Current options are:

1. HSBC
   $3.97 per month, $3 per ATM transaction

   Pro: ATM is forty feet away from my residences.
   Con: It costs money each month.

2. TD
   $0 per month, $5 per ATM transaction

   Pro: No fee per month!
   Con: Expense per transaction

So my current thoughts are.. how many transactions will I expect to make in a month??

Update: Screw it, I’m going with HSBC.

Btw: I notice all of these posts are from me. Katrina… Teresa… where are you guys??

Katrina: I’m here! =)

Oh and fyi, I bank with HSBC, I like how you are able to transfer money from one account to another completely online even if they’re accounts from different countries. I was able to open a UK account for free with HSBC but normally it would cost about 250gbp. So just see if its worth it for you to open an account (if you’re staying long) or just bank with your home country and suffer getting dinged every time you make an ATM withdrawal ;P

Who knew that Canadians would need immunization shots to go to Europe? Well, according to the SFU Travel Clinic, we do! They informed us of all the general travelers’ health information. There’s a 15 minute travel medicine consultation that costs $25. It’s also mandatory if you are making an appointment with the SFU clinic.

The shots, oh the shots, they didn’t hurt at first… but my sore arms the next day sure reminded me of the pain. With the SFU Health Plan, we actually get up to $150 per policy year for these shots. Unfortunately if you’re not up to date on your shots, it could cost you a pretty penny even with the health plan!

Katrina:

I just had my shot today, ouch >.<

I actually went to a travel clinic by my house and it cost me $40 for the consultation and a lot more for the shot. Luckily I have the SFU plan to help me out with those. Contrary to what the SFU travel clinic said, the doctor actually said I didn’t necessarily need any shots (hmmmm…..) for western Europe but did advise that there has been a breakout of Meningitis in dormitories so it might be wise (but not necessary) to take that shot which I did. Other than that he advised I might want to take a flu shot but nothing else.

I suppose different clinics will give you different advise on what shots you need but as our parents would say: It’s better to be safe than sorry! ;P haha

Katrina:

Just a note to some people out there who might be in the same situation as myself: I actually didn’t get my accommodation contract until Aug 3rd because apparently my email was sent but I didn’t receive it so I called their office to ask them to send it to me again. That being said, I don’t mean you should harass the accommodation people weeks in advance to make sure you get your email but just be mindful of when due dates are and if it seems like it’s cutting it a bit close then definitely give them a ring. ;P

Michelle:
I’m disappointed that there aren’t too many HR classes (just International Human Resource Management and Comparative Industrial Relations, but only the first one counts for SFU credit).

Overall, I’m quite happy with their classes. It’s a nice selection of classes from various concentrations. I ended up picking mostly International Business and Marketing classes. Oh, and I’m taking the Leadership in Action course… we’ll see how that turns out.

Katrina:

For course selection I was able to find enough classes with SFU equivalents for marketing and management science but I must admit there were not many for myself since I am already in my 4th year and the classes I need to take are already limited as it is. I ended up finding 4 required classes plus one International Business class which I wanted to take out of interest.I’m quite excited to take retail marketing since it isn’t offered at my uni =)

All in all I would advise anyone to just plan ahead and preferably go on exchange a bit earlier in your academic career so that you will have more options for classes. Remember that not all the classes listed on the transfer credit database will be available during your semester so it’s always good to have a lot of options.

Every day, we checked the website for Air Canada (www.aircanada.com), prices just kept going up!  As a cheaper alternative, we decided to go with Delta Airlines. We have about two transfers but it brings down the overall price by $300-400. We figure we’ll keep each other entertained during the layovers.

Manchester, watch out!! =)

Teresa:
End of March – Scanned and sent application package electronically to MBS, SFU International sent hard copy separately
Mid April – MBS emailed back about acceptance on Friday – Acceptance letter arrived in mail on Monday!

Michelle:
Did not scan application package to MBS since the package we give to the SFU International office will be forwarded to Manchester via mail anyway.
End of May – Acceptance letter arrived in mail, but MBS did not email me beforehand

Katrina:
(I applied during the second intake (March) and I also applied from overseas because I was away in the Spring so all my communication with SFU International was via email, the  program assistant was very understanding of my situation though I did have to call them on occasion to make sure that I was getting all my necessary forms.)

Mid March – Initial application to SFU International (all documents scanned, photos sent via regular mail)
Mid April – Found out I was nominated to Manchester Business School and received application package
Early May – Completed application package dropped off at SFU International
End of May – Acceptance letter arrived in mail (MBS did not email me beforehand either)

*Because I was abroad, I was exempt from the nomination and pre-departure sessions but I was able to access the resources given to the other exchange nominees. I would reccommend that you attend these sessions because I think the information would be useful, luckily I have Michelle and Teresa to fill me in!

About us:

We are 4th year business students at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. We do not live in igloos (but Michelle wishes we did).

We are having our first official planning session today.  Arriving just in time is Katrina’s acceptance letter at last!  Now we all have our acceptance letters!