What's it like doing a Semester/ year abroad in America?

Yep I totally agree that the experience is what you make it and I have more of a why not? attitude rather than why? lol I'd be interested in experiencing how Film making is taught in another country and learning certain differences.

Are you considering going to a film school in the states? NYU's is a well-known one.. My history teacher actually went there for a year haha

Yeah, I'm ready for the cold, I will have 5 choices to put down, I will probably put 3 Canadian universities down as I'd have more chance of getting in (study abroad is quite competitive). Then I'd have two or threechoices for the US/HK/Australia, maybe Maryland and NJ, I want to be as close to DC/NY as possible, I visited for 5 days in 2009 and loved it! NY was buzzing! DC was more like London but was less populated.

It's pretty good. There's so much that's different, but you seem particularly interested in the social side...

Chambana is kind of unique because you can get into bars at 19. I'm lucky being 21 already, but it's very strict if you're not. Plenty of drinking still happens at house parties, though. I can't really comment much about Greek life -- you have to commit a lot of time and I don't really see the benefit if you're not there full time.

I found it a bit of a mess having an uncooperative roommate and living with freshmen taking 100-level courses. I haven't gotten to know my neighbours that well -- a lot of of them are from in-state and and lack of a kitchen area makes a big difference.

Instead, it all seems to revolve around the big events like holidays (Halloween, Mardi Gras, Unoffical St Patrick's Day) and sports (tailgating football games). There's a silly number of clubs and societies at UIUC just given how many students there are here.

The accent thing is just a novelty... kind of like being rich or famous, I guess? It gives you some extra leeway with assignments and stuff, too, but the kinds of places that offer exchanges are fairly cosmopolitan already.

Hey, I spoke to you about this on a previous thread. Are you aware that not all degrees at Manchester have lots of options of uni choice? For my degree I only had three choices, whereas English/Law etc had many more universities to choose from. Not all degrees can do study abroad...

What degree are you actually going to be studying? I can then find out if you will actually be able to go abroad.


EDIT: Just contacted them and they've advised that you email them directly with your degree programme to: [email protected]
They said that the options vary a lot with regards to what semester you may be abroad, what grade average you'd need, etc so it's best to contact them directly.

I think I asked you too! I'm looking to study History, and the department said everywhere was open to me except University of California.

I'm kind of mad I just found this thread. I'm currently in my second year at the University of Maryland.

I absolutely LOVE this school. For me, it's perfect. The location is great. The campus is located 9 miles from DC, so students often go there for a night out or during the day to chill. Most of the clubs in DC are 18 to get in, 21 to drink, so you'll be fine. Annapolis is also about 30 minutes away (it's a beautiful, historic, waterfront city). Baltimore is 45 minutes away. If you're looking for a school in a populated area I think Maryland is your best choice.

The University has about 35,000 students, of which 25,000 are undergraduates. There's a ton of international students just because we are so close to DC. The school is very diverse and pretty liberal. We also have one of the largest Jewish populations of any school in the country. The school is almost 1/3 Jewish.

As for the social life, it couldn't be better. If you like to party, Maryland is the school for you. Everyone drinks. Sports are huge here, too. Particularly football, basketball, lacrosse, and soccer. We consistently have one of the best soccer and lacrosse teams in the country and games are so fun to go too. I'm just assuming you have an interest in soccer since you're British, but soccer is big here. The games are very well attended and one of the most fun things to do on campus.

The academics are also good. We're consistently ranked as one of the best values in public education in the country. Our engineering, journalism, and business programs are particularly good.

Here's a video of the school, showing some of the campus, the lacrosse game against Duke, and of course the partying (which is the focus of the video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgmRhFV3Orw

Honestly, how could you not want to come here after watching that video? Jk, but seriously, this school is incredible and I highly recommend it to you.

Oh, and I forgot. Our campus if effin' beautiful. We have the longest collegiate mall in the United States. And last not but not least, our alumni do big things. Some famous alumni include Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets (he actually created The Muppets for his major here), Larry David of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld fame, Sergey Brin (one of the co-founders of Google), the guy who created Under Armour went here, Carly Fiorina (former CEO of Hewlett-Packard), one of the co-founders of Sirius Satellite Radio, and the list goes on and on.

I keep thinking of more reasons why this school is awesome. The DC metropolitan area is the wealthiest and most educated part of the country. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Also, if you're into music, the DC music scene is exploding right now. So many great concerts, venues, and artists are coming out of the DC area.

So, yeah. You should go to MD. PM me if you want more info.

Awesome

Also, how long does it take for Manchester to decide if you've made it or not? Because if I'm unsuccessful, obviously I'll need to look for accommodation for a full 2nd year, so I'd like to know soonish if I'm going or if I've been unsuccessful. Thnx

Hi everyone, I've just accepted a university offer with a year in North America. The universities are Iowa State University, the University of Kansas and the University of New Mexico, I was wondering if anyone had any info on these universities? Mainly in terms of social life as I'll be looking up the academics more closely nearer the time. Also, I know this has probably been asked above, but I'll only be 20, and the drinking age is 21, is it really strict on this in the US? If so, will it affect the social aspect of university that much? Are any of the states these particular 3 universities are situated in stricter on things like that than others? Really don't want to go back to being underage again ): Hate having an August birthday!

One of my friends is at Kansas for his year abroad and he is absolutely loving it. He's been to NYC, Boston, Arizona and Washington. He's really close to Chicago and goes regularly, and says Lawrence (where the uni is) is fantastic. He's been to countless parties, he's not 21 yet but it hasn't appeared to be a problem for him.

But you should remember that many of the people you know out there won't be 21 either - but they wont have the drinking culture background that you'll have had from living in the UK. It's not common to have a bar on campus like it is in the UK, and you'll probably find that alcohol isn't 'quite' as dominant as it is in the UK.

I'm glad you have spoken about the DC area and MD with such passion and excitement. I'm doing my study abroad year at Washington College which is in Chestertown, MD, not too far from Annapolis and DC. Any clubs/bars/shops/restaurants you recommend in either DC or Annapolis?

One of my friends is at Kansas for his year abroad and he is absolutely loving it. He's been to NYC, Boston, Arizona and Washington. He's really close to Chicago and goes regularly, and says Lawrence (where the uni is) is fantastic. He's been to countless parties, he's not 21 yet but it hasn't appeared to be a problem for him.

But you should remember that many of the people you know out there won't be 21 either - but they wont have the drinking culture background that you'll have had from living in the UK. It's not common to have a bar on campus like it is in the UK, and you'll probably find that alcohol isn't 'quite' as dominant as it is in the UK.

I've addressed this before on this site, but I feel the need to say it again. Just because the drinking age here is 21, doesn't mean kids under 21 don't drink. We all drink here, just like you guys over there. Most people start before they get to university, meaning they're usually 15, 16, or 17 when they start. Everyone in university drinks here.

And yes, alcohol is extremely dominant on college campuses here. It's everywhere.

I always see this complaint on TSR (about the drinking age being 21 and wondering whether or not to study abroad because of that). Trust me, if you want to drink, you will drink. And you will find thousands of other kids to drink with and unlimited places to do it. Yes, it might be a little more inconvenient because of the drinking age, but speaking from personal experience, I have never not drank just because the drinking age is 21. Drinking underage is not difficult to do or get away with here.

Yeah, I'm not saying people don't drink in America..but my point was about the CULTURE. It's completely different to here in the UK. And again on the dominance point, that's why I was careful to say not "quite" as dominant. It's simply not. Campus life in the UK revolves more around alcohol than it does in the USA, plain and simple.



Thanks for this info. I'm 20 and will turn 21 when I'm out there so should be able to sample a bit of it all. I want to travel to Baltimore, Philly etc as much as I can so I wont be leaving any stones unturned. I'd like to see College Park and Ocean City as well. Thank you for your help