Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

Please make sure to inform yourselves well about your university and read the reports in advance, as you’ll find valuable tips there. It’s important that you really think about which country you’re traveling to and that you can imagine living there for several months and getting to know its culture. Prepare well for the interview and stay authentic. Plan enough time for the application phase so you don’t end up stressed, because at the beginning everything can be quite confusing.

2. Accommodation

I lived in an apartment on campus, which I would wholeheartedly recommend to everyone. It’s close to the university—only a 10-minute walk away (which is really short for Dallas)—and you can meet new people quickly because both international and local students live there. As an exchange student, you will always be assigned a room if you sign up online, so you don’t need to worry about that. Everyone has their own room with a shared kitchen, and it’s ideal for four people. Just so you’re prepared: the apartment comes with nothing except a mattress. You have to buy absolutely everything yourself, from shower curtains to kitchen utensils, and at the end of the semester you have to leave the place exactly as you found it—completely empty. Also, we often had cockroaches, a few geckos, and an ant infestation. So be prepared for some insects.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus has its own shuttle bus that, for example, takes you to the nearest Walmart twice a week, which is really convenient if you need to go shopping without a car. The university also has a gym, a swimming pool, several sports halls, and sports fields. You can use everything for free. I especially loved the different fitness classes (Zumba, Cardio Dance, Core Crush). The campus is very quiet. There isn’t a drinking culture like at WU, but once you’ve found the right friends, you’ll often get invited to frat parties, and there are various clubs that always organize events. Keep in mind that drinking alcohol and smoking are generally prohibited across the entire university campus. About the university courses: they’re all relatively easy (but it depends a lot on the professor). There are many group projects and attendance is mandatory. So please choose your schedule in a way that you ideally don’t have classes on Fridays and/or Mondays. Exams take place twice per semester and are all multiple choice—some are even take-home. Overall, the courses are easier than at WU, but you should expect lots of group projects and presentations.

5. Every day life in the host country

The campus is very safe, has its own police department, and is very quiet. Public transport has improved since they opened the Silver Line, which takes you directly to the airport (I didn’t use it). There is public transportation, but hardly anyone uses it because it takes so long and the network isn’t well developed. Travel times are also quite irregular, so you can almost never rely on it. So we always used Uber/Lyft to get around Dallas, which became pretty expensive over time. The university has many different clubs that you can join even as an exchange student (usually you have to pay a small fee). This is a great way to meet lots of people and get invited to different events. The university itself also organizes a few events, but most of them aren’t really that exciting. The sports options are really extensive, but the university doesn’t have its own college football/basketball team, which was a bit of a shame.

6. Testimonial

The semester abroad was definitely a highlight. It was so great to meet different people from all over the world and to study at a university in America. Since Dallas has one of the largest airports in the world and is very well located, you can travel around really easily—and cheaply, too!! Please definitely take advantage of that to see more of America and maybe even Mexico. Even though my experience abroad was a bit different from what you might expect (without any parties and no drinking culture on campus, etc.), it was absolutely worth the trip. You gain so many valuable experiences, grow beyond yourself, and come back as a different person. It was the best time of my life.