Classic form

Exchange program application form with host preferences and unit mapping

An exchange place is only useful if the units taken abroad come back as credit, and that mapping is the part most applications get wrong. This fifteen field form ranks three host universities, records the language of instruction honestly, and puts a four row unit mapping table at the centre of the decision.

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Exchange programme application, Westbrook University

For undergraduate students applying for a semester or a full year abroad. Places are allocated on academic standing and on how well the unit mapping holds up, so the table near the end is the part that decides most applications.

You and your degree

Where you want to go

Rank three host universities in order. Only partner institutions can be listed, and a preference for a partner that does not teach your major in English will be moved down rather than rejected.
#Host universityCity and countryTerm offered thereWhy this one
1
2
3

How the credit comes back

List the host units you intend to take and the Westbrook unit each one would replace. Four rows is the normal full time load for a semester. A mapping that leaves a core unit unreplaced is the single most common reason an application is sent back.
#Host unit code and titleCredit points thereWestbrook unit it replacesCore or elective
1
2
3
4

Documents and practicalities

One reference from an academic who has taught you, on faculty letterhead, dated within the last six months. PDF preferred.

A passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the end of the exchange, and most study visas cannot be lodged until a place is confirmed in writing. Renew early rather than waiting for the outcome round.

Every field, and what it collects

The complete field list, in the order respondents meet it.

You and your degree

Full name exactly as it appears on your passportShort textRequired
Student numberShort textRequired
University emailShort textRequired
Degree and majorShort textRequired
Semesters completed before you leaveNumberRequired
Current grade point averageNumberRequired

Where you want to go

Exchange period you are applying forDropdownRequired
Options: Semester 1 next year · Semester 2 next year · Full year, starting semester 1 · Full year, starting semester 2 · Short winter term only
Host university preferencesTableRequired
Columns: Host university · City and country · Term offered there · Why this one
Language level in the language of instruction at your first preferenceSingle choiceRequired
Options: It is taught in English and English is my first language · It is taught in English and I have met the English requirement · Beginner in the local language, studying now · Intermediate, I can follow a lecture with effort · Advanced or native in the local language

How the credit comes back

Unit mappingTableRequired
Columns: Host unit code and title · Credit points there · Westbrook unit it replaces · Core or elective
Statement of purposeLong textRequired

Documents and practicalities

Academic referenceFile uploadRequired
One reference from an academic who has taught you, on faculty letterhead, dated within the last six months. PDF preferred.
Passport expiry dateDateRequired
Emergency contact, name and phone with country codeShort textRequired
Before you submitMultiple choiceRequired
Options: I understand a place is conditional on my faculty approving the unit mapping · I understand I remain enrolled and liable for fees at Westbrook during the exchange · I will arrange my own visa, insurance and accommodation unless the host arranges them

What each block of this application collects

The identity block asks for the name exactly as the passport prints it, because every later document from the offer letter to the visa has to match, and a preferred name here creates months of correction. Semesters completed and the grade point average are two numbers with real ranges on them, one to twelve and zero to ten, which is what a classic number field can enforce, and the average carries its scale in the placeholder so a four point and a seven point transcript both fit. The preference block ranks three partners with the term offered there and a short reason, so an allocator comparing two students for one place has something to compare.

Why the mapping is a table and not an attachment

Faculties assess mapping row by row, and an attached spreadsheet arrives in a different shape from every applicant. Four fixed rows with named columns means an assessor reads twenty applications in the same order, and it means the core or elective column is always answered, which is the field that decides whether a mapping needs faculty sign off or can be approved by the exchange office alone. It also makes the gap visible: a student who maps three units for a four unit semester has an obvious hole in row four rather than a buried omission in a document. Credit points are asked in the host institution own units, because converting them is the office job and not the student one.

How to adapt this form

A postgraduate exchange replaces the semesters completed number with a research stage radio and swaps the unit mapping for a supervision plan, since coursework credit is rarely the point. A programme that sends students on placements rather than to partner universities turns the preference table into an employer preference table with an industry column and drops the language question to a single yes or no. A university running an internal scholarship alongside the exchange adds a household income band and a costs table after the statement, which keeps the academic assessment and the financial one in the same submission without mixing the two decisions.

What makes this form work

The mapping table has a core or elective column

Four rows of host unit, credit points, the unit replaced and whether it is core. That last column routes the application: a mapping that touches a core unit needs faculty sign off, and one that only replaces electives does not, so the form sorts its own queue.

Preferences carry a reason and a term

Each of the three preference rows asks for the term offered at that host and one line on why this one. An allocator choosing between two students for the same place has something better than rank order, and the term column catches the student who has ranked a partner that does not run their semester.

Two numbers carry real ranges

Semesters completed is capped between one and twelve and the grade point average between zero and ten, wide enough for a four point or a seven point transcript. On a classic form both limits are passed to the input, so a typed 54 instead of 5.4 is caught at the keyboard rather than by an assessor reading a spreadsheet in the allocation round.

Questions people ask

Why does the form ask for the name exactly as it appears on the passport?

Because the offer letter, the host enrolment, the visa application and the insurance all have to match that name character for character. A preferred first name entered here creates a correction chain that can take months and occasionally costs a student the visa appointment.

What is unit mapping and why does it matter so much?

It is the list of units a student will take at the host university and the home units each one replaces. Without it an exchange is a semester of travel that does not count. The table asks for credit points and whether the replaced unit is core, which together decide whether the faculty must sign off or the exchange office can approve it.

How many host universities should a student rank?

Three, and the table is fixed at three rows for that reason. One preference means an applicant who misses out gets nothing in a round that allocates places against each other. More than three tends to produce filler choices that nobody would accept, which makes the allocation worse rather than better.

Does the language question need a certificate?

No. The five options describe what a student can do, from an English taught programme through to advanced local language, and the middle option says I can follow a lecture with effort, which is the honest answer for most intermediate students. Where a host institution requires a formal certificate, the exchange office asks for it after a place is offered.

Why is a place conditional even after it is offered?

Because the faculty, not the exchange office, owns the credit decision, and the mapping has to survive that review. The first acknowledgement tick states it plainly so that no student books a flight on an unconditional reading of an offer letter. In practice most mappings are approved, and the ones sent back are usually missing a core unit.

Should the passport expiry be asked this early?

Yes, because renewal takes weeks and most study visas cannot be lodged until a place is confirmed. Asking for the date in the application means the office can flag a passport that expires inside six months of the exchange end while there is still time, rather than discovering it in the week visas are due.

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