Details

• United States of America
• MASCM-21
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

I am an American citizen so I had much less preparation for my exchange semester in the USA, but I recommend going to all meetings hosted by WU for the exchange semester to keep track of important dates, deposit information, and application deadlines.

2. Accommodation

I used Facebook to find my accommodation. The Facebook group I recommend joining is called "Indiana University (IU) Off Campus Housing & Roommate Search" Facebook groups are one of the more common platforms to search for housing for the semester so you can sublease. I lived in a 3 bedroom home where I had my own bedroom & shared a bathroom with one of the girls. The location was on Washington Street, approximately a 15 minute walk to the campus classrooms. My rent was $750 a month plus utilities. It was also about a 15 minute walk from downtown/the bars. All Master's students in the MBA program have their classes in one building, so the commute is only to this one building which is very convenient. I felt very safe in my home, and in Bloomington in general; the town is very safe and I would walk home at night from friends houses or campus and feel very safe. Tips for incoming students: many students lived in an apartment complex called Woodbridge that was far from campus by walking, but there was a convenient bus route that went to school. Another tip is that the Kroger (common grocery store chain in Indiana) is a little far for walking if you have a large load of groceries, so I would go to a smaller grocery store called BloomingFoods (a little pricier) or my roommate would drive me to Kroger since she had a car. There is another grocery store called Fresh Thyme that is by the Bloomington mall, which there are many buses that go between the mall and campus.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is much larger than WU, but the Master's students take classes all within the same building. The academic culture and teaching style is similar to that of WU, where many courses have weekly assignments and then a project/final exam at the end of the semester. The teaching style is a little more interactive than WU where students are encouraged to have longer discussions in class and we listen to the opinions of students alongside the instruction of the professor. The courses were more business oriented at IU than WU, but that is because this exchange is in the MBA program. There were a few supply chain courses but majority were business or AI or programming related!

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport in Indiana is not comparable to Vienna, but they still have campus buses that run throughout campus and to nearby grocery stores. There are also city buses but they do not venture far out of the town of Bloomington. The town was very safe, as is most of the Midwest USA; I felt very safe walking late at night from campus, friends' houses, and the downtown/bars area. Uber/Lyft also has discounts if you make an account through your Indiana University email. The MBA program has an association called MBAA where the fee is 100-150$ for the semester and you have access to all of the football tailgates, parties, cultural club events, and networking events (food and drinks also provided at these events). The program did an amazing job at having social events every week, as well as movement club activities like running, basketball, hiking, American football, etc. The football games had a tailgate beforehand where you could hang out with classmates and eat/drink before the game. I attended football and basketball games and they were super fun and definitely a great typical American university experience. Indiana University also won the BIG10 championship during my semester here which was fun to experience.

6. Testimonial

I came to America for my "study abroad" semester despite being American because I wanted the chance to network professionally since I am looking for employment in the USA. The program here is so welcoming and hosting so many events, it was so easy to make amazing friendships and try new things. The social culture in Indiana is full of friendly and warm people, and strangers/teachers/friends are all willing to help anyone. The Indiana University MBA program has an Instagram where you can see more of the fun @kelleymbaa