My Exchange at The University of Virginia
My exchange to UVA (University of Viriginia) was a highly enjoyable and unique experience. I was told that US universities have more culture and planned events than in New Zealand and I was not disappointed. Highlights included university-organised events like lightshows and fun runs, club parties and mixers (every club has at least one social chair), formals (bring a suit!), hikes in the fall foliage (Virginia Autumn is amazing!), and the improv club I became a part of.
Through these events and activities, I met a load of awesome people who love the New Zealand accent and are super open to meeting new people in general. I have definitely made some friends for life. As well as my American friends, I met lots of other international students. I was closest with a couple from the UK, a Swede, a Spaniard, and a guy from the Netherlands. I met most of my fellow exchange students through the accommodation I stayed in, a residential college called the IRC (International Residential College). As well as the people I met through the IRC, other benefits included a bunch of cool events like a wine tour, a discussion-based dinner in the rotunda, free bagels every Monday and Thursday and the convenient location situated near tennis courts, the gym, and the classes themselves.
Whilst residential colleges are somewhat on the expensive side, and it does mean you need to stay with a roommate, the location was pretty good and it’s generally difficult to find particularly cheap housing in a student town anyway.
Although UVA is one of the more prestigious universities in the states (it’s considered a Public Ivy school) I didn’t find the engineering school particularly more impressive than UoA’s engineering faculty. Furthermore, my courses didn’t line up particularly well with my UoA papers. This was fine for me because I wanted a fun semester where I wasn’t worrying about grades anyway and on exchange, UoA only cares that you pass. That being said, in hindsight, I would have put more effort into researching courses when picking out my university (even though it seemed like a lot of work at the time).
Although flights are expensive and the exchange rate means that everything costs 1.6 times as much (at the time of writing), I was able to live pretty minimally in terms of activities and food, purchasing a meal plan and mostly just doing stuff on campus for fun.
The insurance I purchased was: ISO International Students Insurance as well as Student Outbound travel insurance (this alone was insufficient for UVA). The visa process is not too difficult so long as you get on to it early. In terms of advice which I have for people, I would say to join a lot of clubs. At American universities clubs are really well set up and are the best way to meet people who don’t spend all their time at frats. My favourites were surf club and improv club but I joined about 6 in total. Also, make sure you plan trips away so you’re not stuck in a college town for your whole exchange, go see the sites!
The parts of exchange which I didn’t enjoy included greek life since a lot of people only socialised with their own frat/sorority and were closed off to meeting new people because of it, the obsession with (American) football and other sports (I’m not really a sports person), and the lack of autonomy I had without my own car and space.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
There was a class called software development essentials which was really good and taught me to write good (readable, maintainable, testable) code.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Join an improv club if you’re funny, an acapella club if you can sing, and a sports club if you play a sport!
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- Put in the effort when picking courses which match at other universities.
- Join lots of clubs.
- Play up the accent – it’s your superpower!
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
My parents very generously helped out with my accommodation and flight related costs. I don’t think I would have been able to afford the exchange otherwise. Make sure you use all your meal allocations and flex dollars if you have them so you’re not spending extra money on food!
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
That I need to stop worrying about things I could have done better or don’t have and focus more on the things I’m grateful for.
Tags: 2023, Engineering, Report