Details

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

1. Preparation

already book your flight back but with the possibility to change it for free, it will be way cheaper. don't bring to much stuff you will buy it there. go to the stammtisch to meet the people you go on exchange with, it really helps. see if you can meet people that also go to your exchange university in ccc. fill the 20 ects and then try to do as many classes as possible that you can directly transfer to another class because classes are easier there and the freie Wahlfächer you can fill up easily also at wu

2. Accommodation

i had a friend who is from the us and he connected me to some of his friends so i can live with them student apartment next to niemanns, close to green street very safe, the only thing they like to steal packages 10-15 minute walk to my classes don't get the most expensive apartment, you won't spend a lot of time there anyway

3. Academic life at host university

the campus facilities were amazing, they had so many buildings and all of them looked very nice. either very modern or old but like very ornate. they also had a lot of recreational buildings for example multiple gyms you could use for free, where you could participate in any sporty activity you want, also a free indoor and outdoor pool and a sauna. the academic culture was the same as at wu but the classes were way easier. The teachers are ver friendly and even if they seem like they are strict you get good grades. They also have a lot of ways to get extra credits very easily as far as course recommendations go, do as many classes as possible. every course is worth 6 wu ects and they are not even a quarter of the work a wu class would take. so even if you do 6 classes there, you still will have soooo much free time.

5. Every day life in the host country

the public transport there is horrible, if you need to go somewhere further away just take an uber. but normally everything is close by, so you can just walk there. The town is very safe even at night. the first week it seemed a bit unsafe because none of the students hat arrived jetzt so the town was dead but after all the students came to champaign it didn't feel scary anymore If you are a person who wants to try new stuff, uiuc will be amazing for you. there is a club for everything you can imagine e.g. backing club, bracelet making club, ballet club, check club, and so on. you can try so many things as most of these clubs are free or cost like 10$ per semester. there are also very fun sports options, for example the guys we went with were always competing in soccer tournaments or you could go watch baseball for free or go watch basketball for like 12 $

6. Testimonial

it was one of the best experiences of my life but try to also be friends with Americans and not only the people you go there with. do as much as you can because even if it doesn't feel like it, the time is limited and flying by quickly. go travel on weekends and use the time there