I am going on exchange (spring 2018, business major) and am in the process of chosing my preferences. I am looking for a uni where i can have heaps of fun, make friends, have a good social life with that traditional American college experience (dorms + parties). Considerations: -weather: hate winter ESPECIALLY rain (before you ask, westcoast/florida wasn’t an option) -Not fussed about being next to the city, looking more for that ON CAMPUS experience. I heard american unis have that sense of community that australian unis are completely lacking. In this sense, uconn would top the rest since 70% live on campus? -people- not nerdy but also not jerks/cliquey -class sizes- the smaller the better -workload- the less the better. -food- good food because food makes me happy -costs: the cheaper the better. was planning on spending a month afterwards exploring beaches and nyc Any stories from past exchange students would also be great!
@lollipopsnollipop You’re looking at schools in the wrong part of the country if you hate cold weather and rain lol.
my uni doesn’t have partnerships with them unfortunately
Are you thinking of UPenn the private university, or Penn State, which is Pennsylvania’s flagship public university? If you’re thinking of the correct UPenn, about 60% of students live on campus and all freshmen are required to, which I don’t think they are at UMD or UConn. That helps foster the community atmosphere you’re looking for. But Penn’s workload is not small, so I’m not sure you’d enjoy it.
My order would be:
–Penn - IF it is the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (great school in major city with easy access to Northeastern cities). If Penn refers to Penn State then see below.
–UMD (which is a bit further south and not far from Washington DC)
followed by UConn and Penn State in any order
upenn the private one 
Just saw you want smaller workload so maybe UPenn isn’t the best option.