Details

• United States of America
• BaWiSo-19
• Undergraduate
• WS 2024
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

For the application process at WU, I recommend collecting all important deadlines early, especially for documents such as the visa, TOEFL test, and health insurance. This helps avoid unnecessary stress during the preparation phase. My travel choice was strongly influenced by my passion for volleyball. I have always been a big fan of the USC beach volleyball team, and it has been a long-time goal of mine to experience college volleyball in the United States. In addition, one of the players at USC was a role model for me, and the university is known for its strong academics and one of the best college campus experiences in the U.S

2. Accommodation

I stayed at the Lorenzo student housing, where most WU exchange students lived, so I did not look much for other accommodation options. Living on campus would have been similarly expensive, so the Lorenzo was a convenient choice. The residence offers great facilities such as several pools, a rooftop terrace with grills, a beach volleyball court, billiards, table tennis, and even a cinema room. However, there were relatively few people living there at the time, so many of these facilities sometimes felt quite empty. Living in on-campus housing would also be a good option to consider. USC also provides a Lyft Pass, which allows students to take a free shared Lyft within a certain radius around campus after 6 p.m., which made getting around feel quite safe. Living in on-campus housing would also be a good option to consider.

3. Academic life at host university

The academic experience at USC was very impressive and quite different from WU Vienna. Many professors had extremely strong CVs and significant industry experience, and guest speakers were frequently invited to class. For example, in one of my courses we even had a talk by Snoop Dogg, who spoke to us about how to build a brand and shared insights from his own business ventures. Overall, the teaching style felt very practical and closely connected to real-world business.

5. Every day life in the host country

For everyday life, it was actually more practical not to have a car and instead use taxis and public transport. The Metro runs directly from near the Lorenzo to Santa Monica Pier, and I personally always felt quite safe using it. However, I would avoid buses in some areas such as parts of Downtown LA. In general, Los Angeles can feel quite dirty and some tourist attractions are a bit overrated in my opinion, but the lifestyle is amazing. On weekends you can go cycling along the coast, hiking in Malibu, or visit museums in Downtown. There are also many sports events and activities—college football games with tailgating are a wild experience, and the overall sports culture is huge. I also went to a Los Angeles Lakers game, which I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting the city

6. Testimonial

My exchange semester in Los Angeles was an unforgettable experience and definitely one of the best times of my life. The mix of an exciting academic environment, the unique LA lifestyle, and meeting people from all over the world made it very special. I was also able to join the club volleyball team and even played matches with them in places like Irvine, which really completed the whole college experience for me. In addition, LA is a great base for traveling, and I visited places such as San Francisco, Arizona, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Hawaii during my stay.