Details

• United States of America
• MAECO-22
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

Be proactive and try to talk to other people who are going to the US or went there. The information you get from university institutes is not always helpful or answering all questions you may have. Look up which courses are offered at the university and how transferable they are at WU. Start as early as possible with all things regarding the USA state and visa. You never know what happens in the future, so it gives you a safer feeling having completed all those things early. Furthermore, look for housing in the US early. We got our official conformation from the university too late to apply for university housing, so we had to search for private housing in the city.

2. Accommodation

There are a lot of websites offering private housing, but not all are either trustworthy or highly regarded. So you should do an extensive research and compare all the possible provider and get an overview about reviews and locations. As already said, we had no chance to be able to apply for university housing, so private was the option. The location does not matter that much, as long as you are in proximity to university (I would recommend max. 15-20min). Urbana and Champaign are both pretty safe, I never had a bad experience or strange feeling, since the residents in both cities, especially with proximity to the university, are basically only students or people working for the university. Sometimes you can also find a good option at websites like AirBnB, especially if you are only there for one semester. Overall, you have to be proactive to search for accommodation, since you won`t get much help from the universities.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is very nice with a lot of green areas to sit and take a break. It is a bigger campus compared to what most europeans are used to, with basically a whole city just working for this university and adjacent restaurants or bars. Regarding the academic culture and teaching style, the groups are small and the interaction with the professor is more personal and intensive (if you want) than in Europe. However, the grading and exams are pretty much the same as here, so you don`t really have to adjust for something different. Professors are interested in their students life and want to help if there are some problems, as there is a regular weekly office hour (or more) you can go to an talk to the professor about the content of the course, as well as other things.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport in Urbana/Champaign is free as soon as you have your student card. Overall, I had a safe feeling, as already described before. Additionally, the student card gives you free access to two gyms and the chance to participate in various sport courses. Furthermore, you can join the university team in a lot of sports. Social events are nearly every day, especially at the beginning of the semester, where you can talk to people from the US and all around the world. There are also some bars and clubs, but the options are limited.

6. Testimonial

Great experience to learn about different cultures, not only the US. Was able to make friends from countries all over the world. Got a feeling for everyday life in the US, as well as similarities and differences compared to Europe.