Plane tickets to Milwaukee

After some hours searching for plane tickets at Finn, Kelkoo and Skyscanner I have found out how to find the cheapest tickets from Oslo to Milwaukee. I have tried these tips on other flights as well (such as NYC, Amsterdam and Bankok) and they really worked for me:

1. Choose the right day to fly: Generally, the cheapest day of the week is Wednesday. The second best days to fly on are Tuesdays and Saturdays. This is probably becuase people travel less on these days.
2. The first flights in the morning are often the cheapest ones: This will make you arrive in Milwaukee earlier, but it might be pretty uncomfortable if the departure is at 4.00 or 5.00 in the morning.
3. Dont buy the tickets from a Norwegian page: I saved more than a thousand NOK by buying my ticket from US Airways directly, paying in US Dollars (5,60NOK)
4. Roundtrips are often more cheap than a one way ticket: a single ticket bought now would cost more than ten thousand NOK, but a roundtrip costs about 6 000NOK. I do not know how the flight companies will earn on this, but it is in my favour so I will not complain.
5. Book in time: Some might say that if you just wait a littlebit, the flights will be cheaper. I have done a little fare-compare and found out that this is not the truth. Try booking as early as possible, maybe even the day that you get the International Travel Guide from Cardinal Stritch.

Paperwork

The list of forms and papers that have to be filled out to get an American student visa is long, so its imporant to start early (as soon as you get the confirmation papers from the university). Here is a step by step guide of which papers to start with:
1. Application for financial support by the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund 
2. The I-901 Form on the internet, has to be done before you pay the SEVIS fee (200$)
3. To make an appointment with the US embassy in Oslo, you need to fill out the DS-156 Form online
4. The DS-158 Form can be downloaded as a PDF-file and printed out (must be brought to the meeting at the embassy)
5. Recomended: Membership form and insurance form at ANSA (Association of Norwegian Students Abroad)

Research on things that have to be done

After some research I have found out that there is a lot that has to be done before one can study in the US. To quickly sum- up: there are forms to be filled, insurances to sign up for, visits to the US-embassy that has to be made, different scholarschips to apply for and practical decisions to be made (such as finding out where to stay, chosing subjects etc.) This I would all have to do during the two months before departure, but just one step at a time.

The beginning of a story

Some write diary blogs about their romantic lives, others write blogs about politics. In my blog I will simply write about my experiences from the student exchange semester to Cardinal Stritch University, that I will make in the Spring of 2010. The story of how I ended up at Cardinal Stritch in Milwaukee is simple: as I attended a lecture about studying abroad, with presentations of different Universities, I heard the words "10 000$ scholarship" and "Central- American city with little crime, snow and breweries" which got my attention. A spark was lit in me, and I applied for the study programme.

After some months of waiting, I finally found a letter in my mailbox saying that i got the scholarship and was accepted at the Cardinal Stritch University in Milwakee, Wisconsin.