Details

• Mexico
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

Do your research on the courses you want to take, and be sure you look at the recent course catalog on not the one from the previous year! Also read the description carefully, because some courses are rather hard.

2. Accommodation

It's really hard to find private accommodation in Mexico City, so the best option is to reach out to former exchange students or wait until you receive the list with properties from ITAM, but by the time you receive it, most of it is already booked out. Traffic in Mexico City is horrible, so I would stay close to the university (San Angel, Tizapan!) The neighbourhood around the Uni is super safe, I never felt uncomfortable, not even at night. I lived in a student residence called Alpina 11, they had an issue with an administration employee, which kept the deposit for herself and she mentioned that two people are gonna share one bathroom, but in reality it were more. I didnt leave because all the other exchange students were super nice and we had a great bond + it was in walking distance of ITAM.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is rather small compared to WU, but its really cozy! At the beginning its a bit difficult to find the classrooms, but the local students are super friendly and help if needed. Its rather difficult to get in contact with other local students except your buddy which is assigned to you by ITAM, so you probably will be with other exchange people most of the time. The classes are smaller and so participation is very important at ITAM, attendance is very strict with most of the professors. Also a lot of assignments outside of class compared to WU

5. Every day life in the host country

In the beginning its really tempting to use Uber all the time because its cheap, but with the traffic sometimes its not uncommon to need 2 hours for 10km. After the first two months I switched to the public transport, its cheap (6 Pesos / 30 Cents per ride) , safe and you can skip traffic on the metro bus because it has its own lane. The only downside is that it can get suuper packed, even outside of rush hour, I never saw so many people in a bus / metro before. Mexico City is pretty safe, especially the areas San Angel (close to ITAM), Roma, Condesa & Polanco are really safe, because there are a lot of foreign people (mostly from US / Europe). The Centro Historico can get a bit overwhelming in the beginnig, a lot of people there, also people trying to sell you stuff etc. At night it can be a bit sketchy there, so be aware. Talking spanish helps a lot, as many people people dont speak english outside of the touristic areas. Nightlife is super good in CDMX, can be more expensive than europe though! Bars in Polanco, Roma etc are not cheap! Be careful about the police, they might want money from you, if you find yourself in this situation its very important that you bargain down and never accept the first "price"! When doing a roadtrip I would suggest to only drive during the day and evening not deep at night and also always take the full insurance on the car, because there is a high possibility of a tire burst,etc you safe a lot of money with the full coverage! You have a lot of sports options at ITAM and also outside. Every sunday they close down a stretch of 15km in Reforma for Runners and Cyclists, you can also rent city bikes for little money to get around.

6. Testimonial

For me coming to mexico was one of my best decision in my life. It was nothing I experienced before and its very different from what I was used to, the culture, the people, the food, the lifestyle and so on. The people I met also made it really special for me, I made friends for life! Its also a very good destination for traveling in your free time, there are a lot of cheap flights from CDMX to other places in Mexico and other countries as well. The University is very good and the mexican people are super friendly and ready to help in almost every situation!