Exchange Semester at UIUC

28 March 2023 - 28 mins read time
Tags: Study Travel

In this report, I want to share my experiences that I gathered during my study abroad semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in the USA during the spring semester 2023.

Table of Contents

1. Application and Preparation Process
2. Housing and Dining
3. The Campus
4. Courses
5. Free Time Activities and Recreation
6. Traveling
   6.1. Nashville / Smoky Mountains
   6.2. New York City
   6.3. Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls
   6.4. Cleveland, Pittsburgh
   6.5. St. Louis
   6.6. New Orleans
   6.7. Washington D.C.
   6.8. Indiana Dunes National Park
   
7. Cost Overview

1. Application and Preparation Process

The application process is a two-stage procedure where one first has to apply to TU Darmstadt for one of the exchange spots, and after receiving one, submit an application to the partner university.

In the application at the TU, you can list your top five choices and prioritize them while explaining why you want to attend each university. As I wanted to go to the U.S., I included all four TU Darmstadt partner universities in the USA in my selection. Ultimately, the UIUC was my top choice due to its excellent course offerings and ranking in computer science.

Applying to the partner university felt like a formality as it only required personal information to issue the necessary documents (the DS-2019 form) for entry and proof of sufficient financial means.

After receiving my acceptance from UIUC, I booked my flights and submitted my visa application. To get to the university there are two main options for arrival: either fly to Chicago and take a bus or train to the campus, or fly directly to Urbana-Champaign (yes, there is an airport, even though it's tiny) as I did. However, the more common approach is to fly to Chicago and not directly to the campus.

2. Housing and Dining

For housing, I decided to live in University Housing to have the full American study experience. If you meet the deadline, you can choose which of the many halls to stay in and, if you know someone, you can also choose your roommates. In the US, the term "roommate" is more literal than back in Germany, as you really share a single room. There is a kitchen for everyone in the hall (although it's not suitable for cooking), and usually, there are communal bathrooms. Having grown up in Germany, I've become accustomed to the importance placed on insulation and energy efficiency in building construction. In comparison, I've noticed a couple of differences in certain American buildings, for example in my dorm. Firstly, when the heating inside becomes excessively warm during winter, opening windows seems to be the only recourse, as adjusting the heating system is not possible. Secondly, it's worth mentioning that some windows lack proper seals, which can result in drafts even when they are closed.

You eat at the so-called "dining halls," where you pay at the entrance and then have all-you-can-eat. There is always a choice between different dishes, which are generally good. However, it's not easy to eat healthily there. Along with the housing contract, you also sign up for a meal plan, which means you have a certain number of meals per week to use at the dining hall. Personally, I chose the cheapest meal plan, which was 12 meals and 15 dining dollars (which can be used to buy snacks at various locations) per week. As I often was off-campus on weekends, it was enough for me.

3. The Campus

With over 50,000 students, UIUC is a very big university, especially compared to the TU Darmstadt. The campus is also very large and it takes about 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other (on the main part). It has his own area between the cities of Urbana and Champaign called "Campustown" and is divided into four main areas: the Main Quad, the Engineering Quad, the South Quad, and the Urbana-Champaign campus.

The Main Quad is the oldest and most recognizable part of campus. Around the green space in the middle, that students use to relax as soon as the weather allows it, are the most recognizable buildings of the university, such as the Altgeld Hall, the Illini Union and the Lincoln Hall that accommodates a statue of Lincoln whose nose students touch for luck before exams. Next to Altgeld Hall one can find the Alma Mater statue, which is the symbol of the university.

4. Courses

All engineering students from abroad had to take the course "ENG 298 - Design Your Experience" which was a course that helped us to get to know the campus and the university as well as American culture. Besides this course, I took the following courses:

• CS 441 - Applied Machine Learning
• CS 443 - Reinforcement Learning
• IS 445 - Data Visualization
• STAT 542 - Statistical Learning

The first thing I realized about courses in the U.S. was that they require more work during the semester than in Germany. Grades are mainly made up of homework and quizzes, exams usually only contribute with a small percentage compared to what I am used to in Germany. The numbers of the courses indicate the year of study in which they should be taken. A 400-level course should therefore be taken in your fourth year. However, this is not a strict rule, and I was able to take all courses without any problems as a third-year student but especially for exchange students there more exceptions. But there were rules restricting the choice for students from abroad: we could only select two computer science courses even if we were CS students. Also, we were not able to choose courses from certain departments such as the business school.

5. Free Time Activities and Recreation

Besides the many green spaces students use to relax, there are many other opportunities to spend your free time. The Japanese Garden right next to campus is a nice place to take a walk or just spend an afternoon and relax. There are also many sports facilities, such as the ARC (Activities and Recreation Center), where you can do sports for free as a student. One place I can really recommend is the U of I ice arena where students can ice skate for free during public hours (the rental fee for skates is 3$). The Illini Union hosts many events on a regular basis, such as Trivia, Karaoke or film nights. It also accommodates the "Rec Room", a place with bowling lanes and a lot of pool tables that students can use for a very small fee.

Even though we have university clubs in Germany, it is nothing compared to here. There are roughly 1000 so called RSOs on campus that you can join. There is a club for almost everything, from sports to music to politics. I joined the Traveling Illini club which organizes trips to different places in the U.S. I was able to visit a whole bunch of places with them, more on that in a later section.

Unlike in Germany, university sports in the U.S. are huge and very popular. There are many sports teams that compete national leagues. The most popular sports are football and basketball. The university has its own stadiums for football and basketball matches. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend a football match because it is only in the fall but I could a few basketball matches. The atmosphere in the stadium is incredible and the fans are very passionate. Such an event does not only consist of the match of itself but also of things happening around it, such as cheerleaders, a marching band, and a lot of other things.

For people who like going out, there is Green Street, a street with many bars and restaurants. There are also some clubs in the area. If you want to go to one of these, make sure you wear a pair of old shoes or get a dedicated pair of "bar shoes", as many locals do, because the floor is usually very sticky.

6. Traveling

As I mentioned before, I joined the Traveling Illini club. They organize trips to different places in the U.S. I was able to go on eight trips with them

6.1. Nashville / Smoky Mountains

The first trip I went on was a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee. We left on Thursday Afternoon and arrived in Nashville in the evening after a five-hour drive. There we walked across Broadway and had dinner before we headed to our AirBnB which was located outside the city center. The next day we visited the Parthenon, a replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. Afterwards we headed to the city center again where we had lunch at one of the most famous fried chicken places: Hattie B's Hot Chicken. After a long stay in the queue, we finally got our food but I am not sure if it was really worth the wait. Afterwards, we explored the city further, especially Broadway with all the places having live music is a must see.

On Saturady we left Nashville and headed to Pigeon Forge, a town close to the smoky mountains. There we visited the Pigeon Forge Island, a small amusement park with a lot of shops and restaurants. From there we left to our AirBnB that caused a lot of trouble: when we arrived there at around midnight, our code did not work and the host did not provide us one that worked. This was my first and only bad experience with AirBnB. We ended up finding a hotel where we eventually arrived at two in the morning.

In the morning some of us decided to get up very early to experience the sunrise in the smoky mountains. Unluckily, our hotel was further away than we thought and we arrived at the sunrise spot just after the sun had risen. Nevertheless, it was a very good decision to get up early because we were able to see the smoky mountains in the morning light which was a very beautiful sight and we had more time to do hikes in the mountains. After we went to a small waterfall (Cataract Falls) and a small cave (Arch Rock) we met up with the rest of the group and drove up to the Newfound Gap, a place where you have a great view over the smoky mountains. Right next to it is the Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail that goes 2,190 miles (3.500 km) from Georgia to Maine. We did a short hike on the trail and then headed back to the car. On our way back to Champaign we stopped at the original KFC in Corbin, Kentucky.

6.2. New York City

The second trip I went on was to New York City. I left with a group of Traveling Illini on Thursday afternoon, drove to Chicago O'Hare and took a plane to Newark in New Jersey. We had to check our carry-on luggage in since the flight was booked out. As a result, we left our bags in the boarding tunnel where the airline loaded all of them, with exception of mine, on the plane. It took them two more days to bring it to Newark. Our AirBnB also was in Newark which was a very sketchy area as we then found out.

On Friday, we took the train to New York City and explored the city. First, we walked along the High Line, a park built on an old railroad track. From there, we walked to Little Island, a park built on a pier in the Hudson River. Afterwards, we walked to Central Park and ate at Chealsy Market on our way there. After a walk through Central Park (which btw. is gigantic) we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the most famous museum in New York City. After dinner we went ice skating at the Rockefeller Center. We ended the day with a walk through Times Square.

On Saturday, we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. On our way to the ferry, we visited the 9/11 memorial. We took the ferry to Liberty Island and walked around the statue. Afterwards, we took the ferry to Ellis Island where we visited the museum about the history of American immigration between 1892 and 1954. Later that day, we walked along Wall Street, looked at Brooklyn Bridge and walked through Chinatown. On Sunday we had to wake up very early to catch our flight back to Chicago.

6.3. Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls

During spring break I went on a trip to Canada. I left Friday morning to the O'Hare airport in Chicago to catch my flight to Toronto which was delayed due to tornado warnings so I arrived very late that evening. Over the first days, I visited the Aga Khan Museum, the CN tower, walked through the city and took a ferry to Toronto Island. The Aga Khan Museum is a modern museum about Islamic art and culture. The CN tower is the tallest building in Toronto and has been the tallest building in the world for 34 years. The price for going up is 43 CAD which is about 35 USD. The view from the top is amazing and you can see the whole city. Toronto Island is a small island in Lake Ontario which you can reach by ferry, the price for a round trip was 6 CAD. It has a small amusement park and a beach but since I was there in March, it was freezing and everything was closed. To get food, I often went to the St. Lawrence Market where you can choose from a wide variety of dishes.

On Monday I took the train to Ottawa, a five-hour ride through snow covered landscapes. The trains (VIA Rail) were very comfortable because of a lot of leg space and had free WIFI that worked moderately. Compared to German trains, they are more comfortable, but also much slower. In Ottawa, I walked around the city and the parliament hill and visited multiple museums. The first museum was the Bank of Canada Museum which is a museum about the history of money and the Canadian economy. The second museum was the Canadian National Museum, the biggest museum in Canada. It has a lot of exhibits about the history of Canada and the world. The third museum was the Canadian War Museum which is a museum about the history of the Canadian military. The last museum was the Canadian Museum of Nature which is a museum about the nature of Canada. It has a lot of exhibits about dinosaurs and animals. All of them were amazing and I learned a lot about Canada and its history. On Wednesday I took the train back to Toronto.

I stayed in Toronto until Sunday. In the remaining time I visited the Royal Ontario Museum which is a gigantic museum about the history of the world. At the time I was there, they also had a special exhibition about the T-Rex. Also, I visited the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada which is a big aquarium with a lot of different fish and other animals. One of the most spectacular things was the tunnel through the aquarium where you can see sharks and other fish swimming above you. I also went to Toronto Island a second time, this time in the evening, to see the Toronto Skyline during sunset and at night.

On Friday I took a train to get to the Niagara Falls for a daytrip. The train ride took about two hours and was very comfortable. The Niagara Falls are a group of three waterfalls on the border between the US and Canada. The falls are very impressive and you can get very close to them. I took a boat tour to get even closer to the falls. The boat ride was very wet and freezing but it was worth it. I also did a tour behind the falls where you walk through tunnels behind the falls and look out through two small windows - it was not worth the money.

6.4. Cleveland, Pittsburgh

My next trip was another road trip with Traveling Illini to Cleveland and Pittsburgh. After a five-hour drive we arrived in Cleveland where we visited the Cleveland Botanical Garden and the Cleveland Museum of Art which is a huge museum about art from all over the world. Of course, we also took the mandatory stop at the popular Cleveland sign.

After another three-hour drive we arrived in Pittsburgh, the city of bridges. Fun fact: With 446 bridges, Pittsburgh has even more bridges than Venice. We visited the Duquesne Incline which is a funicular railway which goes up to the top of Mount Washington. From there you have a great view on the city and the bridges. Unfortunately, the first one stopped operating just when we arrived because of technical issues but we made it up using the second one. The day was characterized by very strong wind that we especially experienced when crossing a bridge to get to the city center.

6.5. St. Louis

On the way of our daytrip to St. Louis with Traveling Illini, we first stopped at the Monks Mound at the Cahokia Mounds UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in America that used to support a wooden structure on the summit. Afterwards, we drove to the Center of St. Louis. The city is popular for the Gateway Arch, a monument dedicated to the westward expansion of the United States. We planned to take the elevator to the top of the arch but unfortunately all tickets were sold out. Instead, we did a helicopter tour over the city which was a great experience (49$ pp). We also visited the City Museum which is a museum with a lot of interactive exhibits. The museum is very popular among children but also for adults it is a lot of fun. For lunch, we went to the famous Old Spaghetti Factory which is a restaurant in an old factory building.

6.6. New Orleans

My favorite trip during the semester was a trip to New Orleans. Together with a very large group of Traveling Illini I took the City of New Orleans Train. The train ride starting in Champaign was overnight and took about 17 hours. The train was very comfortable and had an observation car, a car that has mainly windows. After arriving in New Orleans, we tried to take one of the famous street cars to get to our hostel. The street cars are operating since 1835 and are the oldest continuously operating streetcars in the world. Unfortunately, they are very unreliable and often crowded as we would experience several times during our stay. After checking in at our hostel, we went to the French Quarter, the oldest neighborhood in the city where the French Quater Festival was taking place over the weekend. In the evening we went to Bourbon Street, the most famous street in the French Quarter. The street is known for its many bars and clubs and is very popular among tourists.

On the next day, we did a tour on the Mississippi River with a Steamboat. On board, we also got typical southern food. Afterwards, we went on a Swamp Tour, the reason why this trip was my favorite during the semester. We were picked up by a bus and drove 45 minutes out of the city. There, we got on a boat and drove through the swamps. We saw a lot of alligators and other animals, such as racoons and different species of birds. Back at the station we even got to hold a baby alligator which I condemn because of his living conditions in a way too small terrarium. The tour guide was very funny and told us a lot about the swamps and the animals living there. The nature was very beautiful and it was a great experience to see the alligators in their natural habitat. The tour was 65$ pp and I can highly recommend it.

In the evening we went back to the city center and visited Frenchman Street, a street with a lot of Jazz Clubs, where we went from one club to another. Later that night, we went back to Bourbon Street to visit some of the bars and clubs there. On this day, we also experienced why New Orleans is at danger of flooding: It rained several times and each time the roads turned into small streams. By the time we got back to our hostel, we were wet to the skin.

On our last day we did not have much time until we had to take the train back to Champaign. We went to the Louis Armstrong Park and Jackson Square and had a look at the St. Louis Cathedral. On Jackson Square many artists were selling their paintings and other art. From there we had to go to the station to take the train for another 17 hours back to Champaign.

6.7. Washington D.C.

On the weekend after New Orleans, I joined Traveling Illini again for taking the Amtrak to Washington DC. The voyage, including the ride to the station and the metro to the hostel, took about 23 hours. When we arrived in the evening we walked along the National Mall, starting at the Library of Congress, past the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial. The National Mall is a large park in the center of Washington DC and is surrounded by many museums and other important buildings.

The next day we visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Both museums are free and very fascinating. We also visited the Library of Congress and walked along the White House. What I really like about Washington DC is that the city is very green and has a lot of parks. The next day we had to leave very early to catch our train back to Champaign.

6.8. Indiana Dunes National Park

My last trip during the semester was a daytrip to the Indiana Dunes National Park. The park is located at the southern end of Lake Michigan and is about a two-hour drive from Champaign. First, we did a ranger guided tour to learn about the history of the park and the dunes. Unfortunately, the weather was not very good and it was very rainy.

The rain stopped after lunch and we were able to do a hike through the dunes. The dunes are very impressive and you can see the Chicago skyline from there. Along the lake, there is also a great beach.

7. Cost Overview

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$8,427.00

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660,91 €

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4.016,09 €

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