<p>I am a foreign student who would like to study for one semester at a University in the U.S. via an exchange program of my own University. A list of these U.S. Universities my University has an exchange program with is presented below;</p>
<p>University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington State
University of Scranton, Pennsylvania
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida
Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia</p>
<p>Now I would appreciate it a lot if you could advise me on which of these institutions to choose. I am planning to take graduate level, Finance (type) courses (maybe also a bit Math), so whether or not the University offers for example quality History, Psychology or Biology courses is not really relevant to me ;). As correctly has already been advised to me by a member of these forums, the experience itself is at least as important to me as a foreign student (as the quality of the education itself). So now my request to you to make 'top four rankings' of the Universities above concerning the following characteristics I feel are important in making my choice:</p>
<p>(1) Best graduate Finance education (or in other words; University with most prestige concerning Finance program)
(2) Most beautiful campus
(3) University with most overall prestige
(4) Best overall choice (in your opinion)</p>
<p>I really really appreciate your advise and insights! Thanks in advance!!</p>
<p>If you're only going to be here for a semester, I'd pick based on surrounding area / environment.</p>
<p>I personally would choose UW. The campus is gorgeous and Seattle is an awesome city. There's a lot of school spirit, and I believe that it's also best regarded in terms of academics.</p>
<p>Iowa, Michigan State, and Florida could be good options too - they're more suburban, so you wouldn't really be experiencing an American city, but they all boast fun, spirited campus life, with solid academics.</p>
<p>Well, you're from the Netherlands, which is pretty flat, so if you want a change, the University of Washington offers the best terrain differential. It probably has the best overall reputation, as well. Grad finance is a bit more difficult to peg. South Carolina has a terrific international business department, but I don't know if you would take grad finance in that area.</p>
<p>Hehe, well I have actually seen quite some mountain ranges during my life already, so that will not affect my decision too much. This next thing will neither be an important factor in making my decision, but still, now you brought up the climate, I am a bit concerned about the general weather in Seattle, especially since I would be going there during the 1st semester of the 2008-2009 academic year... I am definitely not someone who likes to lie on a hot beach all day tanning my skin, but a not too cold and rainy climate, with nice sunny days now and then, of course is always better than a climate which could be qualified as 'depressing' most of the time. The 'Average high/low' temperatures I found on Wikipedia are not really intuitively useful, though. So maybe someone could shortly describe Seattle's (fall/winter) climate for me (or even better, compare it to another city)?</p>
<p>I looked into the Moore School of Business, and their international business program indeed is top notch. However, like you already mentioned, I am more interested in Grad Finance. I think I'm going to signup for 'America's Best Graduate Schools 2008 Premium Online Edition' of U.S.News to see the relevant rankings.</p>
<p>U.S.News is the no. 1 to sign up for if you want to see 'General University rankings', 'Bussines school rankings', 'Finance grad rankings', etc., right?</p>
<p>Finally, it would really make me a lot more confident with my final choice if some more people could give their opinion/advise on which of the Universities of the first post to choose! Thanks all in advance!!</p>
<p>Seattle's weather from about mid-October to early July is generally misty. Seattleites call it "vertical fog." It rarely gets really cold. Many winters go by without snow, though there is snow in the mountains and at the nearby ski areas. Of course, there will be a few clear days, but not too many.</p>
<p>Once again, I can't comment on finance. The answer to the most beautiful campus question is probably the University of Washington. It's on Lake Washington and, on a clear day, you can see across the lake to Mount Rainier in the distance. I can assure you that the Alps offer nothing quite as breathtaking as Rainier. The unjiversity with the most overall prestige is probably the University of Washington, but Florida would be a close second. Purdue has a fair amount of prestige in engineering, but not outside that field, generally. The Big 10 schools have research prestige (Purdue, Iowa, Michigan State). Scranton is virutally unknown to me. South Carolina is near the bottom of the heap, overall.</p>
<p>The best overall choice, I believe, would be either Washington or Florida, with Washington the clear choice if it were I. UW is in a fantastic city with a rare combination of high level cultural attractions and great outdoor opportunities. None of the other schools even comes close to what there is to do and see in Seattle. </p>
<p>Iowa, Purdue, Scranton, and Michigan State will be less rainy, but will still be gray most days with a lot more snow. Temperatures will be much lower than those in Seattle.</p>
<p>South Carolina will be mild. There will probably be no snow, but a few cold days. Florida will be warm most of the time but temps can drop to freezing a few days out of the winter.</p>
<p>Thanks for your post, Tarhunt. I guess I almost can't decide not to go to UW now... :P</p>
<p>Yet, could someone maybe confirm that signing up for U.S.News' 'America's Best Graduate Schools 2008 Premium Online Edition' is the best choice for me if I want to see reliable rankings of Universities concerning for instance: 'Best University in general', 'Best Bussines school', 'Best Finance grad program', etc.?</p>
<p>There is no such thing as "reliable rankings." I'm sorry. They just don't exist. They could exist only if there were consensus about what constitutes "best." Nevertheless, the US News rankings are as reliable as any and I, personally, find their methodology more useful for undergrads than for grads. Still, it is a ranking, it does have value (within and only within the context of the methodology used) and, if you pay by credit card, you should get a good exchange rate on the price. By all means, go for it.</p>
<p>Please note, however, that none of the schools on your list are likely to be among the very top schools in the rankings. I hope that won't disappoint you.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for your answer. Sure I do know the listed Universities are not anything like 'top' Universities, but those rankings will indeed still be useful in comparing the Universities with each other.</p>
<p>I was pretty close to being sure of choosing the University of Washington for studying for one semester as a foreign student. However, as those of you who have read the rest of this thread know, I am specifically looking to take graduate level courses in Finance. </p>
<p>Now after some research I already 'discovered' that going to the UofW to study Finance on graduate level would mean I'd be studying at the University of Washington Business School (Since recently known as the 'Michael G. Foster School of Business'; <a href="http://bschool.washington.edu/)%5B/url%5D">http://bschool.washington.edu/)</a>. This is correct, right? (In the Netherlands we haven't got this system of rather 'separate' schools being part of a University, that's why I am asking to confirm my statement...)</p>
<p>So now my main questoin: Is it indeed the case that if I'm going to study Finance on a graduate level at the University of Washington, that I'll be having classes with people much older than me? Or do the statistics mentioned above only hold for the Business School's MBA-programs?</p>
<p>ps. If someone could clarify the difference between an MBA-program and for instance a 'Master in Finance' (if there is a difference at all...), that would be great! (Taking master level courses in Finance implies taking courses that students who are trying to become a 'Master of Science in Finance' take as well, right?)</p>
<p>MBA schools are graduate schools of business leading to a master's degree in business administration. It is possible to get an MBA with a concentration in finance, accounting, marketing, etc., but it is still an MBA. If there is a master's degree program only in finance in the US, I'm not aware of it. I believe that any school you attend to take graduate courses will end up being an MBA school.</p>
<p>It is typical in the US to work for a while and get real experience before returning for graduate studies in business. The ages of the people at the UW are probably going to be about the same at other schools, but you will want to check their sites to confirm this.</p>
<p>As for studying with these people, I'm not sure I understand your objection. Surely, having a classroom full of people who have actually held jobs in the business world will be beneficial to you. Theory is great, but US classrooms thrive on having people with real world experience push back on ivory tower approaches to real world business issues.</p>