Michigan State University (MSU)

The first week was a really hard one, I had to fill out a lot of administrative documents, buy books, pay a lot for housing and meal plans and so on. I was really stressed and I missed my family and my friends. Neverthess, I made a lot of new friends from around the world, I quickly got used to the systems and to the environment. I spent 1 week in Miami for Springbreak and would recommend everyone to travel there.(remember to book it early and through a travel agency - like Statravel as most online-booking services to not accept foreign issued credit cards).University is hard but it is a really good education. Don´t take it too easy as you must represent your university appropriately - which includes academic and social life. Don´t forget that this is an unique opportunity so enjoy it and have a lot of fun. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

The first week I was struggeling a little bit, because the professors were speaking with a slang and really fast. However, the second week was no problem at all. I got used to it and after 2 weeks I was fully able to listen and write at the same time, like in German. You are confronted the whole time with English and therefore you get really fast into it.

As I mentioned before,plan and book your trips 3 to 4 months before - you can safe up to $400 and if you travel with a friend you safe $600. I would suggest you not to pay with credit cards, or your students ID because you lose sight of your bills. Although it is more convenient - don´t do it. Moreover, there are a lot of second-hand text books which are in pretty good condition, neverthess they are really expensive - I paid $560 for 4 books and 2 of them I hardly used.I would recommend to ask native students where to get everything, as they know the cheapest place.

Actually I thought it was bigger,nevertheless I felt really secured and if I needed help there was always someone at the front desk to help you. If you are living on campus you it is easier to get in touch with other students and it is of course nearer to the business college.

There were hardly any cafés there, which surprised me, but there were a lot of bars with different music-styles. The problem was that hanging around in bars was "IN" when I was 16, there are hardly any quiet bars for talking and relaxing. However,these bars, that can be reached by feet in 10 minutes, are full every weekend - you are never alone :-)