Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

I think it is definitely useful if you reach out to the others from WU who are going to the same university, if there are any. This way I could buy the same flight as another student and it made the arrival a little more comfortable. This way we could also split uber for example. We also rented out a car together for our exchange even before arriving. Other than that i think these exchange reports are super helpful for preparations especially in terms of housing etc. For visa and other administrative stuff our coordinators where very helpful and you were always informed for every step you had to do. Another tip i would have is to arrange an e sim before arriving in the US so it is easier to order an uber or search up directions and so on.

2. Accommodation

I was staying at a student dorm called the Lorenzo because thats where everybody from WU always stayed. It is also the place where the most exchange students where from other countries as well which made the experience a lot better and it was easier to see your friends all the time. Because earlier Lorenzo didnt offer a lease shorter than one year we just took over the lease of the WU students before us. I think know you can just rent for 5 months and i would recommend doing that. If you are searching for other roommates texting people from the excel with all incoming exchange students is also a good way to find someone. I was the only girl this semester from WU and i got in a room with a random girl. Which was fine in the end but i could've texted other exchange girls and share a room with them which would have been more fun. All in all I was really happy with Lorenzo. The best thing was that so many other exchangies where staying there. This way you could meet up all the time for hanging out at the pool or for pregames or for going to the gym, eating dinner together etc. Lorenzo had so much to offer: rooftops with grills, many pools outdoor and indoors, whirlpools, a gym, sauna, volleyball and basketball court, ping pong, billard,... it had a very nice exterior almost looked like a resort. The only thing that could worsen your experience there is when you end up with bad roommates. Thats why i wouldnt recommend to get coupled up with random people. I would rather get in touch with other exchange students and try to find a group this way. Lorenzo was a 15 minutes walk from campus but they also offered shuttles which came very regurlaly. The only thing that wasnt the best was the area. Generally, the university and so the Lorenzo are not in the best area of LA. You always have to be careful because they are often weird people outside. But usually nothing really happens the people are just weird. During night the university offers free lyfts (like uber) in that area anyway so you can always use that which is really safe. In Lorenzo itself I always felt safe.

3. Academic life at host university

Campus was amazing, besides the location as i mentioned earlier. It had literally everything you could ask for. It was devided into 2 parts. One part was called USC village. Here you had supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, shops, nail salon, and many options to chill. Here many students spend there time in between classes. My favourite spot was Ministry of Coffee. In the other part of campus were all the different schools including Marshall, which was the Business school. All the facilities were always so clean and there was also security all the time so you always felt very safe. There is also lots of events, markets or fairs going on during the semester on campus which is very fun. Usually you just know about it when you are walking around campus and see stuff. One time there was a Summer Friday pop up which I really liked. Regarding academics for me it was way easier than WU. I rarely had to sit in study rooms and study for hours like I have to do before exams in Vienna. Many exams I had were online and/or open book or even take home so you didnt have to study much at all for the exams. You have lots of group project but thats at WU the case as well. But regardless of the easy exams I still feel like a learned way more during my semester abroad than at WU. All my teachers were so successful in their careers already so it was always so interesting to here their perspectives. Another thing that also surprised me a lot was how incredibly nice all professors where. It was completely different from what I was used to in Vienna. Here you are almost friends with the professor and it really seems as if they really care about you and want to help you be successful as well. We also had lots of guest speakers that were super interesting. In general the courses were way more praxis oriented than what i was used to at WU and enjoyed that very munch and feel like i really learned useful stuff I can use in real life. Courses I took: Cardio Fitness Group: favourite course, best professor, no studying for this Yoga Class: also nice, had to study as well some theory for the midterm, finals was open book and online so super easy, professor also super nice, learned lots of yoga postures and meditation techniques, yoga studio wasnt the prettiest, attendance was pretty strict in this class Business Finance: 3 mid terms and one final presentation, these midterms were not at the same time as the other mid terms from the other classes wich was nice because this way the exams were more spread out, wasnt the most exciting class, but you got good basic knowledge in the finance sector, had actually to study for the mid terms Management Consulting: also very nice professor who had a very successful career, learned things about the consulting industry, exams were open book and take home so super easy as well, the only thing here is that the professor loved to talk about everything so sometimes we didnt even stick to the study guide or did new material and he just talked about random stuff the whole class, but you could do other things on your laptop as well Marketing in Entertainment Industry: very practical class, also very nice professor, great guest speaker, exams were also super super easy

5. Every day life in the host country

I have rented out a car with the other WU students and I am very glad we did that. We were super lucky that we all got along with each other. With the car we could do trips together all the time, we could drive to the city, the beach, basically everywhere we wanted and we were very flexibel. The public transport is definitely not the best in LA. You cannot go everywhere you want with it and it takes also way longer. LA is a city designed for cars and not walkable at all which was annoying at times because you needed basically everywhere at least 30 minutes by car and during rush hours there was always a traffic jam. But i really believe that having a car elevated our experience a lot. Other student were thinking twice about if they want to spend the money to uber to the beach and back on a saturday for example. Regarding safety the only thing I would really be careful about is the pickpocketing. I think at this point I know over 10 people, including me, who got their phone stolen on exchange. It always happened in clubs. Other than that I never had any issues or dangerous situations. Just be careful to not be alone at night in bad areas but thats the case in basically every city. Social life on campus was insane. Th frat parties are exactly like in the movies. Every week there are multiple frats hosting on frat row. Sometimes there are also day parties which are super fun. For girls its no issue entering the parties but unfortunately for guys who are not part of the frat it is always an issue. Sometimes if you know someone it is possible but it was always a hussle. But besides the frats also student clubs are throwing parties where everybody is welcomed. Because we were a mixed friend group we went a lot out in the city as well which also super fun. Some spots I can recommend: Belles, Bar lis, The Victorians, Zouk, events from dystopia, Exchange LA, The brig For sports at Lorenzo or on campus you have the possibility to do basically everything you want. LA as a city has lots of different cool areas you can explore as well but California has even more to offer. I really enjoyed visiting all the other cities on the west coast like laguna, santa barbara, malibu, newport etc. Also there are many national parks which are worth seeing as well.

6. Testimonial

I loved it so much and I really think it was the best time of my life. I got the chance to meet so many nice, fun and inspiring people and it really broaden my horizon a lot. I learned so much career wise but also personal wise. It is definitely so worth it and i cant imagine a better place than LA for it.