<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I am currently Junior in undergrad. I am studying in Europe and next semester I will do an exchange in the USA via ISEP ( International student exchange program) Basically, I have 5 options available - West Virginia university, Marshall University (WV), University of Denver, Memphis university, University of Montana</p>
<p>I know WVE and University of Denver are considered the best in their States but I have absolutely no idea about the rest. So what do you think ?</p>
<p>You’re misinformed. West Virginia and University of Denver are NOT considered the best in their states. University of Montana is actually slightly less selective and slightly lower ranked than Montana State. I believe neither Marchall or Memphis are top-ranked in their respective areas. </p>
<p>I would make the decision where to spend the semester based on academic fit (do they have the classes you want/need?) and based on “fun” fit. Is the campus in an interesting place? Is the student body cohesive, or is the school a ‘commuter’ campus with most of the students living away from the campus? </p>
<p>I can tell you about two of these schools: DU (as it’s referred to) is a nice urban campus known mostly for its business, music and foreign relations programs. Denver is a sunny city that offers many urban pleasures (bars, clubs, museums etc.) especially considering it’s not a terribly big city. It’s within a 2-hour drive to some of the best skiing/snowboarding on the planet, and offers great hiking, mountain climbing, road and mountain biking. DU students live mostly on/near the campus; they’re mostly white, upper middle class kids, although there is a growing contingent of international students as well. </p>
<p>University of Montana is located in Missoula, a lovely college town that has a sweet little historic center, a river that offers rafting opportunities and provides a setting for a lot of concerts/cultural events, and surrounding mountains that offer a wealth of hiking/backpacking/climbing/mountain biking. Most of its students are from Montana and nearby states. This being a public school you won’t find as many well-to-do students there as at DU. </p>
<p>Both schools are a great choice if you’re very outdoorsy and physically active. If you’re more of a city person, DU would be the better choice of the two, but remember, Denver is a small city compared to, for example, NY, Chicago or the major European capitals.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the others but WVU is known for being a party school</p>
<p>katliamom, if West Virginia University isn’t the best school in its state - what is?</p>
<p>Lol, BW…that is a trick question. 
I second the Denver recommendation above.</p>
<p>My bad… I had West Virginia confused with that other Virginia. Apologies all around.</p>
<p>Maybe someone NOT suffering from caffeine withdrawal can offer more pertinent advice.</p>
<p>Thank you guys for your time.
My exchange would be for one semester only and I am not interested in rankings and so on but on academics. I will also be on pass/fail system so partying is important :)</p>
<p>For academics, it may depend on your major and whether you need to take any courses during that semester for your major (e.g. sequenced courses like math). If so, check whether the courses match up with those you would otherwise take at your home university.</p>
<p>Assuming you want to do as much travelling as possible while you’re here…</p>
<p>West Virginia and Marshall are the closest to East Coast sites, including Washington DC (only an hour or two away by car/bus), NY, Boston (both of these are longer but would be doable over a vacation). Academically, my hunch is that Marshall is a little better, but neither is top tier.</p>
<p>Memphis is an interesting Southern city and would put you nearer to places like Nashville or New Orleans.</p>
<p>Denver is an active city, and Univ of Montana is in Missoula which is a largish city in the west. Travel to other places will be more challenging from either of those schools, but you can get to the Grand Canyon, West Coast cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, or Las Vegas by plane (relatively inexpensive fares available).</p>
<p>Each of these areas has beautiful spots, and all have friendly people.</p>
<p>Stradmom, good advice, with the exception of describing Missoula as a largish city. It is really quite a small city, in fact, unless you’re totally from the country, many people wouldn’t even refer to it as a city. Largish town, maybe ;)</p>
<p>stradmom, WVU is in Morgantown and is about 4 hours from DC (according to google maps). Marshall is in Huntington, WV ,about 7 hours from DC-not really that close .</p>
<p>“West Virginia and Marshall are the closest to East Coast sites, including Washington DC (only an hour or two away by car/bus.”</p>
<p>Sorry, but this is so inaccurate I had to chime in. WVU, which is much closer to DC than Marshall, is a good 4 hours by bus to DC.</p>
<p>Since you are looking for a party school check out WVU</p>
<p>Some of these do not have good access to public transportation to other cities or even to regional airports. Look for “Directions to Campus” or “Visiting Campus” at each website. Also, check Megabus.com, Boltbus.com, and Amtrak.com to see if there are connections to places you might want to visit.</p>
<p>I would probably rule out University of Montana (really far from most other places and academics are not stronger than the other schools you’re considering).</p>
<p>West Virginia U. is considered by many to be a party school, with some excellent sports teams. It is located in a very nice college town, but it’s not particularly close to any large cities (as others have mentioned, it’s about 4 hours from Washington, D.C.). As with any state school, you can definitely get a good education there, but it’s not particularly known for its academics.</p>
<p>Katliamom has given a very good description of University of Denver. If you have money to fly around the states when you’re here, Denver would be a good choice since the airport is large and has more flights than the airports near the other schools you’re considering. Denver itself is a smallish city, but very nice. University of Denver has a very strong program in business-I don’t know if that’s something you’d be interested in.</p>
<p>Yes, actually I am doing a business major with concentration in finance.
btw, I am studying in an American liberal arts type of college in Europe so I am pretty familiar with the US educational system. What I would like to do is some traveling. I assume WVU is the best for this purpose… 4-5 hours is not that much.
Another thing I need advice about… how much do you think a typical student in a small college town would need provided that I have a fixed meal plan ? I live and study in Paris and I manage with 200-250 euro per week ( roughly $250-$300).
One last thing. Since my student visa allows me to stay and work up to 4 months after the semester, do you think it is plausible to find any sort of internship for the summer ?</p>
<p>The best advice about summer work would probably come from the international students office at the university where you study, and from the career center (if there is one) at your own university.</p>
<p>Before getting too exited about WVU, find out about transportation between there and the places that you want to go. If there are no bus connections, you might need to rent a car, and that is not always possible if you are under 25. greyhound.com is another bus website to check.</p>
<p>I grew up not far from Morgantown, on the Pennsylvania side of the border. Getting from there to Pittsburgh by car will take about 2 hours, and the mountain roads can be difficult during the winter because of snow and ice. (When I lived there, West Virginia wasn’t great about salting and plowing its roads, including the 2-lane roads that go through steep mountains.) USAir dominates the Pittsburgh airport and keeps air fares high. The only plus is that the area is scenic, but I don’t think that’s your priority.</p>
<p>So you guys pretty much discouraged me from going to WVU 
Maybe I will go with Denver
How difficult it would be to go from Morgentown to Charleston (the capital of WV) and then by train to big cites / I really cannot stand using buses.</p>
<p>Amtrak.com is the national rail carrier. I don’t believe that Charleston has any local rail service. Pittsburgh might. Rail service in the US is very limited compared to Europe. Greyhound offers reasonably extensive bus service, but there can be many stops so the trips may take longer than you’d like. If Morgantown has Megabus or Boltbus service, that would be the way to travel. Almost all buses are express, they are very cheap, and they have wifi service. </p>
<p>Ask the program coordinator at WVU how students get around. There may be a ride board on campus where you can post a request for a lift, and there may be student organizations that provide charter bus service to/from certain cities for the longer school breaks.</p>