Preface

Time flies, and before I knew it, I had reached my senior year in college, yet my future remains full of uncertainties.
I once thought I was performing well in the field of Earth sciences, which is why I decided to enroll in the Atmospheric Sciences department. Little did I know that the deeper I delved into my studies, the more I realized that I had no real interest in science at all. I believe this is a common struggle for many learners.
To say I have no regrets would be a lie, but regretting cannot change any reality.
Thus, I decided to embark on an exchange journey, hoping to study, communicate, and learn new knowledge at schools around the world. By immersing myself in a new environment, I aim to force myself to change and explore.

My Unremarkable Grades

My unimpressive grades led me to convince myself early on to give up on the dream of exchange.
Who would have thought that in my final year, I suddenly went “crazy” and signed up for the school’s exchange program?

• Just meeting the GPA requirement
• Just meeting the TOEFL score requirement

With little expectation, I unexpectedly gained a bit of courage.

The Application Process

1. The Frustration of Choosing Schools

Due to my grades, I encountered many limitations when searching for schools.
Most schools have language proficiency requirements, such as TOEFL scores of 20 or above in “Speaking” and “Writing,” while my scores were even below 15.

As a result, the criteria for choosing schools became:

However, among the many partner schools, such options were actually in the minority, so there weren’t many schools to choose from.

2. Hesitation in the Application Process

The application process for exchange students at National Taiwan University generally involves:

1. Submitting application materials
2. Announcing review scores (with rankings)
3. First round of preferences → Announcing admission list
4. Second round of preferences → Announcing admission list

During the first round, I thought:

But the reality was that European schools either required a second foreign language or had higher GPA standards (like in the UK, but honestly, I think a 3.3/4.3 isn’t too unreasonable; it’s just that my grades are really too bad QQ). So all my preferences in the first round fell through, and I felt quite down.

3. The Mood in the Second Round

I originally planned to give up, but in the end, I still approached the second round with a “just fill it out” mindset and chose a few schools.
My thought was:

As it turned out, I really did make the list.

Through this application process, I learned that taking action is far more important than making long-term plans; you must take the first step to have any follow-up.
Therefore, even if the conditions aren’t perfect, as long as you take action, it increases the chances of success compared to simply giving up.

To Those Who Are Hesitating

I want to say:
Grades are not the only threshold; the existence of a minimum threshold is to encourage more people to try.
Don’t give up opportunities just because you’re not an “honor student.”

Action is more important than hesitation, because opportunities are only given to those willing to take the first step.

▲ This is me taking graduation photos at the main library (even though I haven’t graduated yet)

🧭 Further Reading

➡️ Next article: The Process of Applying for Exchange Programs