Details

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

1. Preparation

I would definitely not disregard smaller universities, emory for example is smaller than the majority of universities in the US but is also one of the best academically. I would also consider the US more for the WS because of football season.

2. Accommodation

I chose off-campus since I didn't want to share a dorm with someone. I teamed up with someone from the WU and we looked for an apartment together. I would definitely recommend living off-campus but close to campus. You get the same experience as everyone else but have your own room and possibly a living room. We looked for apartments on airbnb and found one near campus for cheaper than the dorms. We were 10mins away by bus and there was an emory shuttle right by our street. Even though it worked I would recommend looking at even closer locations.

3. Academic life at host university

The Business school has its own building with very modern features and a nice outside area. It is a smart school so many people are very motivated and eager to learn. Because the grading is curved, it is very hard to get an A but also hard to fail a class. So even though you have a high score, it might not result in an A just because the rest of the class was also very good. The professors are very nice and are actually interested in getting to know their students. If you have any questions about the coursework or even their career and want some tips, they are always happy to help. I would recommend the Marketing classes and get it accredited for Marketing at WU because it is much easier. They also have many interesting finance courses, though those demand more effort to do well in.

5. Every day life in the host country

Since I lived off campus I depended on the emory shuttles to get to the school, there is an app to track the buses which is very helpful. I always felt safe walking around even at night but I would not recommend going farther into the city alone or by foot. Especially downtown Atlanta is not safe at all. There are weekly events by the business school which present a nice opportunity to meet new people. There are frats which throw parties but it's hard to know when and where these take place, it is easier as a girl if you get to know members of frats but as a guy it is the same as everywhere in the US, very hard to get into the parties. If you don't have any connections to locals then I would recommend the app "Fizz". It is like twitter for the university and often people ask where to go on there on the weekends. The sports centre offers many tennis, squash courts that are free to use and an ok gym. Very practical to go before or after class. Otherwise Emory isn't a sports school, although the soccer team is quite good, it is not a thing to go to games every week. But there are games to visit also in volleyball, basketball and swimming.

6. Testimonial

I loved my experience at Emory since it gave me a lot of fun experiences and real connections. It offers everything you want from an exchange semester without feeling overwhelming. Atlanta as the location made it very easy to travel since the airport is so big.