Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

I would definitely go through the previous WU exchange reports. They were really helpful, especially for practical things like housing and what to organize before arriving. I would also recommend getting a travel debit card like Revolut and setting up an eSIM before flying to the US, so you already have internet when you land. For the administrative requirements, the USC exchange coordinators were very helpful and always clearly explained what had to be done next. For the journey itself, I flew with Lufthansa via Munich and arrived three days before Orientation Day. I think this was a good amount of time to settle in and get everything organized before university started. From LAX, I simply took an Uber/Lyft to my student housing.

2. Accommodation

I stayed at The Lorenzo, a private student housing complex close to USC, and paid around $900 per month. If you are going to USC, I would definitely recommend looking at Lorenzo first. It is one of the main places for exchange students and, in my semester, most exchange students lived there, so I think it is quite an important part of the overall USC exchange experience. The apartments are furnished and the facilities are quite cool, with several pools/hot tubs, a gym, basketball and volleyball courts, common areas, etc. There is also a regular shuttle to USC, or you can walk to campus in around 20 minutes. I would recommend starting the housing search relatively early, as the Lorenzo team was not very responsive and some things took a while to sort out. I would also check the exact room setup before booking, since prices vary a lot. A single room costs roughly twice as much as a shared room, so most exchange students I knew went for a shared room. Sharing rooms is also much more common in the US than in Austria. If you already know other exchange students before booking, I would also try to get an apartment together. We did not do that, so we were matched with random roommates. One important thing: even if Lorenzo tells you otherwise, it is possible to get a lease for only six months. So I would definitely ask again and push for that option rather than signing a full-year lease and then having to find someone to take it over after your semester.

3. Academic life at host university

The academic experience at USC is quite different from WU. Classes are usually smaller and more interactive, with more participation, group work, presentations and assignments throughout the semester instead of having most of the grade depend on one final exam. The campus itself is huge and honestly incredible. There are several libraries and study spaces, two large gyms, pools and lots of sports facilities. One really cool thing is that you can even get ECTS for sports courses such as surfing, gym, basketball or golf, so I would definitely look into those when choosing your courses. For course selection, I would recommend checking previous exchange reports, as the workload can vary quite a lot between classes. Course registration is also relatively flexible and you can still switch courses during the first weeks of the semester.

5. Every day life in the host country

Everyday life in LA is very different from Vienna, mainly because the city is so spread out and really designed around cars. We were five students from WU and rented a car together through Turo for the whole semester, which was honestly one of the best decisions we made. Having a car made us much more flexible and meant we could drive to the beach, explore different parts of LA or just go wherever we wanted without always thinking about Uber costs. Public transport exists and can be useful for some routes, but it is quite limited and usually takes much longer. LA is also not very walkable, so even normal trips can easily take 30 minutes by car, and traffic during rush hour can be quite cumbersome. We all got an international driving permit before coming to LA, but the Austrian driving licence itself would also have sufficed. If you want to, you can also get a California driving licence relatively easily once you are there. I did this as well and only paid around $40. I would highly recommend getting a car if you are staying for a full semester, especially if you can split the cost with other students. Besides everyday trips around LA, it paid off a lot for weekend trips. We used it for places like San Francisco, San Diego, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. California and the surrounding states have so much to offer that I would definitely try to travel as much as possible while you are there. Regarding safety, I would avoid walking alone at night in areas you do not know. The one thing I would be very careful about is pickpocketing in clubs. I know more than five people who had their phones stolen during the exchange, almost always while going out. One really useful thing is that USC offers free Lyft rides within a certain area around campus in the evening, so if you are going to frat houses or other places close to USC, you can often get there and back for free. If you are going further out, for example to a club or bar in Santa Monica or Hollywood, I would highly recommend trying Waymo. Taking a fully autonomous car through LA is also just a really cool experience. Social life at USC was probably one of the highlights of the semester. The frat parties are, to a certain extent, like in the movies, and there are usually several parties around Frat Row every week, sometimes also day parties. Since we had a mixed friend group, we also went out in the city quite a lot. Some places I liked were 901, Rock & Reilly’s, Belles, The Victorian, Zouk, Dystopia events and The Brig. For sports, both Lorenzo and USC offer basically everything you could want, from gyms and pools to basketball, volleyball and many other activities. I also took the USC surfing course, which was really cool because you get access to a surfboard. I did not go every Friday morning since we were often already away on a road trip, but having the board meant you could still go to the beach and surf whenever it fit your schedule. LA itself also has lots of very different areas to explore, and I especially enjoyed trips along the coast to places like Malibu, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Santa Barbara.

6. Testimonial

You always hear that a semester abroad is supposed to be one of the best times of your life, and in my case it honestly lived up to that. The five months I spent in LA were some of the coolest experiences I have ever had. We had a huge exchange group with really great people, I loved the city, the beaches and especially the whole US college experience. Everything together made the semester incredibly fun, and I genuinely cannot imagine a better place for an exchange than USC and Los Angeles. #ftfo✌️