Julia in New York
Table of Contents
Overall Thoughts & Feelings
New York with its five boroughs is one of the most fast paced and exciting cities in the world. It’s a great place to live and full of opportunities and people. The communities in NYC are very open and friendly and you’ll meet all kinds of interesting people everywhere you go. Baruch College is located in the center of Manhattan. Students who go to school here are from diverse backgrounds and cultures – it sometimes seems that there are more foreigners in your classroom than americans. However, New York hasn’t been found to be the most expensive city in the world without a reason. Be prepared to spend $7 on coffee, not to mention food and drinks. Apart from that I highly recommend spending your exchange in New York, you won’t be disappointed!
Expenses
As I mentioned, NYC is super expensive, especially food and drinks!
- Rent: 7,500$
- Groceries: about 200$ per month (Trader Joe’s!!)
- Going out: Drinks range from 10-30$, Club entries are about 30$
- Traveling: depending on the time, it’s about 1000$
Accommodation
- Location: Midtown Manhattan
- Type: Dorm
- Closeness to things: 30 mins walking, 15-20 mins with the subway
Studies
- Campus life: I only went to campus for classes which were in the evenings. Since it’s a city campus most people only come here for class and leave right after.
Subjects I took:
- Data-driven Marketing Strategy
Global Firms, Cultures and Governments
Marketing Research
Managing Creativity, Innovation and Ideation in Startups and Corporations
Overall difficulty of studying: Subjects are easy but the workload is high.
Places to Visit
New York is so big that my friends and I stayed there pretty much the whole time. There’s a lot to visit (museums, parks, certain areas like brooklyn, queens, coney island, beaches). I went to Las Vegas for a weekend though because flights are quite cheap and it only takes 5h to get there!
Events
Organized by the university/student organization: 3 events in total – welcome event, Thanksgiving event, Farewell lunch.
A lot of trips and going outs with class mates.
Country & City Vibes
The city can be very hectic sometimes as there are a lot of people running around – especially in Midtown where I lived. Overall, they are way nicer than where I’m from and sometimes random people start talking to you in the middle of the street or in Cafés. The subway system is great but the trains are sometimes delayed and packed with people. Overall, if you stay in the right areas it’s safe, however, I wouldn’t recommend going to Harlem or the bronx.
Visa
As I’d gotten a J1 visa before I just had to send my passport to the embassy and they mailed it back with my visa. Don’t wait too long if it’s your first time applying because waiting times for the initial interview can take up to a month. The costs were about 300$.