Fall 2014

Greetings from GW!

We hope everyone is doing well. We here at GW have been busy, as we continue to sign new
partnerships and expand our exchange cohorts, both incoming and outgoing.
We wanted to take this time to highlight some new exciting things that are occurring in our office.

Meet Our New Exchange Coordinator

Our office recently transitioned to a new Exchange Coordinator, Hilary
Wilson, who joined the GW Office for Study Abroad team in October. Hilary
came to us from the University of Maryland where she also worked with
exchange students and partnerships. Hilary got her Masters degree from
Boston College and comes to GW full of new and exciting ideas for inbound
exchange students.

Change in TOEFL and IELTS Score Requirments for GW

This past fall the TOEFL and IELTS threshholds for international students have changed. The George
Washington University will now only be accepting students who have earned:
TOEFL - 90 or higher on the internet based test or a 550 and higher on the paper based test.
IELTS- 6.5 Overall Score with no individual score lower than a 5.5

Connect with Us on Facebook and Twitter!

GW Exchanges has transitioned to a combined fanpage with the GW Office for Study Abroad. This
page highlights events through our office, at GW, and in the greater DC area throughout the year.
The fanpage also houses photo albumns from Exchange Orientation Week, semester, and farewell
events. It is open to all prospective and past participants on the exchange program, as well as partner
institutions: https://www.facebook.com/GWOfficeForStudyAbroad
Our twitter, @GWStudyAbroad, also focuses on happenings in the DC area for exchange students,
but also welcomes blog posts and thoughts from some of our students who are abroad or recently
returned to GW.

Enhanced Semeseter Event Schedule

The GW Exchange team has been working to extend our progam offerings throughout the semester.
An internship and career preparation session was held this semester and was a huge success. This
is something we will continue to provide for your students each semester. Outings to sporting events,
DC landmarks, and governmental organizations are also offered each semester on a first come first
serve basis.
More Updates Continued on Page 2

In addition to the activites mentioned above, GW Exchange will be working with several student groups
and departments on campus to provide involvement opportunities for students. These include (but are
not limited to):
GW Student Council- Each semester there will be one chair open for an exchange student in GWs
student government organization. This opportunity is great for students who want to be more involved
in GW event planning and decision making. This also provides a taste of policy making for political
science stars!
FOFAC- The Focus on Fall Abroad community is a living and learning community on campus in the
spring semester for returned study abroad students. Exchange and FOFAC combine on a number
of cultural and fun events throughout the semester. A Cultural Ambassador position has just been
opened up for an exchange student on this committee to ensure exchange voice are heard in regards
to planning upcoming events.
Center for Civic Enagegment and Public Service - This is a professional GW department that we have
started to work with to provide volunteer and community service opportunities to our exchange students
while they are here. Projects range from weekly volunteering at local soup kitchens and shelters to
alternative break trips across the United States. Projects have a human, environmental, and political
purpose.
Farewell Event - This semester the Office for Study Abroad offered a volunteer position to three
students who were interested in event planning and marketing. Students worked with the Office for
Study Abroad staff to plan an end of the semester event to say goodbye to their (70) fellow exchange
student friends. This year the event was a traditional US style Prom. For more photos from this event
please visit us on Facebook or Twitter!

Spring 2014 Blog Scholarship Winners

We are pleased to announce that we have three new bloggers for the spring 2014 semester!
Nima Mesbahi from Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, Aaron Tran from University of Sydney in
Australia, and Ines Palacios from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Argentina. You can follow their
adventures this spring by reading our Postcards from DC blog http://gwexchangepostcards.
wordpress.com/

Questions?
Feel free to contact:
Hilary Wilson, Exchange Coordinator, wilsonha13@gwu.edu
Shawna Bruell, Exchange Program Assistant, sbruell@gwu.edu
General Inquiries: exchange@gwu.edu