Motivation
I made my decision to undertake an exchange at pretty much the last moment. Despite that I thought it was the best decision of my life! I wanted to try something different for the final semester of my penultimate year, and I thought that travelling and living in a different country was a great way to learn new skills, develop both personally and professionally, and met a heap of new people. I thought that, while it might be challenging, going on exchange would be a life changing experience that propelled me into the next chapter of my life!
Personal Development
I gained so much from my experience - I got to see snow for the first time, I visited so many places that I have always wanted to see (NYC, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Fransisco) and I met my now partner while on exchange! Next to all this, I grew so much as a person - my ability to problem solve, manage my emotions and stress, and build relationships with those around me have been improved so much by being thrown in the "deep end" and I'm so grateful for the skills I can now use in my future. I am definitely a much more developed, grown-up, and capable person after my exchange, and I'm so lucky that I got to have so many new experiences, and meet so many amazing people.
Academic Development
Academically, this experience really broadened my horizons in terms of experiencing new types of assessment, new ways of thinking, and new materials (some specific to the US)! I really appreciated the opportunity to engage with more frequent, but less weighted assessment, and to engage with topics like elections and voting behaviour, energy policy, and state government through an American lens. It was somewhat challenging what to adapt at first, but I made sure to stay on top of my work, and get help from my peers and professors when required which made it much easier. Compared to UQ the workload was about the same, if not slightly less!
Professional Development
I have developed the ability to think independently, rely on myself, and trust myself to make bold decisions, or take risks, and follow through. I am a much more rounded person, with the ability to communicate better with others, build connections and relationships, and choose my own direction in the things that I do. There were of course many challenges with this - stress and anxiety, adapting to new environments, and being overwhelmed by so many significant changes - but I think that these challenges forced my to develop, grown, and utilise a capacity to engage with and solve problems as they arise. These skills will be invaluable in future employment.
Costs
I just budgeted pretty basically with an excel spreadsheet. My overall spend was bout AUD$20,000 which was just under what I had budgeted for the experience. This covered accomodation (≈AUD$11,000), Flights (≈AUD$2,000), Insurance (≈AUS$1,500), Travel (≈AUD$1,500), Food, and Other Expenses. The IGET Grant was super helpful, and I would make sure to check out both UQ and Host University scholarships to see if you can get any other financial assistance!
Funding
The IGET grant pretty much entirely covered my flights which was awesome! It just took one thing off the list, and allowed me to allocate funds in my budget to different areas. For me, this meant I was able to travel more, and experience more of the US while I was there!
Accommodation
We were told that we would not be offfered dorm accommodation by UW-Madison early on, so I looked through rental websites for Madison, and paid attention to emails for the University on housing recommendations. They sent an email in late February with some suggestions for apartments offering semester long leases which was perfect, so I took a couple of them, investigated, and finally landed on Waterfront Apartments. They were amazing, the location, and quality of the rooms was fantastic, although somewhat expensive. I would strongly recommend living somewhere in downtown Madison, close to campus, as the walks can be quite long otherwise (even if it is a little more expensive). I lived with 2 other random roommates who were both American, and we got on really well. Getting to know them and making lifelong friends was one of the big highlights of my time in Madison! Also make sure to fill our your inspection form really thoroughly on move in as they might deduct from your deposit otherwise!
Highlight
The highlights of my experience were getting to live the American college lifestyle, engage with college activities (football games, parties, classes, and sporting activities), meeting my partner, and getting to visit so many amazing places. Going in the fall semester was really awesome too, as it meant that the football season was in full swing, I got to see snow by the end of the semester, and I got to experience an American halloween and thanksgiving so I would definitely recommend going in the fall!!
Overall, the big highlight of the experience is just that - the experience! You'll never have a chance to participate and live the American college life again so I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone to go on exchange, especially in Madison!
Advice/Top Tips
Make sure you book everything well in advance - accommodation, football tickets, flights, insurance etc. I would also make sure to stay aware of yourself while you're away - make sure to do your apartment inspections, keep track of assignments, enroll in the University provided SHIP Insurance, and make sure not to buy the liquid cheese at Target because it might make you sick!
Lastly just enjoy yourself and make sure to take up any opportunities you can - it'll go by in a flash!
