Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-19
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

Before heading to NC State, I highly recommend checking out the campus on Google Maps. When it comes to booking your flights, try your best to avoid arriving late at night. If you land too late, the housing office will be closed, and you won’t be able to get into your room. Plus, you’ll want enough time on your first day to hit up Target to grab essential bedding, pillows, and some basic groceries for the night. (min. 70$) Another major tip for the journey: try to book your entire trip to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) through a single airline. US Immigration can take forever, and it’s super common for students to miss their connecting flights because of long lines. If everything is on one ticket, the airline is responsible for rebooking you onto the next flight for free, which saves you a ton of stress and money.

2. Accommodation

So, I lived at Alexander Hall / Global Village. There are some Americans, but mostly international students (the majority being Asian). The dorms are honestly pretty rough, but it is by far the cleanest place and really well-located, the gym and Talley are directly opposite. Still, dorm life is tough; the beds are small and wobbly, and the mattress is terrible. We bought a mattress topper at Target for $10, and after that, it was fine. Some of my friends lived at Wolf Ridge, where you basically share an apartment but everyone has their own room. It's much cozier, but also far away from campus. I wouldn't recommend it because you miss out on the campus life there. So, for 4 months, I would recommend dorm life if you really want to get the full experience. But I would definitely skip Wood Hall and North Hall, especially for the girls it can get really dark and dangerous there.

3. Academic life at host university

I took too many courses, and that is not manageable at all unless you sit down for several hours every day until late at night, even though you use ChatGPT a lot. There is a lot of homework, every day a quiz, and many subjects overlap. In every subject, I had at least 3 exams, usually 4. The subjects weren't hard, but it was definitely a lot. You should absolutely check the professor reviews beforehand. Psychology is a lot of work too, but I would absolutely recommend it really great topics for everyone that are truly important in any life. You can always talk to or message the professors; they will help you personally, and especially as an exchange student, they really give you help to keep up with the courses. I wouldn't go in with the mindset again that it's so easy and that you don't have to focus so much on the university of course, it depends on how many subjects you choose. Also, it’s best to make sure you keep Friday free, which many people usually have free, and/or Monday, so you can travel over the weekend. Because in Raleigh, there isn't much to do. The gym was really my favorite, I absolutely recommend it! They have large swimming facilities there with a sauna, basketball, badminton, volleyball, and tennis courts. Especially pickleball was popular, so that was really the highlight!

5. Every day life in the host country

There are the Wolf buses that run between the campuses, but I only took them 3 times because they also stop at Food Lion. I wouldn't ride the public bus alone, purely for safety reasons. Everyone drives cars, so you absolutely need to find people who are nice enough to always give you a ride. Regarding open carry of weapons, I expected it to be much worse, but in all those months, I only saw one person with one. Still, for girls, the rule is: don't walk around alone when it's dark, not even on campus. We often went to bars on Glenwood Ave; it can be a bit sketchy, but there are always about 15 police cars parked there just to make sure things stay safe. But then again, you have to think about why that is there were definitely 2-3 shootings during my time there. However, you don't really notice it that much. And most people are actually pretty laid-back, so don't be afraid, but don't be irresponsible either.

6. Testimonial

All in all, it was very expensive, but if you are financially able to do it, it was a beautiful experience, especially the basketball games and the university events held every single day. You have to know exactly what you are getting into, as many people were also disappointed. But it really was the true American experience, just like in the movies. You just have to make the best out of it; I recommend it for people under 23 years old, as most people there are between 17 and 22.