Advice on Schools and Life in the States

[mac]

Hey fellow Kings fans, a very merry and blessed Christmas to all of you!

I'm applying for an exchange program to the USA, and was hoping some of you could give me some advice on what the life and respective areas are like. Here's the list of schools that I can apply to for exchange:

1) Stern School of Business - NYU
2) Marshall School of Business - University of South California
3) McCombs School of Business - University of Texas, Austin
4) University of Washington
5) Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

As you can probably tell, I'm studying business. Appreciate any input or recommendations you may have on these schools, both in terms of academic reputation as well as college life/ what there is to do in the area.

Thanks for the help!

 

[VF21]

One piece of advice? Stay out of California if at all possible. The cost of living is almost beyond belief, with new taxes popping up daily.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Personal preference, between all those I'd go to NYU, which isn't going to be cheaper than USC. Then probably between UW and USC.

As far as "college life" then Austin or Chapel Hill are probably the way to go. They are smaller towns but the campuses are more ingrained into the city ID.

Honestly, you're looking at 5 completely different experiences, almost like choosing between different countries in many ways. You'd probably get the most mileage out of NY as an American experience, with easy travels to other major American cities such as Boston, DC/Baltimore, Philly. The Pacific NW where UW is, it's kind of a love it or hate it thing - some just can't get past the weather, but it's a fantastic region and you're a stones throw from Vancouver, BC which is one of the nicer cities in North America.

All are sound choices academically, so I'd focus on which region you are most interested in and to a lesser extent how much you value "campus life" over "city life".

 

[mac]

One piece of advice? Stay out of California if at all possible. The cost of living is almost beyond belief, with new taxes popping up daily.

Even more so than it would be for a student in NYU? I'm leaning towards putting NYU as my first choice I think, sort of due to the reasons that pdxKingsFan mentioned. If my application goes through I'll be there for a good 4-5 months from Jan 2014 (long way from now!). Let's hope the Kings are somewhat good by then.

Thanks for the input everyone, really appreciate it. Any more suggestions are most welcome.

Weather-wise which are the less cold areas? I can also apply to University of Wisconsin but I think I'd freeze over there. Where I am it's summer all year round, average temperature of about 30 degrees celcius (86 fahrenheit?).

 

[spudfan]

What do you like to do? Do you want to live in a city? Close to the beach? Mountains? Do you like big crowds? Want to need a bus/car to travel or would you rather walk. Pdxkings hit it on the head about getting 5 different experiences. You really have an amazing selection. I am not sure if you are guaranteed a spot at the school but you really can't go wrong with your options.

Tell us a bit more about what you want to accomplish besides your education and it'll be easier to give some advice. The education you get and the power that the names hold is pretty easy to look up online which is why I won't try to add to that.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Weather-wise which are the less cold areas? I can also apply to University of Wisconsin but I think I'd freeze over there. Where I am it's summer all year round, average temperature of about 30 degrees celcius (86 fahrenheit?).

You're going to be there in the winter and early spring so it's going to be colder than you're used to no matter what. Weather-wise, USC would be the nearest to what you're used to, followed by Austin which will only be a bit colder than that. UW will be colder yet, will have a lot of rain, and maybe a tiny bit of snow. UNC would definitely have consistent freezing temperatures overnight with some snow, and NYU would be the coldest and snowiest. If you went to Wisconsin they'd have to chip you out of a block of ice by the time it was over.

I really don't think that cost of living will be higher in Los Angeles than in New York, but Austin and Chapel Hill should probably be a lot cheaper than the other three options.

 

[spudfan]

My sister works at a University in California and is around interns/exchange students often which reminded me of something else to add. She was showing around a couple of students from Japan last week, and those same students are visiting Arizona (Grand Canyon) this weekend for a short sight seeing trip. It would have been a bit more difficult/time consuming for this trip if they were based on the east coast. So along with looking at the place you will be studying I would make sure to think about other places you may want to visit as most of your trips will probably be during short weekends and you will want to minimize travel time. As a California resident I would pick USC... even though I am a UCLA fan You could realistically take trips to Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego, Hollywood area, and some awesome National/State Parks over the weekends. Most visitors I entertain from other countries always want to hit San Fran, LA area and Vegas which would all be a short trip for you.

 

[mac]

What do you like to do? Do you want to live in a city? Close to the beach? Mountains? Do you like big crowds? Want to need a bus/car to travel or would you rather walk. Pdxkings hit it on the head about getting 5 different experiences. You really have an amazing selection. I am not sure if you are guaranteed a spot at the school but you really can't go wrong with your options.

Tell us a bit more about what you want to accomplish besides your education and it'll be easier to give some advice. The education you get and the power that the names hold is pretty easy to look up online which is why I won't try to add to that.

Hmm.. well seeing as it'll be during winter/early spring I'd say the beach is out. I suppose I'd enjoy city life, where I can easily get around via public transport as opposed to having to drive. Is safety/security an issue at all in any of these places?

In terms of sightseeing/attractions I'm pretty ok with anything and everything. I've only ever been to Orlando as a kid. At the moment I would say USC, and Austin sound the most appealing to me weather-wise, and overall NYU sounds pretty good too. I really have no idea what there is in North Carolina.

To sum up: City or near city such that it isn't completely dead at night, doesn't have to be very near to sightseeing places, and the warmer the better though I can hope to adapt. Oh, and I would certainly love to catch a Kings game ... which would make USC the closest choice I suppose. Then again it all depends on the state of the Kings, I may give it a miss if we're still bottom dwellers playing with no Cuz and Reke. Also would like a place where the people are generally more friendly.

 

[JJ22L]

I'm an MBA2 at Stanford and applied to all of those schools (plus a few more during my application process). I would be happy to share my experiences with you. Before typing a novel, I figured I would ask if it would be easier for you to chat over a more conversational media (gchat or phone). Let me know.

 

[Warhawk]

Hmm.. well seeing as it'll be during winter/early spring I'd say the beach is out. I suppose I'd enjoy city life, where I can easily get around via public transport as opposed to having to drive. Is safety/security an issue at all in any of these places?

In terms of sightseeing/attractions I'm pretty ok with anything and everything. I've only ever been to Orlando as a kid. At the moment I would say USC, and Austin sound the most appealing to me weather-wise, and overall NYU sounds pretty good too. I really have no idea what there is in North Carolina.

To sum up: City or near city such that it isn't completely dead at night, doesn't have to be very near to sightseeing places, and the warmer the better though I can hope to adapt. Oh, and I would certainly love to catch a Kings game ... which would make USC the closest choice I suppose. Then again it all depends on the state of the Kings, I may give it a miss if we're still bottom dwellers playing with no Cuz and Reke. Also would like a place where the people are generally more friendly.

You may want to do some research here if this is important. Some cities are large and spread out, outside of San Francisco I don't know if many California cities are considered all that "mass transit" oriented. Southern California in particular is a VERY spread out urban area and California (in general) has a "car culture" for getting around to see and do things.

 

[mac]

Argh got an updated list, NYU is not being offered in the coming academic year. Here's the full list:

Indiana University
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Southern California
University of Texas, Austin
University of Virginia
University of Washington, Seattle
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler
University of Connecticut
Clarkson University