How to apply for Erasmus+ and Mevlana Programs ?

  This part of the blog is mainly dedicated for the students who want to apply for Erasmus program and Mevlana exchange programs at Kyrgyz Turkish Manas University (KTMU).  However, Erasmus is supported at many other Universities as well. So, it may be helpful for other University students as well J 

Erasmus Program logo 

  

Erasmus + exchange program (  The application procedure ) :
      Erasmus+ exchange program The Erasmus Programme . Erasmus stands for - EuRopean      Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students.  

   It is  is a European Union (EU)student exchange programme established in 1987. Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, is the new programme combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, which was started in January 2014.
 You can learn more about it at https://esn.org/erasmus
    METU and Manas Kyrgyz-Turkish University made an agreement a couple of years ago only, before than we'd had only Mevlana program. 

   I applied for the Erasmus+ exchange program in December of 2016.So, I was quite lucky that when I was in my second year I was eligible to participate.
Erasmus eligibility criteria:

• GPA: 3.50 
• TOEFL:  TOEFL paper based test version   (Guys, no need to take an official TOEFL. Unofficial TOEFL of PbT format taken at AUCA is absolutely valid) 
• Students of the 2^nd and 3^rd years.

Please first see the advisor in the International relations office to learn about which documents are required for the application. It may vary from time to time.

Erasmus+ Program application requirements:  (When I applied)
- TOEFL pbt or Ibt results (it is up to you, which one you take)
- Recommendation Letter from the Professor
- Motivational Letter (max.600 words)
-Letter of Purpose (max.250 word)
-Academic Transcript
- Student Certificate of enrollment
- There are application forms one should fill out. You can obtain them from the coordinator of the International Relation’s Office (IRO)
The announcements about this program are usually made by the IRO. Sometimes once a year , sometimes twice. It depends on whether the main sponsors of this program open the quotes for Kyrgyzstan. Sometimes they are out of enough funds and therefore they cut quotes for some countries.

For the ones who want to apply:  Try not to miss the announcement. Starting from September, always check the announcements on the official site of KTMU (manas.edu.kg )  or the official website of the International Relation’s Office iro.manas.edu.kg
When I first applied , they announced it in late December on  iro.manas.edu.kg. However, the following year they announced it on manas.edu.kg in late September. So, it varies each year. Try to check both websites and do not hesitate to ask from the coordinator at IRO. (IRO is on the second floor of the Rectorate)
 

(However, if you are not completely eligible. Let’s suppose, either your TOEFL points are low or your GPA is not high enough. You can apply for Erasmus+ without scholarship. It means you won’t be able to receive any scholarship , but will have to cover all of your expenses by yourself.)

Scholarship:
 It must be the most important part about Erasmus. Although life in Turkey is not as expensive as in Europe. It is comparatively more expensive than in Kyrgyzstan.
 The Scholarship for Erasmus is : 800 Euros per month + full coverage of the two way ticket to and from Turkey.  However,  once in Turkey, students are first given the 80% of the total amount of the Scholarship. The rest 20% are given with the successful completion of the program.
 
  The RESULTS  about your successful acceptance are announced quite in a short amount of time. In my case, it took only two weeks. But in other cases it can take from up to one to two months. It is still not  so long.J There were times I had to wait for 6 months for results for another exchange programs previously.
This is basically it for Erasmus + application 😊


But, It is a bit different for Mevlana Exchange program:
   I applied for this program when I was still in Turkey. I had previously left the documents in Kyrgyzstan to one of my friends and she later submitted them when the application started. I chose METU again because it fit me best out of all other Universities.

Mevlana Exchange program logo

                Mevlana Exchange Programme is a programme which aims the exchange of students and academic staff between the Turkish higher education institutions and higher education institutions of other countries. With the regulation published in August 23, 2011 (num: 28034), students and academic staff exchange between Turkish higher education institutions and higher education institutions of other countries has been possible. Different from other exchange programmes, Mevlana Exchange Programme includes all higher education institutions in the world regardless of their region.  You can learn more about it at http://www.yok.gov.tr/web/mevlana/anasayfa

Here is some information about Mevlana application procedure :

  Eligibility Criteria: 

- GPA 2.50  (minimum)
-No need for TOEFL (Unless you applying for Universities in Turkey where academic language is English. Just like at METU )
- 2^nd year students only.

It is important , that you see the coordinator of the Mevlana Exchange program to obtain required forms of application to fill in.

Application requirements:
-  Academic Transcript 
- Filled in Application form
- Certificate of Turkish language proficiency
- In my case, I also submitted my TOEFL score report because at METU, all classes are taught in English. And therefore they require that students prove their proficiency of English language.

Scholarship:
Mevlana exchange program scholarship amount is 900 (Turkish liras) per months (it is about 95 euros). They also first give 80% of total amount and give the other 20% with the successful completion of the program.
Sometimes, students are accepted without scholarship. One can not know for sure if they can be given scholarship or not when applying. It depends on which University in Turkey you choose.
Through Mevlana there are more Universities of Turkey who have agreement with KTMU, unlike Erasmus +  through which KTMU has an agreement only with METU.  Therefore, with Mevlana program, students have more options of Universities in Turkey to choose from.  However, one can choose only one University out of those who have agreement with KTMU. So, you should search well for universities that best fit you.
The application usually starts in early Spring and the results are announced in late Spring.

Do not be afraid to try your chance for this great opportunity and good luck for the ones planning to apply through these two programs. I hope this blog can be helpful. If you have any further questions, leave in comments below. I will try to answer them J