University of Illinois at Urbana-­‐Champaign Karam Kaisar Hanna Fall 2014 My name is Karam and I got the opportunity to study abroad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-­‐Champaign. The campus is located between the two cities Urbana-­‐Champaign in Illinois, and two hours by train (around three hours by bus) to Chicago City. University of Illinois “U of I” (Also called UIUC) is the perfect university for those who want to explore the real American college life style. Personally, the exchange semester was not only a change of a lifestyle, but also a big challenge. I detached myself from my comfort zone and created memories that I will never forget. I gained a lot of new friends from different countries, improved my English skills and increased my content within my resume. I read the following courses: •
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BADM 310: Management and Organizational Behavior -­‐ A course that was very instructive and "simple". Basic concepts of management BADM 377: Project Management -­‐ Very interesting course with a professor from the business sector. Got the opportunity to learn how real project starts and closing BADM 380: International Business -­‐ My favorite course. Recommend everyone to take this course. Do you want to work abroad or internationally, this is a must in my opinion. It was adapted to the real life and made the theory very fun BADM 381: Multinational Management -­‐ Similar to International Business but in the wider version FIN 461: Financial Intermediation -­‐ A finance course that thoroughly explains the bank's responsibility, financial crisis, etc. Good course if you want to read a bit finance from an American perspective It is interesting that they have a different study system. At Sockholm University, we focus on the exams, and has barely homework, but in U.S. they had homework to almost every lesson (think about Swedish high school). If you go along and do all the homework, quizzes, assignments, etc. you can manage the course without any problem. I did not even write the final exam in International Business because I had already amassed enough points to correspond to 90%, ie an A. Once you've learned how to do the homework the day you get it, you have plenty of time for other things. Accommodation: There are two options: 1. You can apply for accommodation by University Housing. Below you have the link to the website: (http://www.housing.illinois.edu). I did not do this. I heard it was more expensive, and you also had to buy a meal plan. This was unnecessarily expensive because it is cheap to buy food and eat outside in U.S., but it's really nice to have access to all school dining halls and not need to shop or cook by yourself. 2. Arranging accommodation yourself: This is something I choose to do. It is simply to walk around campus and call around on the landlord signs which are posted on the various buildings or through a website called Craigslist. Other things that are good to know: • Mobile phone is expensive. The monthly cost to call or sms free is around $ 50. It is worth noting that it also costs both when calling/texting and when you receive a call/text message in U.S. • You will have free access to the school's two sport facilities: ARC and •
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CRCE. This is included in the mandatory school fees. ARC is, if the rumors are true, North America's largest sports facility, and accommodates including a climbing wall, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, hundreds of exercise machines and a whole host of sports fields/gymnastics halls. CRCE is slightly smaller, but still larger than the gyms I have been to in Sweden, and has additionally a water park. More info on what is offered on the website: http://www.campusrec.illinois.edu/facilities/arc/. You will have free access to buses on campus. This is also included in the school fees. You can quickly and easily check their trip at: http://www.cumtd.com. Take the opportunity to travel around while you're in the US. Chicago is a must. If you have good timing, you can also find really cheap airline tickets to the rest of the country. Try to travel with hand luggage only, as this will save both time and money. I flew with United, Delta and Spirit Airlines. New York was beautiful, but I still enjoyed Chicago more (which is really close to campus). I recommend everyone to take advantage of this opportunity if you get it. You grow incredibly as a person and as a student.