TYPE THIS EVALUATION FORM & IT TO VIC OE AS A WORD DOCUMENT A:

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1 Vic OE Evaluation Form PLEASE TYPE THIS EVALUATION FORM & IT TO VIC OE AS A WORD DOCUMENT A: Student Information VUW degree(s) Bachelor of Commerce Major(s) Management, Human Resource Management, Commercial Law Exchange Institution VUW Tri & Year of Exchange The University of Texas at Austin Trimester Two, 2013 & Trimester One, 2014 B: Finances Please detail your basic costs in New Zealand dollars. This will help future students plan their own budgets. (Enter your number rounded to the nearest dollar.) Books Accommodation Return Airfare $1900 $150 approx Ultimately I only bought a couple of books because I was able to find most of my required textbooks in the library/borrow them from classmates. $6500 approx I started off renting a single room at Pearl Street Co-op ($880/month) but moved into a double ($660/month) with my friend after a few months. My rent included all bills, utilities and meals. Local Transportation Meals Visa Health & Insurance Personal Spending Communications (phone, etc.) Other fees (specify) What unexpected costs did you encounter? What items were more or less than expected? The bus is free for all UT students. My rent included 17 meals a week plus 24/7 access to a fully stocked kitchen. I ate out a lot as well and meals were all very reasonable between $8 - $25 in NZD. $350 approx. $1100 approx. Including travel probably around $6000. This is a very loose estimate, however. My phone bill with T-Mobile was $30/month, which included: unlimited texts, calls and 500mb of data. I ended up having to pay for my University s health insurance both semesters because my waiver wasn t processed fast enough. Even though they refunded me it meant I was $700USD out of pocket for a few weeks. I would advise incoming students to make sure they have enough set aside in case they encounter the same problem. How did your financial expenses compare to what you originally expected to spend? Transport within the US is also a lot pricier than I anticipated travelling by air and by train can be really costly. Other than that, it s generally about what you d expect. Clothes, etc are cheaper, but you need to take the time to make trips to outlet malls and places like Walmart to get good deals. By what means did you maintain your finances? What would you recommend? (Credit card, foreign bank account, travelers checks, etc)?

2 I opened an account with the UFCU (University Federal Credit Union) who have been absolutely wonderful. They make it really easy for exchange students to join and they generally give you around $20 when you first open your account. My friends would make wire transfers from their banks back home into their UFCU account, which has worked well for them, but I had a travel card with my NZ bank and they would let me move funds from my travel card into my UFCU account (using a cash advance) for no charge. What financial advice would you give students attending the same university as you? Keep a budget book. Take a good look at your finances and figure out what is a reasonable budget for you for each day and try to stick to that by recording it down it really helps. If you re a little hard on cash or just want a little bit of extra money think about looking for a job on campus. I got a job at our onsite bowling alley and it was great I met a ton of people and it added a whole new dimension to exchange. What was the average cost of a can of coke or coffee in your host country? Coke: $1 Coffee: $3 C: Visas & Insurance *Please note this information is recommended by VUW students & current at the time of their exchange. For all up-to-date visa information you must check with the embassy/consulate of your host university. Did you have to apply for a visa? If so, was it difficult? What was the process, how long did it take and how much did it cost? Going on exchange in the USA meant I had to apply for a J-1 visa, which was reasonably complicated and quite expensive. I had to fill out several forms online and pay various fees before booking an appointment at the US embassy in Auckland and flying up there to get approved. All in all I think it took me a couple of weeks and cost around $350. Do you have any advice for future students when applying for visas to your host country? Do it all as early as possible. You never know what kind of extenuating circumstances might prolong the process, so it s best to get up to get it all sorted ASAP. Did your host university have a mandatory insurance? Or a particular insurance they recommended? If Yes, what was it and how much did it cost? My host university automatically charges you for insurance, but you re able to waive the fee if you and your insurance provider fill out an insurance waiver and submit it to them within the first few weeks of school. It can take them a while to process the waivers, however, so you may have to pay the fee regardless and get it refunded a few weeks later, which is what happened to me. What insurance company did you use and would you recommend it to future students? I used Cover-More my first semester and Southern Cross my second. I would definitely recommend Southern Cross super easy to purchase (I did it online) and really reasonably priced.

3 D: Academics at Host University Which courses did you take while on exchange? Please rate the difficulty of each course (1-5, 1 = Very Easy & 5 = Extremely Difficult) and leave any comments you may have. Course Title VUW Trimester 2/2013 Language of Instruction VUW course equivalent or elective Media Law English COML general Career Dynamics & Corporal Communicatio n Social Media & Organizations Communicatio n & Civic Participation VUW Trimester 1/2014 Strategic Change & Innovation Interpersonal Communicatio n Theory Lying & Deception U.S. Foreign Relations, VUW points/credits value Rating (1-5) Comments 15 2 Interesting content (particularly from an outsider perspective looking at US law), wellstructured and the lecturer was really engaging. The assignments and exams were extremely easy. English HRIR general 15 3 Online class with really interesting assignments - required a lot of deep thinking. English MAN general 15 3 Great lecturer, fairly easy course load. English Fantastic lecturer and a really fun class in general. English MAN Really tough but rewarding class - big course load and a lot of class participation required. 100% group work. English Easy, engaging content but surprisingly difficult tests. Lively lecturer. English Really interesting class and great lecturer, as well as fantastic guest lecturers. Easy assignments and tests. English A huge amount of reading and difficult quizzes. Interesting content

4 Present. (particularly from an outsider's perspective). Course Registration/Enrolment Please describe the registration process at your host university. What kind of help was available? First semester registration was a little stressful as exchange students were only able to enroll a few days before classes actually started. This meant that by the time we were able to register a lot of classes were already full. However, there are a lot of really helpful academic advisors you can speak too, and they ll often speak to lecturers on your behalf to help you get into a class. How successful were you in registering/enrolling for classes you wanted? What advice would you offer to next year's exchange students about registration at your host university? I got into about 50% of the classes I wanted first semester due to our late registration time, but I was able to get into all the classes I wanted second semester as exchange students were able to enroll at the same time as the other upper-division students. My advice would be to have plenty of back-ups for the first semester, as you ll be unlikely to get into all your first choices. Do you have any advice for future students when choosing and applying for courses? Don't bet on being able to enroll in all the courses you Academic Experience How did your academic experience differ from your time spent at Victoria? Did the academic experience meet your expectations? My academic experience at the University of Texas was very different to what I was used to at Vic. For one thing, I was studying in a department that doesn t even exist at Vic - communication. Classes were a lot smaller than I anticipated, and the workload was a lot easier. However, I did take one business paper and found that to be a lot tougher than what I was used to at Vi,c and there was no individual work, only group work, which is apparently the same for all business classes. How did the style of teaching at your host university compare with that at VUW? How did the workload compare to what you would expect at VUW? I really liked my lecturers at UT - they were all really passionate about the topic they were teaching and they definitely interacted with the class more than at Vic, but that could also be due to the fact that classes were a lot smaller. The workload for communcation was really easy compared to Vic, but business was a lot harder - a lot more preparation was required for classes. They don t have tutorials, so the workload is also easier in that respect. What would you recommend as an appropriate course load for other VUW students visiting your partner university? What specific courses would you recommend to visiting VUW students? Why? I took four courses per semester (or 12 hours a week) and that was totally fine. It definitely depends on what department you re in, though. If anyone is doing communication studies I can definitely recommend any of the courses I took, they were a lot of fun. What advice would you give VUW students about succeeding academically at your host university? Getting good grades really isn t hard if you attend class and keep up with readings. You can also do extra

5 credit for some courses as well, to bump up your grade a little bit. The grading system is harder (92+ is an A and A+ doesn t exist) but they don t grade as harshly as they do at Vic, so it s not too difficult to get high marks. What was your impression of the computer facilities, library, and internet access at your host university? Really, really good. There are computer labs dotted all over campus and like seven libraries in total. The main one is huge and really well equipped. I never had any issues with internet access. If you went to a country where English is not the native language, how did you prepare for this? Were there any intensive language courses provided by the host university? E: Accommodation What form of accommodation did you stay in? I lived in a housing co-operative (Pearl Street Co-op). What were the pros and cons of this form of accommodation? After living at Pearl Street for almost a year I am a huge advocate for co-operative housing. I love Texas and I love Austin, but Pearl Street is what made my exchange experience the best year of my life. The pros are endless: you get to meet a huge number of people (there are 120 people living in my co-op) from all kinds of walks of life (I lived with a lot of native Texans as well as Americans from out of state, plus at least 40 exchange students); you form incredibly close bonds with your housemates; you get to contribute to your house (through cooking, cleaning, house meetings, etc); you get to decide how your rent money is spent (whether on new furniture, reparations, parties or toys); and you get the opportunity to participate in a lot of ridiculously fun stuff that the house organizes, such as: music showcases, Co-op Olympics, trivia nights, beer-tastings, karaoke nights, etc. Inevitably there are a few cons that come with this kind of housing: nothing is private, so expect any dirty laundry to get aired. You will also be punished if you don t pull your weight in the house (i.e. getting charged if you miss labor) but that shouldn t be an issue for most people. What accommodation would you recommend to future students? I would absolutely recommend co-operatives to anyone going to Austin. It s cheap, flexible, laid-back and the best way to meet some incredible people. How early can you move into accommodation? As early as you want. I moved in two weeks before the semester start date and just had to pay $10/day up until that point. What options were available for meal plans or cooking facilities? How satisfied were you with the food? Pearl Street provides lunch and dinner every day (excluding weekends, where they provide brunch) but you access to a fully stocked kitchen at all times, so you basically have all meals provided. We have a big industrial kitchen, which is a little intimidating at first, but you get used to it pretty fast. If you get assigned cooking labor you help out in the kitchen for a couple of hours every week to make particular meals, but you ask for cleaning/grounds labor if it isn t your thing. If you lived in off-campus housing, how easy was it to find? What should future VUW exchange students

6 know about living off-campus? All College Houses Co-operatives are in West Campus, which is the popular student housing area immediately west of campus. It takes between minutes to walk to class depending on which department you re a part of, so it s really easy and accessible. Do you have any tips of advice for future students when applying for accommodation? Take your time to look over your options and figure out which one is best for you. We re all different, so we all suit different environments. F: Personal & Cultural Connections What was it like making friends? How successful were you at making friends with local (i.e., not international) students? Living at a co-op made it really easy to make friends. I fell in with a particular group pretty fast, but cooperative living (cooking, cleaning, eating, studying and socializing together) means you establish connections with most people in the house. I ve made a lot of really close international friends, but I ve also made some really good local friends. I spent Thanksgiving with an American friend from San Antonio, Christmas with an American friend from Houston and New Years with a huge bunch of Americans from all over. Everyone is super friendly and hospitable here, so it s not hard to make friends. What was it like to adjust to the culture of your exchange country/university? The culture wasn t particularly hard to adjust too everyone is really polite and accommodating and Austin itself is very liberal. However, adjusting to the weather is definitely an ordeal. I went from 15 C in Wellington to 40 C in Austin and it was a real struggle for a while. Make sure to prepare yourself for things like that bring appropriate clothing and bring sunblock. What, if any, cultural differences did you find particularly challenging? How would you recommend students to prepare for these differences? Tipping took a while to get used too, and it's extremely frustrating not having a car as Americans basically drive everywhere. Having American friends that can drive you places is great, but it's not great feeling like a burden, so I would recommend looking into Zipcar if you want the freedom to be able to get around by yourself. What parts of the culture did you most appreciate? People were so polite, friendly and hospitable. I loved being called m am and having people be genuinely interested in where I came from and how it differed from the US. How were you treated by local people? By university staff and faculty? By students? Extremely well. I literally have nothing bad to say about how people have treated me here. As far as you could tell, how easy would it be for students with disabilities to study at your partner university? For students who are visible minorities in your host country? For students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered? Very easy. UT and Austin as a whole are extremely accommodating for people from all walks of life. Austin has a really large gay community and UT has a lot of LGBT groups that people can join. Did you face any issues regarding discrimination in your host country? What were they, and what advice

7 would you give to future students? None at all. Most Americans are pretty clueless about New Zealand so they have no preconceived ideas about how we behave, etc. Be prepared to answer a few stupid questions though, i.e. "is English your first language?"; "do you have the internet in NZ?"; "NZ, that's in England right?" G: Extra-curricular/Social Activities What organized activities (clubs, sports, etc.) were available to students? What extra-curricular activities would you recommend to future exchange students? If you can conceive it, UT has it. Every single sport, activity or random appreciation group is represented by some club or other. If rugby is your passion then you can join UT's official team, but if quidditch is more your thing then there's a group for that too. If you want to meet up with people and talk about 'My Little Pony' then 'My Little Longhorn' is the group for you. I was personally pretty lazy when it came to joining extracurricular groups as I felt I didn't have the time to commit to it, but I had a lot of friends who joined clubs who had a lot of fun, it really just depends what you're into. What do you recommend other visiting students see or do on their weekends or holidays? Travel! Try to see as much as you can - the US is absolutely massive and there are so many incredible things to see. However, make sure to give yourself enough time to see and experience Austin, because it's a beautiful city. See all the touristy spots (Barton Springs, Zilker Park, state capitol building, South Congress, etc), try all the delicious food (Kerbey Lane, Lucy's Fried Chicken, Homeslice, Hop Doddy's, etc) and experience some of the cultural highlights (Thursday night on dirty sixth, Chicken Shit Bingo, Rainey Street, White Horse). What opportunities were there for students to work on-campus? Off-campus? There are a lot of opportunities to work on-campus at UT. Once you re a registered student you can get an account on hirealonghorn.org (the equivalent of sjs.co.nz), which gives you access to information about different jobs going and how to apply for them. UT is usually looking for workers in a variety of different departments in a variety of different roles (receptionists, research assistants, cashiers, etc). I found an oncampus job through the website, as did a lot of my friends, so I d definitely recommend signing up for it. Hirealonghorn.org also advertised a lot of jobs outside of the university, so I don t think it d be too hard to find something, but as a student on a J1 visa you re only allowed to work off-campus if you can find work that s related to your degree and get it approved by International Student Services (ISS), so it s quite a complicated process. What volunteer or internship opportunities were there for students? As with organized activities there are countless opportunities for volunteer work and internships. You can sign up to the Longhorn Center for Civic Engagement online and look through the database to see all the volunteer opportunities going. I didn t really look into internships but I know from friends experiences that there are a whole lot going at any given time and it s not hard to get involved things to take to your host country or region Sunblock Adapter Chocolate (American chocolate sucks)

8 4 5 A diary/journal (you ll regret it if you don t keep one) pieces of useful advice would tell a VUW student going to your host university Make sure to have a lot of course choices because you re unlikely to get into all the ones you want due to the late registration time for exchange students. The UT gym is amazing and it s free to all students, make the most of it. Get your football tickets early (you can buy them online). Join Planet Longhorn! They re really helpful and will make the moving process a whole lot easier for you, plus they throw some great parties. A lot of Americans won t know where New Zealand is.try & educate em. Top 5 Things to do What are your Top 5 Things To Do future VUW students at your host university or city/country? Austin is the live music capital of the world, so make sure to go to some gigs! South by Southwest is Austin s biggest music/film festival and it s incredible. Austin s city center becomes a huge hub over spring break - hundreds of artists flock to Austin to play free shows (I got to see the Kooks, Childish Gambino & Foster the People for free, to name a few) and there is so much other free stuff on offer. Go see a UT football game, they re insane. Go eat some badass BBQ somewhere in the city - Franklin s, Rudy s and Ruby s are all good. If you re in Austin over Christmas check out the trail of lights at Zilker Park, it s beautiful. H: Personal Experience Please write one paragraph about your exchange experience. Plus, don t forget to submit some photos to the exchange office!! Going on an exchange to the University of Texas was undoubtedly one of the best decisions I have ever made. The school, the city and the people all surpassed my wildest expectations and I could not have had a better experience. I got to live in one of America s coolest cities, study at a world-class institute, and befriend some of the most interesting, wonderful people I have ever met. Texas isn t the crazy, conservative, bigoted state that the media might lead you to believe - it s an amazing place with amazing people, and Austin in particular is really liberal and open minded (I loved Texas so much me and four other friends got it tattooed on our sides). I could not be a bigger advocate for studying abroad now, and I m so thankful to Vic for giving me the opportunity to do it because my year in Austin was, without question, the best year of my life.

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