My Exchange at the University of Connecticut
I found out about the 360 International exchange programme through my own research. My brother studied full time at a college in America and one summer after hearing about his experiences I wondered if it was possible to do a year or a semester over there through uni and researched and found out about 360 international then. I had not seen any emails about it before. I had been to America before and had had great times there so was looking forward to moving there for four months. Moving to Connecticut, however, a state I had not visited was a little different that I expected. I knew it was going to be cold but not as cold as it was and did not expect classes to be so small at the college compared to what I was used to at UoA. One of my classes had 7 people. My accommodation was not quite what I had expected it to be. It was further off campus than I thought it would be considering it was technically on-campus housing. I probably should have researched this further before deciding on my roommate and accommodation.
Orientation was really beneficial for me. It allowed me to meet everyone else on the exchange and make friends which ended up being some of the people I was closest with during that semester. One of the highlights of my semester was going to watch the basketball games on campus and in particular watching UConn win the national championship and being able to watch some of their March Madness games in person which was lucky enough to be hosted at UConn the semester I was there. Also being able to witness some ice hockey games was really fun as we don’t have that in NZ. The teaching style was very different at UConn compared to my classes at home. They were all smaller classes and much more discussion based lectures/lessons which is very different to my classes at UoA. The courses themselves were all very interesting and I loved all of them. I also found that the professors seemed much more willing to help you out and want to help you. They were much more approachable and I loved this about them and their teaching style. Life on campus was so great. There were always sports games to go to or activities being run by different clubs or the student board so you would never be board. They also sometimes run trips out of the university which is quite cool. One I went on was to New York to watch The Lion King on Broadway.
The food was pretty standard but there was always a wide variety at the dining halls so you will always be able to find something that you want. Some challenges of my exchange was probably trying to make friends outside of other exchange students and my roommates friends. Because there weren’t many people in my classes, everyone spread out in the classroom so no one really talked to each other which made making friends in these classes difficult at times. Some advice I would give to students thinking about the exchange programme is to absolutely do it. It will be the best time of your life, that you’ll never forget and it’s a privilege to even get the opportunity to do it. I would advise to look very closely at what courses are offered at the university you’re looking at and make sure there are enough you are willing to take because it is very likely you won’t get all of your top picks. But, in saying that, also make sure to communicate with the exchange advisor from the host university and stress what papers you really want to take as they might be able to help you out. Another piece of advice I would give is to join clubs and get involved as much as you can. I did not join any clubs as I had classes on during the club orientations and that made it much more difficult for me to make other friends. I would also recommend looking at a campus map when deciding on accommodation to see how central your accommodation is to classes and dining halls as this was a bit of a challenge for me as it was either a 30 minute walk one way which was not fun in the cold, or a bus ride.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
One highlight of my academic experience at UConn was that the professors seemed much more involved and gave more help/feedback to each student. This may have just been because I had small classes but this made each class feel more comfortable and welcoming and I was more likely to go up to the professor and ask for clarification or help that way. Another highlight was how much more relaxed it was compared to classes back home. Although I had a full workload, taking 5 classes, it didn’t feel like too much as there was always time to do things, people to ask for help, and so many tips and rubrics to look at to figure things out.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
I would just recommend going to all of the sports games you can. I don’t think any other country does it quite like America and don’t think any other school does it like UConn, particularly with their basketball teams. It is something I will never forget and will always wish I can go back and experience it one more time. There is so much going on with them and it is so entertaining, you’ll never get bored. I would also recommend getting involved with Huskython as that is quite rewarding as well as oozeball!
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
One of my top tips would be to research thoroughly where each accommodation is in relation to dining halls and classes. I only looked at what each dorm looked like on the inside and made my decision based on that which made it a bit harder for me to not only make friends as I was further away from main campus, but also harder to get to classes each day. Another tip I would say is get involved in absolutely everything that is on offer. You will regret it if you don’t, I know I do. Say yes to everything and you’ll get the most out of your exchange. Another tip for future exchange students attending UConn is to buy merch to fit in and represent the school at games but not to get too much as you often will get free shirts at some games. Another tip would be to not stress so much about your school work as you only need to pass. Make sure you’re not passing up fun opportunities/activities because you’re stressed about your schoolwork.
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?
I would say I spent more than I thought I would, mainly because I got carried away with buying merch but I did have the money as I had budgeted for my travelling that I am doing after this exchange. I think I budgeted maybe 5k for the exchange and probably spent a bit over this but I was also buying groceries as I made food at my apartment rather than getting the meal plan since I was further away from campus. Some lessons for future students would be that it all adds up much quicker than you think it does and that the exchange rate does not help at all. I would also advise looking at where your accommodation is located and whether you are required to purchase the meal plan as sometimes it can be cheaper to make your own food and buy groceries.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
One of my most significant takeaways was that honestly not everyone is going to like you and you won’t be everyone’s type of person and that’s okay. Not everyone will put in the same amount of effort that you do and you shouldn’t let that takeaway from the amazing experience you get to have. Another takeaway is to just trust yourself and that you’ll do better than you think you would and to not put so much pressure on yourself as you only need to pass so you should try and get involved in as much as you can.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
Because Connecticut bordered a couple other states this made travel to them quite easy and convenient. Flights can also be relatively cheap especially if you only take a carryon or you could split the cost of renting a car with friends to be able to travel a bit further which is fun. During my exchange I managed to travel to New York, Boston, Maine, Rhode Island, Florida, Tennessee and Texas, all of which I loved and would definitely recommend.
Is there any advice you could share about accommodation options at your host university and/or in the local area?
I lived on-campus in an apartment. I applied for this through submitting a housing application where I stated my max limit for how much I was willing to spend on accommodation and then filled out a roommate application form and could start matching with potential roommates. Because I attended in the second semester I had to find someone who had a spare/empty bed in their room rather than being able to room with whoever I liked best. This made it more difficult when finding a roommate and made it more limited which meant my accommodation options were also limited and the best were probably not available so this is something future exchange students should keep in mind when deciding which semester they want to attend in.
Do you have any advice on what mobile phone apps and/or phone plans that were useful in your host country?
I used Wise for my payment method as I was able to open a bank account in America and transfer my money to that with less fees. For public transport I just used apple maps and that worked quite well and used the bus app provided by UConn to keep track of when buses were coming.
I used and eSim from Mint Mobile for the first three months of my exchange as they had a cheap deal on for new customers and I would definitely recommend that plan as I had no problems with it all. You may need to find another plan after those three months though as the only other options once those three months finish are 6 months or 12 months. I used Global ESim after the three months with Mint and would not recommend them as I had a lot of problems with that eSim and could not call which was a struggle sometimes.