Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-19
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

For the application I would suggest to do some research about the university itself: What is it known for? What traditions do they have? Are there any particulare clubs you want to join? Some professors whose classes you want to attend? The more you show that you are informed on this matter - the better impression you will leave on the interviewer. As for the time abroad, learn what the state has to offer, how accessible the travelling is. Also before you plan your trips, learn what kind of events are happening and when. A lot of people accidentally booked trips during the Homecoming week or other major events and ended up regretting it a bit. Only bring the essntials, because you can buy pretty much everything for cheaper and you will be very thankful that you left some spare space in your luggage. The university itself is giving out a LOT of free merch

2. Accommodation

I was living in a private residence, Lancaster apartments. I had 2 roommates, one of them was a friend of mine from WU. We chose this location, because it is one of the few places that offered one semester lease, but in the end of July, right before we signed our lease, we received a promotion email (which is very common at that time) and ended up getting a huge rent discount. In the fall it is very hard to find something for one semester only and if you do, it is very overpriced, so you have to make sure you find sublease on time The college town is very safe, 4 mins away from the bar area, 8 mins away from the gym, 7 mins away from the business building, 10 mins away from the main quad, right at the frat row, very good location If you are coming in the spring - make sure to check the snapchat and instagram communities. The demand for sublease is much lower than supply and therefore a lot of people offer the sublease for half the price.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is really big and really beautiful. The classes are really short (50 mins) and are not particularly difficult (dont take ECON303 tho, you will be thankful for it later). The classes are very interactive and the profs actually care about you and are ready to help or to chat with you after the class. In general, it is more personal and the hierarchy is really flat

5. Every day life in the host country

I highly recommend to make some research on what clubs and extracurriculars are there at the university. I went to the Quad Day where all student organizations are presenting themselves. There is everything, starting frmo marketing clubs to acapella clubs, quidditch, cheese club and so many more! I was part of the beekeeping club, improv club and radio club. You can try things you have never tried before. A lot of freinds of mine joined the sky diving club or water ski. Also the school has a very strong sport culture (american football and basketball), but I also recommend going to other sports like hockey, volleyball or, my personal highlight, wrestling There is always something happening on campus, so make sure to follow them on social media to stay up to date. In the evening, people are going to one of three main bars. There is public transport, but it is not that reliable and everyting was in a walkable distance from my place, so I did not really use that

6. Testimonial

The game changer was the fact that one girl created a gruopchat and sent the link during the online orientation. I talked to people from semester and all of them told me that it was very difficult to meet other exchange students since university doesn't organize anything for them. So you should totally do that. My time abroad was really fun and I met so many cool people from different places of the world and will keep this memory with me for the whole life. UIUC offers one of the best exchange semester experiences in the US!