<p>I posted a similar topic about a year ago, but I have to apply for my semester abroad (fall 2013) in a month and I'm still undecided and there are some new possible partner universities.</p>
<p>I am currently doing my Bachelor in International Business Administration at the University of Economics and Business in Vienna and during the Bachelor program I have to spend one semester abroad, which I want to spend in North-Amercia.</p>
<p>I can only apply for three universities and I have to set preferences within those 3. If I get accepted at my #1 preference, I have to go there. Same with my #2.</p>
<p>I could apply to the following partner universities (my shortlist):</p>
<p>University of Texas at Austin (McCombs)
Boston College
University of Southern California
University of Wisconsin Madison
University of Minnesota (Carlson)
University of Illinois
University of Maryland
University of Pittsburgh
University of Richmond
University of BC Vancouver</p>
<p>I know that all of the universities have a pretty good reputation, but I really don't know anything about college life there. My no. 1 preference probably be Austin at the moment.</p>
<p>Which 3 universities out of my list would you apply for?</p>
<p>All of these are good schools, and your actual degree will come from WU so reputation doesn’t matter much.</p>
<p>It’s hard to answer your question without knowing more about you. What kind of weather do you like? Big city or small town? What kind of activities do you want to participate in?</p>
<p>My favorites would probably be Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, UBC…but that’s just me.</p>
<p>Since you will be in North America for a short time, I recommend that you pick a college in a fun area. I don’t know much about UBC, but I have been to Vancouver and its a lovely city. I also recommend UT -Austin, since Austin is a great city. Austin is a very collegey city with a great live music scene, the Tex-Mex cusine found in Austin is really good. I think both Austin and Vancouver are great places to spend a semester in.</p>
<p>I’d pick Southern Cal for the weather and lifestyle (especially after Wien- you can’t get more different), UMD for access to all of Washington DC’s free arts/political/cultural resources (and the metro makes it easy to get around), and Vancouver (just because I’d like to explore British Columbia myself.)</p>
<p>Truly, you can pick the university based on the location (for convenience to other places you might like to visit while on this continent), the weather (check [National</a> and Local Weather Forecast, Hurricane, Radar and Report](<a href=“http://www.weather.com%5DNational”>http://www.weather.com) for information), and the specific courses that are available to you (read through the websites for this). There isn’t a bad one in this bunch.</p>
<p>I would go for BC, UT Austin, or USC. UTA & USC are in pretty nice, warm climates, but Boston is very nice in the fall, probably slightly cooler in temperature than the others. All three have pretty decent football atmospheres if you’re into that, probably slightly better at USC and UT Austin. However, Boston is the quintessential “college city” in the US. There are so many college kids in Boston, it’s easy to get around, plenty of history, plenty of bars, plenty of parties.</p>
<p>Those three would be my choices. But I’ll be in Boston anyways this fall since I attend BC.</p>
<ol>
<li>Austin</li>
<li>BC</li>
<li>Minnesota (safety, getting in pretty sure)</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m not sure about USC. The campus is located in a pretty bad neigbourhood and I don’t wanna feel unsafe once I leave campus, because I want to enjoy my time there ;)</p>
<p>BC, absolutely. Great city for college students! The campus is practically in the suburbs so it is very pretty, but you are a short streetcar ride from downtown Boston with all the museums, historical sites, theaters, shopping etc. It’s beautiful in the fall :-)</p>
<p>I would put Vancouver second, but I think the university is further out from the downtown.</p>
<p>Which semester would you be in this exchange program? That could affect your choice. As BeanTownGirl points out, BC would be lovely in the fall, but spring semester which would begin with lots of snow might be less appealing.</p>