<p>Currently I'm going to Vienna University of Business and Economics and during the Bachelor program in Business Administration I have to spend one semester abroad. My university has a wide range of partner universities worldwide, but I definitely want to go to America. I went through the list of the partner universities and these are my favourite ones:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ohio State University – Fisher College of Business</li>
<li>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - College of Arts and Sciences (not Keenan Flagler)</li>
<li>University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)</li>
<li>University of Texas, Austin</li>
<li>University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign – College of Business Administration or College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</li>
<li>University of Michigan, Ann Arbor</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin, Madison</li>
</ul>
<p>So I have to create a top three list for my application. I have to decide where I wanna go before my application, because if I get accepted at my #1 preference, I have to go there. Same with my #2. That's how the program works.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the University of British Columbia. The others are all very highly regarded large, public universities with very highly regarded business programs. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. But because each has its own fan contingent here on CC (most often alums or parents of students), I’d be cautious about making decisions based on opinions expressed here.</p>
<p>These are all excellent universities, and I am sure you would enjoy your experience at any of them. I have lived in Vancouver, BC, one of my favourite cities in the world, but if I had to choose one university from your list it would be the University of Texas at Austin. I served on the faculty there and found it a very congenial place in a fascinating city. Austin would both confound and support any stereotypes about Texas you may have: very cosmopolitan but very much in touch with its southwestern heritage. Europeans are often surprised that the central part of Texas was colonized by Germans, Czechs and other people from central Europe. Austin is also home of a very active popular music scene.</p>
<p>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - College of Arts and Sciences (not Keenan Flagler)</p>
<p>What about UNC? I’d really love to go there, but would you go there if your not able to get into Kenan Flagler Business school but only College of Arts and Sciences?</p>
<p>I’m also planning to apply for a Master program at an American or British university after my graduation in Vienna. Does the reputation of the university where I’m going for that one semester influence my chances of getting into a good Master program later? Which of the universities of my last has the best reputation?</p>
<p>The university you attend for one semester in North America won’t matter for grad school, so I recommend going where you think you’ll enjoy yourself the most. </p>
<p>That said, I would rank them like this, purely subjectively:
<p>Does somebody know anything about Baruch or Babson college? They seem like decent business schools, also partners of my university. Or would you prefer the universities from my list.</p>
<p>I forgot age and intelligence were directly correlated, sorry, I’ll go back to my sheltered world and insular high school life now.</p>
<p>On a serious note, I reiterate what I said earlier. While your undergrad school in Vienna will matter, the consideration given to where you spend just one semester in grad school admissions will be so negligible that you should choose based on where you think you would most like to live for a semester.</p>
<p>Austin, Chapel Hill, Madison, and Ann Arbor are all quintessential college towns and good places to ‘experience’ America. Vancouver, obviously, is much too large to be a college town, but is extremely pleasant and clean nonetheless, and has beautiful surroundings to boot. Columbus is an okay city, and I don’t know much about Urbana.</p>
<p>If, however, all you care about is business school ranking, Michigan’s business school is the most renown of all of these, followed by UNC and UT Austin.</p>
<p>Go to UT-Austin. It would offer you a totally different experience – it has different weather/climate, architecture, environment and student composition from Vienna University of Business and Economics, your current university. Michigan has the best reputation in your list, so it’s also worth considering.</p>
<p>UBC in Vancouver is the most different culturally. You won’t experience “American culture” rather Canadian, which is different.</p>
<p>Vancouver feels a lot like a European city in many ways. UBC is a great school (but is very large) and Vancouver is a world class city with lots to offer, and the surrounding area is wonderful, as well.</p>
<p>Babson is a college that specializes in business. Its proximity to the city of Boston could be considered a great plus.</p>
<p>Austin is a great location. You will have the “American culture” experience of living in Texas, but Austin has a vibrant and cosmopolitan arts and cultural scene that some people are surprised to find in Texas.</p>
<p>Texas and North Carolina are hot in the summer.
Wisconsin, Illinois, Boston and Michigan get quite cold in the summer.
Vancouver has a similar climate to Vienna.</p>
<p>It won’t really matter for graduate school that you went to a business school or undergrad arts and sciences program. In the end, you probably want the best overall experience possible - socially and academically. I would rank them on the criteria on what I think I myself would enjoy the most as an international visiting the US:</p>
<p>UNC-CH (amazing, awesome school that is very friendly)
University of Texas-Austin (really nice US City, lots of action)
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Wisconsin (this or Michigan would be a tough choice)</p>
<p>I would throw out OSU and Illinois (socially and academically last). I don’t know much about UBC.</p>
<p>I would not consider Baruch (not a great rep here) or Babson (just doesn’t have the energy of the schools you’ve listed above).</p>
<p>I don’t know much about these schools’ business programs, but if I had to pick one of them for myself, going by overall reputation and campus vibe, it would be UMich. I would put down UNC-Chapel Hill and UT Austin as my second and third choices, respectively.</p>