Hi guys,
I’m thinking about exchanging to a US east coast university. I’m currently studying at UNSW Australia and was wondering which university you guys recommend. I’m looking for a university that is close to the main city (preferably NYC) but I’m open to other main cities like Chicago etc. Also, I’m looking for a university with a good party atmosphere as well as a great campus life during the day. Another question that is on my mind is how many subjects/courses do you normally do a semester and also how many semesters are in a year?
How old are you? (Depending on age, parties are different).
What Universities does UNSW have exchanges with?
(There are hundreds of Universities that match your wishes, so narrow it down a bit for us… Especially since USNW must have specific Universities it exchanges with).
Universities big on sports often are in college towns, not cities. And urban Universities are often low on sports level, in part because cities have their own teams (NYU, Georgetown, American would all be greatly lacking in the athletic department. Also, if you want a real “traditional American College” campus, urban Universities, especially NYU, don’t really have that.)
The best compromise I see would be UT Austin, plus the UC’s. Iowa State, UConn, UVA would all have big parties and decent sports but they’re all in college towns.
If you want to travel, then UMaryland would work. It’s about 30mn from Washington DC, it has good football, on campus housing (it is residential - students aren’t necessarily local, they come from all over the State as well as from out of state, but after their 1st or 2nd year many students move out.)
Being 20 means you’ll be limited in terms of parties. You need to be 21 to officially drink, go to bars, clubs, etc. Once you’re 21 it opens up more avenues for fun, in DC especially.
Note that NFL = professional football league; in college, future professional athletes work for the NCAA DIvision I.
Football is played about from August to November or December.
I was also looking at Cornell university as it’s the only ivy league we have a partnership with. Does that uni tick any of my questions/preferences stated above?
Well they are into college hockey. Or they used to be, at least.
It is a “work hard play hard” type place. For a lot of students. Yes there are parties. Lots of fraternities.
Most people take academics seriously though. If you go you likely will not be partying 24/7 if you intend to do well academically.
The university has buses running directly to/from the Ithaca campus to midtown Manhattan in New York City multiple times per day. But they are not free, and that bus ride still probably takes 4-1/2 hours each way. It’s actually a little closer to Philadelphia, I think. But not much.
Just to clarify a little more about football. NFL is professional, not college. When athletes graduate or otherwise leave college, they can go to the NFL. Universities have one football game per week, but half of the games are played at an opponents stadium so on average you would have a game every other week in the fall semester. Tickets can be hard to get at some schools so don’t assume you would be easily able to go, especially at a school with a strong football culture.
It is helpful to remember that the continental US is roughly the same size as Australia. When you are doing your planning, think about the parts of the US that you would like to visit, and plan your time and budget accordingly. For inexpensive travel on the East Coast, there can be good options with Megabus and Bolt Bus. Check their websites for more information.
What is your major? Some of the exchange options appear to be restricted to specific majors. That might limit your choices here.
In the US there usually are two semesters or three quarters between September and May. The usual course load is 15 credits each term, and credit hours per clas can vary. For example, a science class that has a lab might be 5 credits, and a literature class might be 3 credits. Generally speaking, there is one 50 minute class period each week for each course credt. All of this varies from one institution to another, so for details, read the course catalogue and class schedule links on each website. For transfer purposes, 3 quarter credits normally equal 2 semester credits.
Check the universities’ housing policies to find out where students live. Some require everyone to live on campus. Some require freshmen (1st year students) to live on campus, but most students keep living on campus after that year. Some only have space on campus for freshmen, and everyone else except exchange students has to find somewhere to live off campus.
Basketball is big at Georgetown, so it’s not really fair to lump it with NYU and American. It otherwise meets all of the OP’s criteria better than almost any other option except Maryland.
BC is a great school in a neat city, but unfortunately it’s not an option. The list of schools is in post #2.
Temple might be ideal: it’s not an athletic powerhouse, but plays solid Division I football and basketball, and Philly is a great city for major league sports. Philadelphia isn’t NYC, but it has a lot to offer, is much less expensive to live in, and it’s very easy to get to NYC or DC for weekends.
I’m majoring in Finance and Accounting. Wasn’t really looking for professional football tickets, just college football tickets. Are college football tickets scarce or are those easy to get? And by the way, the list of unis I can apply for are in the 3rd post.
Oh and also since football is played from August onwards, I’ll be planning on going around then so I’ll be 21. Hopefully, that helps in the questions related to parties.
