Iste (Sem 2, 2023)

My Exchange at The University of Washington

I found out about the 360 international exchange programme through a friend (who I eventually ended up doing the programme with). When I first arrived at UW, I was so overwhelmed by how big the university was. We had arrived a few days after the orientation, so everyone seemed to have formed some sort of clique. I think if i had to redo the process, I would definitely arrive on the day of the orientation or even before that! Aside from that, our roommates were super nice and accommodated us and helped us get familiar with areas in the dorm. Our rooms were very spacious despite there being 4 of us living, due to all our beds being lofted.

In terms of courses that we had chosen, we had a lot of courses approved initially and it was an advantage for us because there were courses from my host uni that were not available for to non-majors. Since we had a lot of options, we could narrow down easily. One of those courses were online and it worked out well since we could still go to class if we had any questions. I appreciated all the work the tutors put in for that course and was glad to go to all the office hours. One of the courses was not in my plan to add but added it after going to one of the classes as the lecturer was very entertaining and would throw candies and madelines at us if we had asked any questions. I also loved CSE440 because we actually worked on a project and the pacing was really good. By the time it was time for the final project, we had all the materials we needed! The last course I did was AI for non majors. To be honest, it was quite struggling since I was not that familiar with the professors teaching. Even still, it was fruitful as I had learnt how to better self learn and that is the basic concept of machine learning!

I have a love-hate relationship with the US. I found it quite dangerous to go out at night to downtown Seattle, but since I was always with my friend, it was alright. I visited LA, San Francisco, New York, Florida and Washington DC other than Washington. Each and every one of the places were unique and different from each other. The public transport system is also different, and it is always important to carry small cash if we do not have a transport card. The cost of living was much higher compared to Auckland and thus we had to prioritise what things to by. However, since I was roommates with my friend, it was more manageable since we shared a fridge and other big purchases and food. 

Q&A

What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?

The TAs were super helpful with answering any questions related to HW and assignments in a way that helped us find our answers ourselves. Moreover, there were plenty of opportunities to gain extra credits from every assignment, which helped keep up my GPA. 

Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?

I would recommend joining any clubs and going to CIRCLE events. I met a lot of my friends from those events as we got to play a lot of board games and talk to people of different cultures and explore different celebrations with them. 

What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?

1. Get at least 15 courses approved by their own university before the host uni.
2. Make a plan and budget.
3. Look into professor reviews. 

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?

15k, more than enough! I would make sure there is enough in savings account too (say about 2k?) as you never know what you might end up doing. For example, we never thought about going to LA but decided to since we couldn’t do anything on Thanksgiving and had some savings. 

What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?

I learnt that the best way to enjoy your time there is to make conversation to anyone and everyone. You could learn so much about their cultures and become friends along the way!

Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?

We went to LA, San Francisco, New York, Washington DC and Florida. I think it was a great time to travel since we were all the way across the world anyways!

Final Comments

If you are travelling to other states, make sure to be aware of the hotel costs (whether they cost an extra amount every day stayed which was not specified by the site you booked). Also, be aware of the public transport and know when to use Lift over public transport.