Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

You can prepare as much as you want, if you have an interview in person with 5 other people youre very unlikely to be graded well. I prepared 3 days for the interview (why usa, why san diego, current usa politics, why am i a good fit, previous international experiences, have i been to the usa etc.). I got a 2,2,2,1. With my gpa of 1,7 at that time i got 210th place -> 6th priority which was UIUC.

2. Accommodation

I lived at 309 E. Green Street DO NOT LIVE HERE the management team is terribly incompetent. It was private housing but only students live in this town. Apart from one guy getting shot 200 meters from my house it was secure lol (we are in america after all). It takes less than 15 minutes to walk anywhere here. Tips: dont take a full year lease for fall semester. There are not a lot of people interested in subleasing for spring. I had to give up $2,5k to find someone for sublease.

3. Academic life at host university

Campus is great, everything here is made for students, everything is cheap, courses are very easy, teachers are really nice compared to WU. On further information about my courses scroll down.

5. Every day life in the host country

There is a bus but you walk everywhere here. It is safe, there was only one shooting like 200 meters from my block. There is an event literally every day here, mostly drinking events. This is a huge party/football school so if you go here in fall youre gonna go to all the games which are amazing, tailgating etc.

6. Testimonial

You probably skipped to this part just like i did when i was reading all the exchange reports. You are also probably tired of hearing "best time of my life" or "go to uiuc its great" or reading "ILL" etc. So let me tell you the truth: going on exchange isnt about where or when you go. Its about with whom you go. You can be in san diego lying on the beach, surfing, studying etc just like youre going on holiday but trust me, this gets boring after two weeks. Remember, youre gonna be here for 5 months. The most important thing on exchange are likeminded people, friends. (in my case people that want to party everday and travel as much as possible). You do not have control over who is going on exchange with you. This is random. If youre gonna have the most fun of your life or bore yourself to death for 5 months straight is very little in your hand. There are two things you can do: Apply for an american college and be a chill dude/in. The rest is random. Good thing is almost everyone on exchange has a very outgoing and party mindset so dont worry too much about that. In terms of what else to do: we went to LA, NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, Indianapolis, Mexico and Dominican Republic. Alltogether probably cost me around 5-8k, but was worth every cent. I had the time of my life. Everyday somthing crazy/cringy/weird/stupid/funny thing happended. Not because UIUC is a great college or place to stay (which it is), but because I found the right people that shared my interests (partying everyday, travel, blondes etc.). So what i suggest your next move should be: promote uiuc from 7th to second place on your list, put usc or michigan first, and then like texas,sdsu etc. You're welcome