EXCHANGE REPORT. Drexel University. Lebow College of Business

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1 EXCHANGE REPORT Drexel University Lebow College of Business Samantha Lam Marketing & IS, Class of 2019 Fall, 2017

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I -- MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG PART II -- GENERAL EXCHANGE INFORMATION PART III -- ITEMS TO BRING PART IV -- USEFUL LINKS AND CONTACTS PART V -- BEST PRACTICES OF HOST UNIVERSITY

PART I MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG SEPTEMBER 2017 I arrived in Philadelphia on Sept 9, after a transit flight from San Francisco (there were no direct flights from HK to Philly).

3 PART I MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG SEPTEMBER 2017 I arrived in Philadelphia on Sept 9, after a transit flight from San Francisco (there were no direct flights from HK to Philly). Since the welcome week did not begin until the 16 th, I stayed with my relatives for the first week and spent the time exploring the city by myself. I also went to New York and stayed at my friend s apartment for the weekend. I met a bunch of people from orientation activities, mostly exchange students from other countries. I moved into International House Philadelphia and started my first week of classes at Drexel.

Me and my friends visited many places in Philadelphia, including the Penn s Landing, Elfreth s Alley, Independence Hall, the Art Museum, etc.

4 OCTOBER 2017 My schedule allowed to have a long weekend every week, since I only had classes on Tue, Wed and Thu. I spent my weekdays going to classes and doing schoolwork, and the weekends travelling. Me and my friends visited many places in Philadelphia, including the Penn s Landing, Elfreth s Alley, Independence Hall, the Art Museum, etc. We also went to the Ye Shi in Chinatown and Harry Potter Festival in Chestnut Hill. We went sightseeing in New York a weekend and Atlantic City for another. For Halloween weekend, we dressed up and celebrated in Center City. It was a really unforgettable experience! NOVEMBER 2017 There were more homework and midterms in November, but I could still manage to finish everything on the weekdays as they were quite easy. We also had a long thanksgiving break. We travelled to more places in the US instead of just staying in Philadelphia, including Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and the Antelope Canyon in Arizona State. We were really lucky to have seen so much and travelled to all these amazing sights. Back at school, we also went to a Drexel basketball game on campus and visited an orchard in the Pennsylvania area.

I was so glad that most of my friends were there to support. We also watched our first NBA game in Chicago. I spent Christmas at my aunt s place and took a bus to Toronto.

5 DECEMBER 2017 In December, it started to get cold and we had our first snow on Dec 9. The Christmas Markets were open and we went ice skating. We went to Miami and Orlando for the first weekend and Chicago after the exam period. I did not have any final exams except for a cabaret performance for my theatre class. I was so glad that most of my friends were there to support. We also watched our first NBA game in Chicago. I spent Christmas at my aunt s place and took a bus to Toronto. JANUARY 2018 I spent New Year s with my 2 best friends and stayed at one of their apartments in Toronto. We took a short trip to Montreal under the extremely cold weather of -33 degrees Celsius, but was really fun nonetheless. I spent the rest of the time in Toronto before I finally return to Hong Kong on Jan 13.

6 PART II GENERAL EXCHANGE INFORMATION VISA PROCEDURES Drexel has the exact same platform for exchange application as UST. Simply log into mystudyabroad and fill in all the necessary information before the deadline. Visa documents such as DS-2019 will be provided and mailed to SBM in around May/June. Once you have the document, go to the website of US Consulate Office and apply for a J-1 visa and schedule an appointment. The process was troublesome but fairly easy. ORIENTATION ACTIVITIES Drexel has a very comprehensive list of activities for different students to join during welcome week. All the activities are voluntary except for the mandatory exchange students orientation. It s a great way to get to know the campus and meet new people. Since Drexel is a private university, it has a lot of money for organizing these activities and there are a lot of free gifts and buffets everywhere. I got a free JanSport backpack and some Drexel t-shirts.

7 INTERNATIONAL SERVICES & ACTIVITIES The International Students and Scholars Services (ISSS) organized the orientation and several activities during the semester, including the Terror Behind the Walls (a haunted house), thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, etc. I highly recommend exchange students to join because it s a great way to meet other exchange students and get free food. ACCOMODATIONS I was not able to stay in university residence because there were no spaces left. The other campus affiliated housings (Chestnut Square, University Crossing, the Summit) all requires a 1-year lease. Therefore I stayed at International House Philadelphia, which offers very flexible lease periods and very close to campus (only 3 blocks away). I got a single room with shared bathroom and kitchen with 9 other girls in my suite. Most of the residents there were either studying in Drexel or UPenn. COURSES REGISTRATION Course registration was extremely easy. I was assigned an academic advisor in the business school, and I simply had to check the schedule on Drexel s website and my advisor my choices. She enrolled all the classes for me. TEACHING & ASSESSMENT METHODS Classes in Drexel were fairly similar to UST, except in Drexel we have 10-week quarter systems instead of 13/14 week semesters. There were more homework in Drexel, but they were not difficult, as long as you do it you will get the points. The same applies to midterms. SPORTS & RECREATION FACILITIES Drexel has a pretty nice gym on campus. It was voted the best gym in Philadelphia in They also offer a huge range of group exercise

8 classes such as Zumba, yoga, core conditioning, Shockwave, etc. They are all free and I loved joining those classes whenever I have time. FINANCE & BANKING I did not open a bank account in the US. There is an HSBC Bank in the Chinatown in Philly. (Chinatown is very close to campus, 15 mins by subway, 30 mins on foot) Since my bank account in HK is Hang Seng Bank, I was able to get cash from the ATM there. The service charge is HK$20 for each withdrawal, regardless of the amount withdrawn, so I usually get more cash at a time. The exchange rate is based on Hang Seng Bank, it usually ranges around HK$ per USD. SOCIAL CLUBS & NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES I didn t join any social clubs at Drexel, but a lot of the public events organized by the clubs welcome all students to participate, not just the members. From what I heard from my friends who joined different student groups on campus, they were all very welcoming and nice to exchange students. I participated in a couple of these events such as the weekend bonfire, cookie jar making, etc. HEALTH & SAFETY The campus area was very safe. If you re worried about walking alone at night, there is a service called the campus escort and you can call a number to have a security walk home with you. Philadelphia is pretty safe so I wouldn t worry if we were walking as a group. There were some incidents of robbery and gunshots but were not too common. I get alerted by Drexel through text and whenever there s an incident happening so I could avoid the area. After paying an extremely expensive but compulsory health insurance at Drexel, we get free clinic service on campus, among other benefits. I got my immunizations (also compulsory) at the clinic for free.

9 FOOD Food would not be a worry in Drexel. There were numerous restaurants, food trucks and fast food options on campus, with great variety of choices and price range. Food trucks offer really good food with cheap prices. If you prefer to cook by yourself, there are a couple of big grocery stores within walking distance. If you miss Hong Kong food, simply go to Chinatown (very close), a lot of the restaurants are owned by Hong Kong people. They even have Chinese supermarkets there. TRANSPORTATION Transportation was very convenient as well. A lot of the places are within walking distance, and the subway was pretty easy to navigate as well. Uber was cheaper there, especially UberPool, so we would take an Uber sometimes if we re going out. CLIMATE The climate in Philadelphia was not too harsh. It was still very hot and sunny in September when I first got there. It wasn t until late October when it started to get cool. We had our first snow in early December this year but it usually doesn t snow until end Dec or Jan. The coldest days were only around -5 degrees, most days are above 0 in winter. COMMUNICATION Everyone I met in Philadelphia spoke fluent English, even the exchange students from other countries. I did not have any communication problems. CAUTIONARY MEASURES As long as you stay alert, there shouldn t be any safety issues to worry about. Pack everything you need but pack light, you will buy things in the US even though you thought you won t. Pack one warm jacket is enough. If you miss anything you can always buy it in Philly.

10 PART III ITEMS TO BRING CHECKLIST Immunization Record Credit card Skincare products Passport with Visa Cash Contact lenses Portable charger Your HK bank card Makeup Stationary Clothes pocket tissues Laptop with charger Underwear & Socks Laundry net Phone charger Some winter clothes Tools (e.g. scissors) Paper / Notebooks One winter coat Toothbrush & toothpaste

11 PART IV USEFUL LINKS & CONTACTS TERM MASTER SCHEDULE DREXEL STUDY ABROAD DREXEL FREE SHUTTLE SCHEDULE DREXEL ONE BLACKBOARD LEARN

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