What school to choose as an i'national exchange student?

<p>Hi everybody! </p>

<p>I'm from Spain (21) and I have the chance of going to the US for the 2008 Spring Semester starting in January 2008 as an exchange student. So I'm opening this thread because I don't really know which college to choose among the possibilities that have been presented to me, so I'd really appreciate any kind of help or advice.</p>

<p>As I'm going to be there for just a semester, I'd like to get the most out of this experience, so student life it's very important. But so are academics.</p>

<p>The schools I can go to are:</p>

<p>-University of Richmond, Virginia: from what I've seen it's a pretty small school with very good academics, but student life doesn't sound that interesting. It's also true that I haven't found a lot of info about the school on the internet. The good thing about UR is that I would not have to pay anything, just my personal expenses.</p>

<p>-University of Miami, Florida: I've heard really good things about UM and it looks like a good combination: good school and student life and being so close to a big city like Miami. There should be things to do all the time, and if you are kind of tired of being at campus, you can always go to the city, even though the school is in Coral Gables. I've been to Miami before. I wouldn't have to pay tuition, just housing and personal expenses.</p>

<p>I'd go in January, so NCAA football would be over by then, hehe.</p>

<p>-University of Florida: one of the top party schools in the US with great campus life and lots of students. From what I've heard there's not much you can do out of campus and around Gainesville, though, but I guess that it's hard to get bored in campus and there's always plenty of stuff to do. As with UM, I'd have just to pay housing and personal expenses.</p>

<p>Any help would be welcome. Thanks a lot!</p>