Exchange Report 2013-2014 Fall
Miami University, Ohio
By Sit Chun Hin Michael (Year 3 ECOF)
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Content Page
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Introduction
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Activity log
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General exchange information
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Checklist
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Contact
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Photos
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Introduction
Miami University, Ohio is a public university in the United States with over 200 years
of history. As many people may question, the reason Miami University has such a
name is because it was built at a location where a tribe called Miami once lived.
Indeed, Miami University was built about 20 years before the city Miami (Florida)
was settled!
Miami University is located in a district called Oxford (another misleading name),
which is a very quiet town and far from the nearest city Cincinnati. It takes an hour
drive and USD70 if you want to get out of town by taxi. If you want to spend your
exchange semester in a big city, this university is probably not a good choice, but if
you want to enjoy some time in a campus of 2000 acres of land and plenty of wildlife,
this university is definitely on your exchange choice list.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, in 2013 Miami University was ranked number
22 under best undergraduate business school. This ranking is pretty impressive
considering some famous schools like Southern California, Wisconsin Madison and
Ohio State all rank under Miami. Setting aside this ranking magazine which may
somehow be subjective, I will still say this school has lived up to my standard to
experience American style of learning and development of critical thinking.
Activity Log
August
Exchange students were required to arrive latest by 12th August. Buses were
arranged by the school to pick us up at the Cincinnati airport at USD30, and after an
hour of bumpy drive we finally arrived at the campus. The reason we had to arrive so
early was that we had to attend an orientation programme which lasted for about a
week. However since school actually started on 26th, I had one free week with
nothing to do. I met a friend during the orientation who was also an exchange
student from CUHK, and we made good use of this free week to travel to Chicago.
We took a taxi to Cincinnati, and then via Megabus to Chicago. The bus drive took
approximately 5 hours, and I remembered that it cost less than USD30 for a round
trip. Megabus is always your good friend when you decided to travel around the
States.
September
In the States, the add-drop period is very long, and therefore you have plenty of time
to try out different courses before you settle down with your schedule. Indeed as I
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recall, you can drop a course even in late October, which is a very lenient act
considered that you actually waste a seat. Speaking about September, it was a very
casual month with a lot of welcoming parties and tours around the campus. I knew a
lot of new friends, and there were plenty of chances for you to chat with local
students and practise your English. We were also invited to the school president’s
house for dinner which was very impressive. One thing in reminder is that although
grades will not be counted toward our GPA in HKUST, some professors take
attendance very seriously and they can fail you if you miss more than 5 classes.
Solution is either you attend every lesson or you refrain from such professors.
October
October was a month full of quizzes and midterms. The grading system of Miami is
similar to HKUST, most courses consists of 2 midterms, 1 project and a final exam. In
addition, most courses are graded absolutely which means you will need to get more
than 60 points in order to secure a pass. Worse still, midterms and finals take up
similar proportion of marks, so it is impossible to miss any of them. Forget about
studying for now and back to leisure activities, the school arranged a bus to take us
to the Cincinnati outlet mall in mid- October, where you could buy famous brands
like Gap, Levi’s and Ralph Lauren at a really low price. There was also a Halloween
party at the end of the month which I didn’t attend due to heavy rain. One
interesting thing to note was that it snowed one day all of a sudden in late October,
and then a couple of days later there were dozens of tornadoes hitting the Midwest
area. I would say the weather of US is pretty unpredictable.
November
In early November, our school arranged a trip for us to Indianapolis (about 2 hours’
drive) to watch a basketball game. It was Pacers playing against Cavaliers. Overall it
was quite a one- sided game, but as a Pacers fans I was so happy to see so many NBA
stars at one time. It was truly a remarkable experience. I would encourage even nonbasketball fans to go watch a game to feel the atmosphere of American sport. They
took it very seriously and even had indoor fireworks inside the stadium. In late
November, we had one week of Thanksgiving holiday, and I travelled to Niagara,
Montreal and Quebec with my friend who was on exchange in Canada. Hong Kong
citizens are not required to apply for a travel visa to Canada, however remember to
get a signature from school before setting off to prove that you will be returning to
the States to continue studies, otherwise you may have trouble when returning to
the States after your trip.
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December
I had loads of presentations in early December. I also had to prepare for my finals,
which all happened in a week time. It was really chilly in December, it snowed most
of the time so make sure you wear enough clothes and beware of the slippery
ground. After the semester ended, I travelled with my friend to Miami (the one in
Florida), Washington DC and New York. We were stuck in the Cincinnati airport due
to a snowstorm, but luckily this airport was one of the very few ones in US that
offered free wifi, so it was not complete torture to spend a night there. Apart from
this delay my trip went on very smoothly. Miami had very good weather, DC was the
safest city I have been to, while New York had so much to visit. There were a lot of
museums in DC, so if you are a museum lover be sure you reserve a couple of days
for this city. I returned to Hong Kong on Christmas Eve, and now I am already missing
Miami University. This exchange experience is truly rewarding and memorable.
General Exchange Information
Visa Procedures
As a Hong Kong citizen, I am required to apply for J-1 visa to enter the States as an
exchange student. You can go online to fill in all your information required and
arrange a time to the US consulate, be sure to start working on it at least two months
before you set off! Also, you will receive some documents from Miami University
which includes a very important form DS2019. The employees at the US consulate
will staple it to your passport, I will advise you not to tear it off since you will need
both your visa and the DS2019 to prove your identity in many occasions. One
important to note is that, apart from the visa fee, you will also need to pay the SEVIS
fee online prior to your visit to the consulate. Print out the digital receipt and bring it
with you to the consulate.
Orientation Activities
The school will arrange a schedule and send it to you about a week before you arrive.
You will be staying in a temporary hall, which the school will charge you at about
USD30 per night (I find this really frustrating because the school did not inform me
this until the end of the semester.) All exchange students will have a different
schedule, so remember to print out your own and don’t follow your friends’ schedule!
The schedule is not packed at all, you will have plenty of time to find your next
destination. There will also be helpers around so you can always ask them for help.
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Just one special thing to say is that you will be required to join a compulsory blood
test, and the school will charge you about USD40 for that.
International Services and Activities
A representative from Miami University called Jenni will be responsible for all our
academics, including enrolling courses, dropping courses and so on. She is very
helpful and responds to emails very fast. I even asked for her advice on travelling to
Chicago and she gave me a lot of suggestions.
The Office of International Education (OIE) also held a lot of activities for
international students, including weekly gatherings and occasional parties. You can
check on their website for latest activities. They also held a party which invited both
exchange students and local students who would be coming to our home university
for exchange. I met a couple of Americans who will be coming to Hong Kong, and we
have frequent gatherings back at Miami and here in Hong Kong.
Accommodations
I stayed on campus for the semester, the rent is USD2664 plus you are compulsory to
join the meal plan. The most inconceivable thing is that you are required to pay an
additional amount of USD1786 which the school charges you for nothing. But the
good thing about living on campus is that you get to know a lot of local students and
there are dining halls within walkable distances. (Lunches cost USD5 and dinners cost
USD6 for your reference.) Also I will advise you to buy a table lamp since it is not
provided by the school. And I don’t suggest you to join the laundry service as it is so
expensive and you can always do your own laundry at the basement of your hall.
If you decide to live on campus, do not choose the North quad. The business school
is on east side, the gym is on south side, and uptown is on west side. It is best to
choose a hall in the middle of the campus.
If you decide to live off campus, please refer to the exchange reports last year. They
mentioned in details about how to find an apartment near the school.
Courses Registration
As I have mentioned above, a representative from Miami called Jenni will assist
exchange students in registering courses. I chose 3 courses from the approved list
and 1 from the pre- approved list according to UST’s site. I just enrolled for the
minimum amount of credits required (12 credits) since other transferable courses
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were not available.
ECO344 International Economic Relations (Prof: Michael Marron)
A very easy but boring course. It is about some theories on international economics,
and there is no need to buy the textbook. There are 3 midterms, 12 online
homework assignments and a final exam, with each exam accounting for 20% to the
final grade. You are required to pay USD50 for the online homework, which again I
find really ridiculous. Professor focused on the powerpoint slides and exams were
generally easy. Attendance will not be taken for this course, but professor announced
midterm dates during class so it is better not to skip class anyway. Very good grade.
ECO385 Government and Business (Prof: James Brock)
I originally wanted to enroll in Money and Banking, which was full unluckily and this
was the only economics course remaining. There are 1 midterm, 1 group project and
a final exam, with both exams consisted of 4 essays. This course is about US
economic laws and some abstract economic phenomena. Since I am not familiar with
the US law system it is really tough for me to catch up. Textbooks are compulsory and
there are readings to do after every single lesson.
This course was complete torture, class was at 8:30 in the morning, and attendance
was taken every single lesson. You cannot be late since the class size was small and
professor will definitely spot you. Also, he will really fail you if you miss more than 3
classes. Only 20 students remained one month after the semester started, originally
there should be 30 of us. I personally did not skip any class and got about 70% for
both exams, a grade B for my project, but eventually I got a D+. DEFINITELY NOT
RECOMMENDED.
FIN417 International Business Finance (Prof: David Shrider)
An easy yet interesting course. This course is an introduction to some economic
theories, different types of markets and some derivative products. There are 2
midterms, 2 group presentations and a final exam. Presentations can be about any
current financial issues around the globe and they are rather casual. Also, if you are
an ECOF major like me, congratulations, you pretty much know everything that will
be covered in this course.
The professor previously worked in an ibank, and he always shared his experience
with us. It was fun to attend his classes, and even though he did not take attendance,
the classroom was always full. This is the best course I have taken so far, definitely
recommended to finance majors. Extremely good grade.
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POL102 Politics and Global Issues (Prof: Matthew Wahlert)
I am very interested in politics and therefore I enrolled in this course. This course
covers a couple of theories on politics, and different parties’ stances on international
issues. There are 2 midterms, 1 group presentation and a final exam. Workload is
pretty heavy, but the good thing is professor will tell you exactly what materials will
be covered in exams, so it eased out a lot of pain.
I personally enjoyed this course a lot, the professor was hilarious and classmates
were very helpful. It is also impossible to fail this course unless you ignore the
professor’s tips and skip all exams. Good grade.
Transportation
Free school buses are provided to take you to the vicinity, including Kroger and
Walmart, where you can buy food and daily necessaries at cheap price. Bus intervals
are around 15 minutes, so it is convenient for you to go around the town. However
there will not be any public transport out of town, and you must take a taxi as I have
mentioned above. For your reference there is a bus company called Baron Bus which
offers one ride per day at 12am to Cincinnati Greyhound station.
Food
Since I live on campus, I usually eat in the dining halls. There are markets on campus
but I suggest you to visit Kroger or Walmart instead since the price is much cheaper.
You can also go to uptown area to dine out with your friends, it is just 10 min walk
from campus. The uptown area is the only place for students to hang around, there
are restaurants, shops, bars and banks as well. An average meal will cost about
USD10-15 in any restaurants, also remember to give 10% tips which is a US culture.
Climate
It is very hot in August, temperature can reach 30C in the afternoon. It starts to turn
cool in September and cold in October. Snow starts in late November and
temperature will drop to as low as -15C at nighttime. It will also be way colder when
it is windy, so always wear enough clothes and bring a hat with you always.
I was fortunate enough to escape a snowstorm that hit Miami in late December
which temperature dropped to -25C. Good luck to those who will be at Miami in
January and February.
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Cautionary Measures
I will say it is safe on campus even at night, but there are some reported cases about
robbery in uptown areas. So try to walk with friends if you have to go out at night.
Cost
I spent approximately 45000HKD on rent and living expenses. Travelling and shopping
used up another 30000HKD, and my air ticket from HK to Cincinnati and from NYC
back to HK cost about 20000HKD. So everything adds up to about 95000HKD.
Others
I didn’t bother to open a bank account or buy a phone card there. I always used my
credit card wherever I could, so a bank account was not necessary in my opinion.
However I will suggest you to buy a phone card in case you have to make emergency
phone calls. I was very lucky to have paid Skype which allowed me to make phone
calls wherever there was wifi connection. But it costs me 400HKD anyway so why not
buy a phone card at first place.
Checklist
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Adapter
Electronic appliances (Electric kettle, hairdryer, laptop, camera)
Clothes for summer and winter
Medicine
Stationery and notepads
ID documents
Comfort food (if you wish)
You can buy pillows and blankets in Walmart at cheap price. Also make sure you have
ample empty space in your luggage when you come since you will definitely do a lot
of shopping in the States!
Contact
You can get my contact by emailing SBM Exchange at bmugexch@ust.hk when you
have any questions. Enjoy your exchange!
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