Student Report
Name of the University: Western Michigan University
Exchange semester: Fall 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
I applied before the deadline and received information about my acceptance in April which
gave me a lot of time to prepare for the rest of the process. WMU sent me an information
package with acceptance letter, information about housing and the school. I was informed by
the international office about this package. Because there is a great deal of paperwork and
planning before you can start the exchange program I recommend that you start the process as
soon as possible after you receive your acceptance letter. You can start with:
- Health-Care insurance: All international students must have some kind of health insurance to
be allowed to study at WMU. I signed up for 6 months travel insurance with Gouda
(gouda.no).
- The visa application: Book an appointment with the US Embassy as soon as possible.
- Course registration: Start to prepare for which courses you want to take, they fill up quickly.
(https://wmich.edu/classlookup/).
- Apply for housing.
Applying for a visa
The visa process can be very time-consuming so start preparing for this as soon as possible.
You need to book an appointment with the US Embassy and conduct a short interview before
you can go on exchange to WMU. This interview is nothing to be afraid of and is just a 10
minute conversation with someone from the embassy about why you want to go on exchange
to the US. You also need to apply for the visa and Sevis fee online. If you have any problems
with this part just ask for help from the international office. The visa and the Sevis fee costs
about 300$.
Travel
I travelled from New Zealand to the US. I recommend that you plan on landing in Kalamazoo
and not Chicago unless you are planning on staying in Chicago for a couple of days. I landed
in Chicago and had to take a 2 hour train ride to get to Kalamazoo. If you land in Kalamazoo
the school will arrange transportation from the airport to the school which takes about 15
minutes. The air tickets back and forth costs about 5000-10.000 NOK, depending on when
you order the tickets and the airtime is about about 10-14 hours. I recommend that you get a
two-way ticket, because the one-way tickets are often twice as much as a two-way ticket, to
and from the US.
Housing
All exchange students live on campus in residential halls. You need to apply for housing and I
recommend that you do this as soon as possible because they fill up quickly. I lived in Earnest
Bernaham Hall but I recommend that you apply for Davies Hall because most international
students live there. The housing facilities are pretty old and you will most likely have a
roommate or two.
Costs
Housing costs about 20.000 NOK and includes a room and internet. You also need to have a
meal plan. In every residential hall there is a dining hall where you spend most of your meals.
I had the “Gold Meal Plan” which gave me access to all the dining halls on campus and I
could eat as much as I wanted. I recommend this meal plan because there aren’t many eating
options besides the dining halls on campus. School-books are very expensive in the US. I had
to pay 1600 NOK for one book and we didn’t even use the book in class. I recommend that
you try to rent books in the bookstore on campus or wait a couple of weeks before you buy
books because the professors don’t always use the books in the course description.
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 20.000
NOK 3.000
NOK 20.000
NOK 1.000
NOK 10.000
Culture and language
I did not experience any language problems. It doesn’t take long before you get in the “zone”
and find it natural to speak and study in English. WMU arranges many student activities
throughout the semester. You can join as many activities as you like. During my semester the
international office at WMU arranged a Chicago tour for all the international students. There
where also many “cultural dinners” throughout the semester where students made food from
their homeland to the other students. You can also travel a lot if you find the time. I
recommend traveling to Chicago if you haven’t been there. It is only a 2 hour train ride.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
WMU is located in a small town called Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo doesn’t have many interesting
things to do so you will spend most of your time on campus with other students. The school
has around 25.000 students with around 1.700 international students. The school is very
different from BI. The campus consists of many lecture halls spread around between the
residential halls.
Course registration
You need to register for courses before leaving Norway. The international office at BI has to
approve your courses. I recommend that you start this process early and also write down extra
courses you find interesting because the classes fill up quickly so you need to be prepared if
you don’t get your first choices. This is important, you need to check your student mail
(WMU) after you have registered your courses. This is because WMU will send you an email
if you get the courses you applied for and give you 24 hours to respond. If you don’t respond
within 24 hour from when you receive the mail you will lose your spot in the course. This
happened to me because I didn’t know that I had to check my student mail every day. In
orientation week all international student gets an appointment with someone from the
administration at WMU and they will help you register for classes, this is very helpful. So
don’t worry if you haven’t been registered for all 5 classes, they will help you.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
23.08.2015
01.09.2015
13.12.2015
14.12- 16.12
Thanksgiving
Arrival
There was a one week introduction period for all international students before the semester
started. This was very helpful. During this week other international students from WMU will
be like “faddere” and help you settle in at WMU. There are also many meetings where you
will get important information about the school and the semester ahead. All your
administrative problems will be fixed during this week. So don’t be afraid if you have any
problems with courses, housing, insurance or other stuff like that, the school will help you.
The International Office
If you have any problems or questions go to the international office at BI or WMU, they are
very helpful.
Promoting BI and Norway
I did not do any promotional activities during the semester.
Social activities
There is a very friendly environment at WMU so it is easy to get in touch with other students.
When you are an exchange student you will get a lot of international friends. As I mentioned
earlier there are many social activities during the semester, both serious and non-serious. I
also made friends with some American students but most of the time I was with other
international students. The school has many sport arrangements so you will most likely spend
some time watching football or hockey with your friends. This is a lot of fun and will give
you a real college experience.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style is completely different from BI. The teaching style reminds me more of
high school in Norway. The classes are more interactive where the students have to participate
in discussions with the professor. In some of the classes 10% of the grade was based on class
participation. The classes I took consisted of 30-60 students.
Course materials
Course material was mostly books, articles, handouts and Power point slides.
Exams
I had one final exam in all five courses but my grade was based on the final exam + midterm,
assignments, quizzes, presentations and class participation. I think in most of the courses I
took the level was similar or a little easier than at BI, but the workload is much heavier at
WMU. The exams was mostly based on class notes/power point slides or class handouts.
How was the course evaluated:
o Final exam: written.
o Mid-term exam: 1-2 Mid-terms during the semester .
o In-class quizzes throughout semester
o Small assignments and/or papers
o Presentation
o Group work
o Class attendance
o Class participation/debates
Library and technology
Internet is accessible all over campus. The school has also several libraries, these are nice
facilities. There are also computers located in every building on campus.
Description of courses
Course code & name
FIN3200: Business
Finance
FIN 3510: Investment
Analysis
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
2-hour written
exam + 5
Quizzes
None
The exam and
the quizzes
where all
multiple choice
2- hour written
final exam + 2
midterms +
individual
investment
project
Approved
as
Elective
Comments
FIN 3200:
Business
Finance.
Elective
None
Elective
The hardest
class I took.
20 % of the
grade was
from an
investment
project,
very similar
to “Aksje
NM”. I
recommend
this course
if you are
interested
in finance,
quantitative
problems
and want to
push
yourself.
This was a
very
interesting
course
where you
had to
negotiate
with
classmates
on five
occasions
during the
semester. I
recommend
this course
if you want
to have a
“different”
course than
The grade on the
investment
project was
based on a
report not your
performance
MKTG 2750: Global
Negotiation
Bachelor
5 negotiation
reports + group
presentation +
assignments
This course has
no final exam
but a final
negotiation case
report.
The grades are
not based on the
outcome of the
negotiation
cases but on
your reports
after the cases.
This course
is very
similar to
BØK 1 and
2 at BI.
MGMT: 2700 Intro
Supply Management
Bachelor
2- hour written
exam + 1
midterm +
assignments +
class
participation
None
Strategy
None
Elective
The exam and
midterm was
mostly based on
articles/handout
s from class
BUS 2200: Intro to
Global Business
Bachelor
2- hour final
exam + 2
midterms +
class
participation + 5
quizzes +
All the exams
and quizzes
where multiple
choice
what you
are used to
at BI. The
Professor is
excellent.
This course
was
approved as
strategy.
There were
a lot of
assignment
and articles
to read in
this course
but the
exams
where not
very hard.
This was a
very easy
class. The
workload
was low
compared
to most of
the other
courses.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
My exchange semester at WMU has been a fantastic journey and I recommend everyone to go
on exchange. It gives you a fantastic experience with memories you will never forget. You
will experience another culture and get friends from all over the world. It will definitely be
worth it! Please contact me through the international office if you have any questions about
WMU.