Latin America. Although not many know about this campus, UC Chile has been ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America by the QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education University Rankings.
UC Chile is one of the host universities for IISMA awardees students. Sarah Widodo, a 2020 batch student of the Faculty of Law, Airlangga University (FH UNAIR) and an IISMA 2023 awardee, chose UC Chile as her destination campus because she wanted to deepen the Spanish she had studied since high school.
“I chose UC Chile in Santiago, Chile, as the host university to deepen my Spanish. Previously, I had studied Spanish while participating in the AFS student exchange program during high school,” said Sarah when interviewed by FH News on Monday (8/5/2023).
Sarah admitted that this was the second time she applied for an IISMA scholarship and only on the second try did she pass. Her motivation to register for the IISMA program for the second time was to fight her fears and fulfill a promise to herself.
“I want to study abroad again, so I have tried IISMA twice. The first attempt failed, maybe because my focus was divided at that time to prepare for the Bulaksumur NMCC competition, which thankfully won 1st place. This second attempt, I was able to focus on registering for IISMA and finally passed,” said Sarah.
Sarah also shared the contents of the essay she made as a requirement for the IISMA selection. He wrote about how he recovered from his failure in his first IISMA selection.
“After failing IISMA, I didn’t have any backup plans, so I was down. I finally decided to join NMCC Bulaksumur so I could move on. Alhamdulillah, Allah gave me a way to win 1st place. The most important lesson is don’t be afraid to try anything because the path given by Allah is the best way,” he explained.
He also shared tips and tricks for choosing a host university. First, he suggested looking at the courses offered by the host university, especially the courses that can be taken may not be as linear as the college majors. Second, besides looking at the courses offered, it is also important to consider the environment, culture and other external factors. Third, overall research on the host university, from access to the environment where they live.
“Look at the courses, see if any are interesting. Moreover, you can choose nonlinear courses, so make sure the knowledge is useful and, indeed, learnable. Then, look at the environment, culture, and other external reasons. Do you feel comfortable living there? If so, then look for an itinerary to the nearest country’s tourist attractions. Does the host university’s country allow us to travel because students need a vacation too. Then, host university research from A-Z, stalk Instagram, websites, etc. Also build a mentality so you don’t underestimate a host university; it could be an interesting choice to make as a second option,” explained Sarah.
In closing, Sarah expressed her hopes after passing IISMA. He hopes the IISMA scholarship will have a particular quota or pathway for underprivileged students.
“Meanwhile, my hope is that I will help younger siblings as much as possible to register for IISMA because I know how difficult it is to select this scholarship program,” she said.
