Details

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

1. Preparation

Start your semester abroad planning as early as possible. Optimize your GPA and prepare for English proficiency test if necessary (none was needed for my Fall 2025 term at Umich). Choose your university rankings carefully: Your interviewer is assigned based on your top choice (WU assigns the same interviewer for highly ranked popular universities to ensure fairness). Once accepted, search for housing immediately. It is scarce and expensive in the fall term due to football season. Carefully plan your course selection and coordinate early with WU for credit transfers, including mandatory classes. Handle visa requirements and university specific documents (e.g., proof of finances, health insurance) as soon as possible to avoid delays.

2. Accommodation

The best way to find an apartment online is via Facebook, internet platforms, or now also Instagram or Snapchat Stories. This is certainly easier, especially for shorter rental periods such as a semester. There are also dorms. I was once at South Quadrangle and ate often in the dining hall, and I can highly recommend it (especially a meal plan - you can share it with other students to reduce costs by purchasing larger plans). I lived in a two-person shared apartment with another exchange student from St. Gallen. He found our accommodation through reviews from exchange students at his university. It was a real estate company that rents out (unfurnished) apartments. Unfortunately, we were evicted due to a clause in the contract, so I recommend that if you rent an apartment from a real estate company, you should check the contract by Umich Legal Service beforehand. Our apartment was very well located on two bus lines that ran about every half hour. The way to Ross was about 15 minutes at best. The same line also went to several shopping areas. I would generally describe Ann Arbor as very safe, as it is essentially a university town (or rather, the “smaller” towns are more like large villages spread over a huge area). Unfortunately, buses in Ann Arbor do not run at night, but there are $4 Lyft discounts or university taxis (free of charge) that will take you home within a certain area (more information at Logistics, Transportation & Parking > Campus Transit > After Hours). I would therefore choose an apartment within or just outside this radius if possible.

3. Academic life at host university

The infrastructure is really great. The Ross building, which is still quite new, is very impressive and top-modern. There are a huge number of services available, both online and on site. The academic culture is relatively similar to that at WU. Courses are offered in smaller groups (Ross Electives have a maximum of 70 students) with often many assignments and a more personal touch, as office hours with professors are often part of the course and expected. Many professors at Ross not only have a traditional academic background, but have also worked in business themselves and share their experiences - which is very inspiring. Assignments often serve primarily as practice, with finals and midterms carrying more weight. Some courses are more practical than at WU and often use case studies.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transportation in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area is free with the M-Card. Travel to Detroit costs $6 per trip, and to DTW Airport $15. There is a lot to do in Ann Arbor. There are plenty of sporting events to attend - except for football, basketball, and ice hockey, all of which are free for students. Of course, there are also free gyms (e.g., the Intramural Building; the gym at Ross costs about $200 per semester). There is almost everything: cinemas, restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. However, the sporting events are particularly noteworthy. Michigan is in the top 10 in the US in almost every sport. I would definitely buy a football season ticket (if you can't go, you can easily sell tickets via MaizeTix, e.g.). Basketball and ice hockey tickets are usually not that expensive. You can also buy tickets individually (e.g. via MaizeTix, SeatGeek, StubHub, etc.). There are also many sporting events in the nearest big city, Detroit. Tickets for the Pistons or Red Wings are often very affordable, whereas football tickets for the Lions tend to be expensive. Unfortunately, Detroit itself is a bit dead, so I recommend taking at least one trip to Chicago. If you study a lot at university, there is a wide range of dining options nearby. I would like to highlight Chipotle, Panera, and the dining halls. Panera has an Unlimited Sip Club offer where you can drink as many beverages as you want, such as cola, iced tea, coffee, etc., for a monthly subscription. Chipotle is a fast-food chain that offers Mexican bowls, burritos, etc., and provides inexpensive, healthy, and filling food in comparison. The dining halls offer buffets with a large selection of different cuisines.

6. Testimonial

My exchange semester at the Stephan M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan was one of the best experiences of my life. I met amazing people from all over the world, learned a lot academically and personally, and really enjoyed the unique campus, the intense sports culture in Ann Arbor from football games in the Big House to basketball and ice hockey matches, and the amazing trips I took around Michigan and beyond. Stepping out of my comfort zone, living in a new country, adapting to a different academic system and throwing myself into all these new experiences helped me grow a lot and is a big reason why I would highly recommend an exchange semester at Ross to any WU student.