MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FALL SEMESTER 2013 EXHANGE REPORT

Transcription

1 MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FALL SEMESTER 2013 EXHANGE REPORT

2 INTRODUCTION I spent the fall semester of 2013 studying at the University of Southern California, enjoying the best parts of Los Angeles and traveling around the United States. The purpose of this travel report is to share my experiences with all Aalto students applying or already admitted to B.Sc. exchange at Marshall School of Business. Hopefully, I succeed in adding some value to the earlier USC exchange reports as well. Fight on! More than 90k USC Trojan fans celebrating at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after a victory against Stanford

3 1. PREPARING FOR EXCHANGE AT USC 1.1 Application and documents Exchange preparations started already in the beginning of March, soon after Aalto s approval, once we received the first from Sean O Connell, the coordinator of the international exchange program at USC. All exchange students were asked to complete a short online application form that, however, seemed just like a routine procedure. In addition to the online part, USC requested copies of passports, official study transcripts, resumes and passport photos to be sent by mail. Overall, failing at some stage of the preparations should be impossible Sean s instructions were always detailed and he was extremely eager to help in case of any questions. 1.2 Visa and DS-2019 In fall 2013, foreign exchange students needed J-1 visas to enter the United States and DS forms to reside in the country. Visa application process started, when USC sent us the DS-2019 forms. Then, we completed online visa applications and booked the mandatory interview at the local embassy. Finally, the embassy sent back the visas in approximately three business days. Key recommendations: Check that you are familiar with the current application and attachment requirements of the local embassy, and that all information you provide to USC or the local embassy is 100% correct All errors slow down the process significantly and later corrections to visa applications may cost several hundred dollars 1.3 Housing Arrange your housing early, since the main campus of USC is located in South Los Angeles and surrounded by a somewhat shady neighborhood. Most USC students rent their apartments either from USC Housing, private housing providers around the campus, or choose to live at a fraternity house. USC Housing ( provides mainly shared bedroom spaces in simplistic apartments to four persons. This option is by far the easiest and also the most popular among exchange students. However, since the condition of the apartment houses varies, it is important to prioritize apartments that have been renovated recently (in fall 2013 Annenberg House and Regal Trojan). Most of the apartments are located on the safer northern side of the campus and USC security officers patrol the surrounding streets in the nighttime. Private housing: Since USC Housing can accommodate only a small part of the student body, there are hundreds of private housing providers around the campus. The pricing rules are simple. Rent increases with privacy, safety and proximity to the campus. However, new upscale apartments near the campus usually trade at a significant discount during a few semesters after their opening. Also, networking with local/permanent students is easier at large private housing complexes (e.g. Lorenzo, Gateway).

4 Fraternities have their own houses on the stretch of West 28th Street between South Figueroa and South Hoover Street (the Frat Row ). Before your exchange, you will very likely receive housing offers from some fraternities. However, since fraternity housing is usually popular among the actual members, such offers may signal that something is wrong with the house or the fraternity in question. Key recommendations: Familiarize yourself with all available housing options ASAP to be able to make a quick decision, once the applications for USC Housing open Search for newly opened private accommodation, since prices can be well below the normal market level and amenities very upscale (rooftop pools, private gyms etc.) If the apartment house you are considering is not within the shaded red area on the below map, I would personally do some double checks to be sure that the area is safe

5 1.4 Insurances USC requires that all exchange students have a valid and sufficient health insurance. In 2013, the insurance plan offered by the university cost approximately 600 dollars. Even though opting out from the USC plan is possible, it is extremely hard to find a cheaper plan that fulfils all USC criteria. In addition to the health insurance, I also chose to extend my Finnish travel insurance to cover the whole exchange period. Key recommendations: Choose the (costly) USC health insurance plan to be 100% sure of sufficient coverage and to save several hours of hassle 1.5 Arrival at Los Angeles USC is relatively close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), but the drive of 15 miles to the campus may take anything between 15 minutes and 2 hours depending on the traffic. The cheapest commercial option is to book an airport shuttle from LAX to USC ($15), but in case you prefer privacy after an exhausting flight, just jump into a regular cab (around $40). However, the cheapest and best option is to arrive at LAX early in the morning, coordinate your arrival with your buddy (buddies are the international hosts at USC, do not forget to sign up for the Buddy Program ) and you might be able to complete most of the necessary practicalities already during the day of your arrival. Dusk view to Downtown Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills

6 2. EXHANGE STUDIES 2.1 Signing up for courses During my semester, exchange students got a huge advantage and were able to select their courses before permanent students. The electronic sign-up form opened well before the start of the semester. In addition, there is a three-week transfer period in the beginning of each semester, so don t worry if you don t get all the courses you want at the first stage. Almost all bachelor level courses were available to exchange students, given that the student is in command of all course-specific prerequisites. 2.2 Courses Each USC study credit translates into two Finnish credits and therefore, the most common way to fulfil the 30-credit B.Sc. requirement at Aalto is to choose four 4-credit courses MOR 492: Global Strategy by Professor Carl Voigt MOR 492: Global Strategy is an advanced, case-intensive, undergraduate strategy class that covers topics relating to globalization strategies of mid-sized and large corporations. The course was built around in-class case exercise discussions (approx. 80% of classes) and theory lectures on globalization strategy frameworks. In addition, the course included two midterms (mainly multiple choice about taught frameworks) as well as one individual case analysis (approx. 20 page PowerPoint deck) and two group case analyses (similar, but prepared in groups of 7 people). The workload of the course was extremely high, since students were not allowed to skip more than three lectures during the semester of 12 weeks. Moreover, if you consider choosing MOR492, it is worth knowing that you have to read a 20-page case and prepare rough answers to a few questions before every class, since Professor Voigt cold calls students during class discussions. Recommendation: MOR 492: Global Strategy is a perfect choice for anyone interested in practicing case-solving skills, but the high workload may make the course unattractive for an exchange student FBE 421: Financial Analysis and Valuation by Professor Tyrone Callahan FBE 421: Financial Analysis and Valuation is an intermediate finance class that covers all essential valuation methods (unfortunately excluding LBO-modeling) and follows closely the first fifteen chapters of McKinsey s Valuation 1. The course included two midterms, a few deliverables and a final group project on a current real-life valuation case (in fall 2013 determining the price range for the IPO of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.) In my opinion, the course was a perfect mix of theory, class discussions and practice. The workload was not too high for an exchange student and group sizes ranged from two to four making all group work more efficient and enjoyable than in other courses. In addition, 1 Goedhart, M., Koller, T. and Wessels, D. Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies. McKinsey & Company.

7 Professor Callahan succeeds in maintaining the style very casual and focuses on the key takeaways from the course material during the lectures. Recommendation: FBE 421 is an excellent valuation course (even for Aalto Finance majors) that provides a solid basis for using the standard corporate valuation methods as well as for evaluating the assumptions behind each model FBE 391: Real Estate Finance and Investment by Professor Selale Tuzel The main purpose of FBE 391 Real Estate Finance and Investment is to give the students the basic toolkit for valuing commercial real estate as well as for understanding the macro factors affecting the real estate market. The course consisted of lectures, two midterms, two group case analyses and three fairly small homework packages. I took FBE 391 since we did not have any real estate classes at Aalto at that time. The course was, however, a slight disappointment, since it consisted mainly of fairly simple cash flow modeling and eventually the professor decided to cut off one third of the course contents. In addition, the average motivation level of the students in this course seemed to be low for some reason. Recommendation: FBE 391 is a perfect choice, if you are particularly interested in real estate, unfamiliar with basic DCF and/or want to add a somewhat lighter course to your curriculum. Otherwise, I do not recommend choosing this course ITP 466: Building the High Tech Startup by Ashish Soni ITP 466: Building the High Tech Startup is a course for both engineering and business students interested in establishing their own startup companies. Contrary to what the name of the course suggests, the startup ideas in this course were mainly mobile or online apps. Practically, the idea of the course was to create and refine a startup idea from the scratch, with a special focus on evaluating the feasibility of the actual product/software idea. In addition to the actual startup process, we had to hand in a couple of exercise sets. Recommendation: As you can imagine, the intensity and workload of this course depend heavily on the role you choose to take in your startup project team. I would strongly recommend this class to anyone going to USC. However, as an exchange student you will be able to get the most out of ITP 466 by taking a supporting role in the project team.

8 3. COSTS, FREE TIME, TRAVELING AND OTHER INFORMATION 3.1 Fees and costs USC is not the cheapest option for B.Sc. exchange, but the fact that exchange students will not have to pay a single dollar of the + $ yearly tuition makes life a bit easier. Here is a rough summary of the most important fees and costs during my exchange: Item Cost in USD Cost in EUR Housing: Founders Apartments USC Fees: Orientation fee Health center fee OIS fee (used for visa application) Health insurance fee Other misc. fees Course materials ( $0-150 per course) Flights: Return tickets via Amsterdam Other: Random stuff for the apartment Bicycle Parking fee for two months Before the Exchange: Extended third-party travel insurance J-1 Visa fee TOTAL In addition, food, drinks and gasoline were generally a lot cheaper than in Finland. However, an average meal on campus cost $7-13. Entrance fees to music festivals and clubs were significantly higher than in Finland, but cocktails cheaper. 3.2 Campus safety Even though USC pays extremely good attention to Lunchtime views from the central food court terrace in October with +27C cloudy weather campus security, it is relevant to discuss some safety issues in this report. The campus is located in the northern parts of South Los Angeles (former South Central) and despite recent

9 positive developments, the surrounding neighborhood is still considered fairly dangerous, partly due to gang activity. In my opinion, moving around the campus always felt safe, but there were (again) a few armed robberies targeted at students during the semester. Therefore, before choosing USC, it is important to be aware that the probability of ending up in an uncomfortable situation with a stranger is very likely higher than in Finland. 3.3 Car ownership and rental Getting around in LA was more difficult than I had expected before my exchange. In my opinion, the public transport is an option in a very limited number of cases due to varying trip durations and safety issues. During my exchange, many students either bought or rented a car. For example is a good marketplace for searching dealers and privately owned used cars. In addition, the Department of Motor Vehicles provides useful information regarding car ownership in California. Particularly, during the shorter fall semester, rental may be a better option, since selling used cars a few days before Christmas holiday season can be challenging (unless you apply Christmas pricing). Firstly, for a longer road trip in Nevada and Arizona, we rented a car from a brand name rental firm. Companies like Hertz, Avis and on-campus Enterprise, usually charge underage fees, but provide better roadside assistance, if the car breaks down in the middle of a desert (this actually happened to a couple of exchange girls with a cheap rental). Secondly, Zipcar ( is a good option for shorter day or weekend trips. The rental prices included even gas, but the daily mileage limits were rather low, making longer trips impossible. Finally, there are several smaller car rental companies in LA that offer slightly older (e.g. 2011) vehicles for long-term rental with surprisingly low fees. However, most of these companies appear more or less shady. I had a positive experience with such a company, but some exchange students were less lucky. 3.4 Free time in Los Angeles Los Angeles metropolitan area offers an endless selection of things to do beyond the regular Hollywood/Beverly Hills/Venice Beach sightseeing. Listing everything here would be an impossible task and that is why I added some top picks for inspiration: Hollywood clubbing: If you re into electronic music there s always a world-class DJ playing in one of the clubs. Entrance fees range roughly $20-40, but girls sometimes get in for free. Non-American food: Los Angeles is extremely multicultural and finding authentic and cheap, particularly Asian food is easy. Do not spend your exchange without enjoying Korean BBQ in Koreatown or the best sashimi of your life in Little Tokyo. Six Flags: This may sound childish, but one of the world s best amusement parks (naturally with some of the world s most thrilling rides) Six Flags, the Magic Mountain is only a 45min ride away from USC and definitely worth experiencing.

10 Beaches: Choose from Manhattan Beach, Venice Beach or Santa Monica in Los Angeles, or drive south to Coronado in San Diego in September. Campus sports: The annual football season takes place between September and December and the gamedays with on-campus tailgating and actual games were one of the most memorable exchange experiences. Pork belly cooking on a traditional Korean tabletop grill in LA Koreatown Skateboarders showing their best at the legendary Venice Beach Skatepark Lunchtime $15 sashimi plate in Little Tokyo Weekend thrills at the Six Flags Magic Mountain

11 3.5 Traveling in the US Los Angeles provides an excellent home base for trips around California as well as to the U.S. cities, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. I would strongly recommend organizing the curriculum so that you 1) do not have any lectures on Friday, and 2) your Monday classes start at 4 p.m. In my opinion, even though you should get to know as many local students as possible, it is probably better and easier to travel around with other exchange students. Here are my top picks for traveling from LA: Pacific Highway from LA to San Francisco The pacific highway #1 is definitely the most breathtaking coastal highway in the whole US. Lunch break views from a cliff somewhere between Santa Barbara and San Francisco Grand Canyon sunrise at 6 am Grand Canyon and Arizona deserts Only a drive of 600 miles separates Los Angeles from the world s steepest canyon s o why wouldn t you go there? However, plan your trip well, since the temperature in the deserts drops below zero Celsius already in November. Book cheap flights to other US cities LAX is one of the most competed airports in the West Coast and that s why you may be able to book some really cheap flights to other US cities. For example, we flew to (freezing) NYC for only $250. Nighttime street view to New York City in late November

12 4. FINAL WORDS Overall, I would recommend University of Southern California to other Aalto students planning their exchange semesters abroad. Even though there is some variation in course difficulty, the academic quality is good on average. In addition, the university boasts with one of the highest percentages of international students and, personally, I learned the most from friends that came from completely different cultural backgrounds. Finally, Los Angeles might not be the best destination for a couple weeks holiday, but is certainly an exciting city to live in for anyone who likes beaches, food, sports, traveling and other activities.