University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

no.

If you want to experience life on a typical American university campus, in a typical American small town in the countryside and are interested in getting to know especially people from all parts of the world studying together in this microcosmos, Urbana-Champaign is probably one of the best choices you have!

The weather!

Its a great school if you are going just for academic reason. Overall, it is quite an experience for me but I was not tempted to extend my stay after my exchange was completed. If you want to experience a typical American university campus life, this is a place to go.

The location of my apartment. It really pays off to check a map before you go and measure how many miles you are from campus. It may look like just a small amount, because American city blocks are quite large.

Live on campus and go to a lot of parties.

One semester is not enough time. It takes a few month to become completely familiar with the new environment. By the time one can say he/she is really feeling like home, it is almost time to leave again. If I have the chance to study abroad again, it will be a full academic year.

Don't panic if the courses you want to attend are already full. Students drop a lot of classes within the first few weeks of instruction. It is usually not necessary to attend a class from the first day on.

In spite of the favorable euro-dollar exchange rate housing is still more expensive than in Austria. The price level at the bars around campus is very low (probably due to the high competition between bars). Wireless telephone systems are backward compared to Europe and rather expensive. Local calls via landphones are free. Calling via the Internet (Skype) becomes an important way of communication (especially for making calls to Europe). The main reason for an overall increase of expenditures compared to the usual way of living is travelling.

I was well informed.

It's a campus town, with a typical American campus (quad, etc.). If you want to experience this movie-feeling, that it's the right choice. Concerning the academic setting, the UIUC is a brilliant choise too, and it has one of the biggest libraries in the States.