Where should I study abroad?

My choices: England, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Budapest (Hungary), Hannover (Germany), Angers (France).

I'm thinking Budapest since it's probably really cheap and the women should be easy. But... I might go with France since I have a ton of courses on how to learn French, whereas I only have this site - http://fsi-language-courses.com/ - to learn Hungarian if i wanted to communicate with the public.

Where shall I go?

 

I Think the first consideration should be given to what you want to study and what do you want out of your school.

Chicks should be side factor, not a primary one...don't you think?

If its Math you wanna study, I'd go to France or Hungary.

 

I'm studying business and my main concern are chicks and the easiness of getting laid (and their hotness, we all know English girls are dogs). I just want to walk into a club and get laid pretty quickly without much effort (I'm not even an over zealous dude, pretty nice guy). Hence why I think Hungary would be pretty good since they're all poor ass Eastern Europeans looking for an American. Amsterdam might be fun and so can France, hell I don't know... England might be fun too.

ke18sb:
lets be serious, studying abroad isn't about studying

This man knows what he's talking about.

 

Im not sure how much an 8th costs but it shouldnt be too much, just search for prices on google and you can prob find stuff. Also if you can find shrooms there i highly recommend trying them. It was one of the best highs of my life. Totally blows weed out of the water.

 
guyjer:
well if your going to amsterdam might as well try all what the city has to offer.

No doubt about it; pick up in clubs and brothels, hell I'd pick up in a coffee shop selling pot and shrooms as well.

patekphilippe:
you're right on the mark about east european women. they're hot and they love americans. plus, in prague at least, a man with US dollars has a ridiculous amount of spending power.

This is exactly why I'm considering Budapest, it's a pretty big city and being American I could pick up model looking chicks.

 
Der Bankier:
guyjer:
well if your going to amsterdam might as well try all what the city has to offer.

No doubt about it; pick up in clubs and brothels, hell I'd pick up in a coffee shop selling pot and shrooms as well.

patekphilippe:
you're right on the mark about east european women. they're hot and they love americans. plus, in prague at least, a man with US dollars has a ridiculous amount of spending power.

This is exactly why I'm considering Budapest, it's a pretty big city and being American I could pick up model looking chicks.

in addition to the model looking chicks and what not, eastern europe is also a completely different world culturally from western europe. you'd be better off living in eastern europe to "expand your horizons" or whatever you want to call it, and taking a few weekend trips to western europe.

anything more PM me... i studied abroad in western europe.

 

I hate to shatter your dreams about budapest but its not like you think, ie becuase your american you will be pulling super hot chicks all the time. I think if anything it could be harder because of the language barrier plus i think the days of the rich american sterotype in eastern europe is over. I really believe it would be easiest for you to get laid in london.

fyi: grams in amstermdam range from 5-12 euro, shrooms are 20 euro and the redlight is 50 euro

 
ke18sb:
I hate to shatter your dreams about budapest but its not like you think, ie becuase your american you will be pulling super hot chicks all the time. I think if anything it could be harder because of the language barrier plus i think the days of the rich american sterotype in eastern europe is over. I really believe it would be easiest for you to get laid in london.

fyi: grams in amstermdam range from 5-12 euro, shrooms are 20 euro and the redlight is 50 euro

unless you have banker money in london, you're not going anywhere with the ladies. that's like a broke college kid from abroad trying to get laid in manhattan. sure if he's really good looking it may work out, but most likely the bets are off.

 
patekphilippe:
unless you have banker money in london, you're not going anywhere with the ladies. that's like a broke college kid from abroad trying to get laid in manhattan. sure if he's really good looking it may work out, but most likely the bets are off.

You also forgot to include that half the girls in England are ass ugly.

PaloAlto8:
Could be because im ridiculously good looking, but I went to the redlight district out of curiosity and asked how much and this chick offered me 20 min for 30 euro and she was EXTREMELY smokin. Also, an 8th is pretty comperable to the US, around 40 bucks. I dont smoke, but it's EVERYWHERE surrounding the redlight district...amsterdam is awesome, but spend a weekend there or some shit cause youll see everything. I say go to Hungary, cause when are you gonna go there for just vacation. Theres always paris and london for that shit.

People told me that the Redlight District is a tourist trap for buying weed... they say go to smaller shops on the outskirts of town.

30 bucks to bang a smokin' hot chick? Sounds pretty cool.

 

Could be because im ridiculously good looking, but I went to the redlight district out of curiosity and asked how much and this chick offered me 20 min for 30 euro and she was EXTREMELY smokin. Also, an 8th is pretty comperable to the US, around 40 bucks. I dont smoke, but it's EVERYWHERE surrounding the redlight district...amsterdam is awesome, but spend a weekend there or some shit cause youll see everything. I say go to Hungary, cause when are you gonna go there for just vacation. Theres always paris and london for that shit.

 

born and raised in Amsterdam, so ask me what you want to know and stop with all this bullshit about Amsterdam/prices/red light etc.

Hungary is nice, but the only chicks that speak english are either rich and aren't interested or are hookers because it's in their interest to speak the language of their customers. You will probably get a tourist in the end. So learn the language and you will find a really nice and good girl there.

London comment completely true unless you have a big budget you will not see much of the nice girls b/c somehow they don't hang around the cheap places in town.

 

My opinion is that everyone can get laid doesn't matter what kind of place, it's the old combo of looks/talk. You will not have a big plus because you from the US with the locals, maybe a girl that's going to make a big tour in the US and needs places to stay. Nice thing, but that also goes for all the European cities, is alot of ppl from all over, but Amsterdam has a lot of tourist especially young and wild. Dutch apparently are known for their looks and open-mind..... Hookers&drugs, I don't really know what the deal is for foreigners. First drugs. It's good almost everywhere good quality, because the government controls it. Most funny thing is that the per capita consumption of soft drugs (hasj&weed) in The Netherlands is way lower that for example France and the US. And that's including 25% consumption of foreigners in the Netherlands. hookers, I think almost the same as in the other big European cities, only again controlled here and the hookers even pay taxes! Red light district, I feel safe there because of police&pimps (they don't want shit in their backyard) and I'm a local so dope dealers etc don't come up to me offering drugs etc, just behave and don't offend ppl from Amsterdam (little frustration about tourists because there are so many and alot are drunk/stoned) and you will be fine. It's all about attitude, and if you get action in the US or somewhere else, you will get action in Europe, only the bars/clubs are a bit cheaper in the Amsterdam than London, especially with your weak currency.

 

Switzerland is a great place to study abroad. I have friend who is doing it right now and she is skiing the Alps everytime she gets. Also a great base to start if you want to backpack around europe a bit because of it's central location. Also you can stay a bit during summer and do an internship at UBS or Credit Suisse. My friend already has an internship lined up with UBS at their HQ in Basel this summer. So I would definitly look into Switzerland.

 

Switzerland: agree on good for mountains and on one of most expensive places in Europe.

But check this: It's shit for going out!

I hearn no end of praise for Stockholm (especially for the ladies). Nightlife, going out and general sightseeing is supposed to be really good too. Definitely an option to consider seriously for english speakers willing to spend time in Europe.

Oh yeah, Berlin is supposed to be great if you're on tight budget. Young city with a lot options for going out, culturally rich and dirt cheap for a European city.

 

I loved London; it was expensive, but I found if you acted like an obnoxious American with tons of money, you got treated like one, even if you were on a very tight budget. The people who go out in London all kind of dress the same, kind of trendy and casual, so I found wearing a traditional sport coat got me into all kinds of places I had no business being in. The women were alright; it's a huge city, the hub of Europe, so you have a lot of transplants just like in NY. I found the women I had the most success with were transplant Australians and some Spanish chicks that my friends and I fed drinks to all night while repeating "Que linda." While my time there probably did very little for American-British relations, I had a fun time being the stereotypical obnoxious American and I highly recommend you do it too.

On another note, Prague is by far the best place I have EVER been to for girls and partying. Absolutely absurdly beautiful women and the language barrier doesn't matter as the music is always too loud to have a conversation anyways. I would go there instead of Budapest.

 

I studied at the LSE for a semester and would rate it as very high and great professors, better than my semester in ROme.

I did get annoyed with the British use of "As it were" all the fucking time, as it were.

 

Budapest will blow especially if you don't speak a word of Hungarian. London and Amsterdam would be expensive as all hell and between those two I would choose Amsterdam for the much wider variety of entertainment and options for cultural plunges in Holland. Angers could be good if it has some nightlife to offer but I would recommend Nice(France), Barcelona, Sevilla, and Granada (Spain).

 

Angers definitely doesn't belong in that list! I've been there several times and know people who studied there. I wouldn't even go there if it were free since anyone's time can be put to better use.

Good call on Barcelona, Sevilla and Granada, but if you mention those you must also name Madrid. Barcelona's more about the clubs, although Madird also has some good clubs too, plus it's a great place for bars and food. Going out in Madrid is cheaper than in Barcelona, and unlike smaller places such as Granada and Sevilla where you can go for a long weekend, Madrid is just a flight away from all the other great cities in Europe (+North Africa).

 

i realize this is an old post, but i wanted some people's opinions. I'm going to study abroad next spring and these are my choices: Prague, Budapest, Sydney, Hong Kong, or London.

I'm not necessarily looking for what will be best for banking (I think anything abroad will help), but I wanted your opinions on which city will give me the best experience. Thank you in advance.

 
Der Bankier:
My choices: England, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Budapest (Hungary), Hannover (Germany), Angers (France).

I'm thinking Budapest since it's probably really cheap and the women should be easy. But... I might go with France since I have a ton of courses on how to learn French, whereas I only have this site - http://fsi-language-courses.com/ - to learn Hungarian if i wanted to communicate with the public.

Where shall I go?

honestly those all suck ass

 

No question. Unless you are major pothead, then Amsterdam.

Budapest will be by far the cheapest. The girls are definitely the hottest. And the guy who said you won't get laid as an American is wrong. If you go for vacation and hang out in touristy areas with other Americans, of course you won't get any action.

But if you go to the Uni with locals and hang out with locals it will happen.

Germany is my favorite place on Earth, so I'm biased. Hanover is not that pretty of a town (in fact it's ugly), but they do speak the purest Standard German, so you won't have to deal with any regional accents.

 

Go to London if business is your thing. Get a glipse of the city and canary whaft.

If you want amsterdam, france and eastern europe, they're a short plane ride away. Go on the weekend, plane tickets are very cheap.

Although you might not like British girls, they might not like your accent either. The safest bet is to go after American girls studying abroad. Easy and the guy:girl ratio is to your advantage. They're all in vacation mode so they're more willing to meet someone else, and you'll have more in common.

 
EuroMonkey:
re. eric's comment, very true.

and yes, american girls in Europe are so easy it's not fair (is it the same in the US?). I don't mean to offend the classy ladies on this forum btw...

Hysterical.

I will comment as an American who has spent considerable time in Europe both working and studying.

Your advantage with American girls may not be as big as you think. While it is true what Euro and the other's have said, American girls in Europe are easy.

HOWEVER (and this is a HUGE HOWEVER), they are much easier for foreign guys than American guys. Why? They are looking for something different. They can get American guys all they want when they are at home. Abroad is their chance to get guys with cute accents, "who understand them," blah blah blah.

Occasionally you can find the homesick, overwhelmed girl and then the odds tilt heavily to your favor. But most American girls are easy ONLY for foreigners, not for other Americans. The lone exception being you are much more assimilated into the foreign culture than they are. Then you are like the "Ghetto Pass" (i.e. Mekhi Pfeiffer in 8 Mile). Otherwise, target foreign girls, not only foreign action, but for your personal development.

Point # 2. Similarly, you might actually have an easier time with foreign girls other than Americans in your foreign country. For example, you go to Germany. The Germans may be tough, they are on their home turf, they are not weak or homesick. However, the French girls are going through the same crap you are. Away from home, looking to explore new cultures, and it is very likely they whatever nationality they are, their English will be better than their foreign language skills of the host country.

In the end, there is the common thread explicit in two key points:

1) The girls (and guys) are looking for something different than home.

2) The host country is potentially difficult to crack into because locals have their own clicks already.

There are exceptions to both rules, but don't forget them.

Related to the info above about people speaking English better than the host country, consider how difficult it is to get Visas to the US right now. Also consider how many students apply to go to English speaking countries.

The answer: Fewer visas than ever to the US, and plenty of demand for English.

The implication: Plenty of sweet hotties who want to learn English are getting sent to their second choice destinations (Germany, France, Amsterdam, Budapest).

What better way to be the night in shining armor (or damsel in distress) than to find those people who speak english, want to be in US/UK, but got stuck somewhere else where you happen to be. That is called a sweet spot or target market. There are definitely other potential customers, but this is your bread and butter.

Keep me posted.

 

Unearthing this thread once again. Does studying abroad significant improve or hurt your chances of getting into banking?

As one previous poster said, some may see it as a 'slacker' option.

 

STudying abroad is notn a slacker option, that's the dumbest thing I've read on this entire forum

Slacker = Courageous enough to live and study in another country. Don't think so.

some of the opinion on this site is just pathetic.

 

"Slacker = Courageous enough to live and study in another country."

Some people dont look at it that way. Alot of ppl simply want to go on exchange in order to just party and get drunk as opposed to staying back home and studying and worrying about grades.

I personally think its a little of both.

 

Perfect thread for me. I have been to ALL three.

Australia should be a no. It is just a huge desert with dead kangaroos everywhere along the roads. New Zealand is much nicer.

Czech Republic is a great place, has amazing architecture, you can travel to other great places in the EU that are nearby (Austria, Germany, etc.). Clubbing in those EU countries is pretty fun and crazy.

South Africa is the best place in the entire world I have ever traveled. I have traveled to over 35 countries and South Africa is exceedingly better than any other place I have visited. You may not care about the culture now but it will really open your eyes to a different world. The class divide between super wealthy and super poor is incredible, living within 5 feet of each other. Plus, the clubbing in Cape Town is the best partying I've ever experienced. The wildlife is definitely pretty cool, and the scenery on the shore is incredible.

Sidenote: if you are super Asian looking, Cape Town could be odd cause its literally 6'3"+ Nordic (blonde hair, blue eyes) models living on their parents money there (when I say models, I mean females and males are all good looking, its absurd). It really doesn't put it into perspective until you go to Cape Town and see it though.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

I did study abroad in Australia (Sydney). It was amazing. With that said, the best time I had on my trip was the 6 days I spent in New Zealand on my way back to the states. The school I was "studying" at was literally 80% Asian, if that matters. Australians were cool as fuck on the whole, but definitely pretty racist. Especially against the Lebanese.

Capetown sounds pretty cool.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

"If you study abroad at UCT, do you interact with alot of black African people? or other students /white british/afrikaaners?"

this is as ludicrous as saying "if you go to columbia do you interact with local people or just preppy kids from new jersey". you can be as insular or open as you like. go spend a weekend in the townships if you like, or just stay on campus. it's up to you.

 

You really sound like you have racism issues. Worried about australians being mean to asians and now asking if you will see black people at the university of cape town? Why do you care so much..... maybe you should just go back to asia.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

prague. go to the cave bar.

"It's not about pride or ego. It's only about money. I can leave now, even with Grama and KGB... and halfway to paying Petrovsky back. That's the safe play. I told Worm you can't lose what you don't put in the middle. But you can't win much either."
 
ppjms:

Huh? Are you blind to crime statistics, and the race that commits the most crime?

Yea, you probably shouldn't go anywhere and just stick to your nice little bubble.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

Haven't been to South Africa, but Australia was pretty damn awesome. That said, I'd go with Prague. Why? Location. Personally I'd use the opportunity to travel through Europe a bit. Most programs I know give you several ops to get out of country and go elsewhere. Want to visit Italy, France, Russia, ski in the Alps? If you can make your budget work, Prague is the way to go imho

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
yeahright:

Perfect thread for me. I have been to ALL three.

Australia should be a no. It is just a huge desert with dead kangaroos everywhere along the roads. New Zealand is much nicer.

Czech Republic is a great place, has amazing architecture, you can travel to other great places in the EU that are nearby (Austria, Germany, etc.). Clubbing in those EU countries is pretty fun and crazy.

South Africa is the best place in the entire world I have ever traveled. I have traveled to over 35 countries and South Africa is exceedingly better than any other place I have visited. You may not care about the culture now but it will really open your eyes to a different world. The class divide between super wealthy and super poor is incredible, living within 5 feet of each other. Plus, the clubbing in Cape Town is the best partying I've ever experienced. The wildlife is definitely pretty cool, and the scenery on the shore is incredible.

Sidenote: if you are super Asian looking, Cape Town could be odd cause its literally 6'3"+ Nordic (blonde hair, blue eyes) models living on their parents money there (when I say models, I mean females and males are all good looking, its absurd). It really doesn't put it into perspective until you go to Cape Town and see it though.

My impression is that the Cape Town area is a lot more prosperous and less dangerous than most of South Africa. Unsurprisingly, it is also a stronghold of SA's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, as opposed to the extremely crooked and corrupt ANC. Plus the weather and scenery are fantastic, much like the San Francisco Bay Area. And yes there are a lot or Nordic looking people around (e.g. like the girl that Oscar Pistorius killed) but the vast majority of the population in the greater Cape Town region are either "colored" or black, which again goes to show that crime does not have much to do with race per se. Crime is horrible in South Africa at large because Zuma and his cronies deliberately unleash the criminals to do their biddings in a power grab to turn SA into another Zimbabwe. The Cape provinces appear to be much less affected by all of these thou.

Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep.
 

It is still dangerous if you go to Long Street which is a pretty common place for locals and tourists. If you go to the shore, it is extremely safe. Most of the people I was with were robbed on Long Street. And we were never robbed in Johannesburg. Cape Town is just as dangerous.

Also, race density is going to depend on where you go in Cape Town.

Regardless, OP is probably going to go to prague since no one will kill him or dislike him there.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 
yeahright:

South Africa is the best place in the entire world I have ever traveled. I have traveled to over 35 countries and South Africa is exceedingly better than any other place I have visited. You may not care about the culture now but it will really open your eyes to a different world. The class divide between super wealthy and super poor is incredible, living within 5 feet of each other. Plus, the clubbing in Cape Town is the best partying I've ever experienced. The wildlife is definitely pretty cool, and the scenery on the shore is incredible.

Sidenote: if you are super Asian looking, Cape Town could be odd cause its literally 6'3"+ Nordic (blonde hair, blue eyes) models living on their parents money there (when I say models, I mean females and males are all good looking, its absurd). It really doesn't put it into perspective until you go to Cape Town and see it though.

thanks for the tip on cape town, will add it to the list
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yeahright:

It is still dangerous if you go to Long Street which is a pretty common place for locals and tourists. If you go to the shore, it is extremely safe. Most of the people I was with were robbed on Long Street. And we were never robbed in Johannesburg. Cape Town is just as dangerous.

Also, race density is going to depend on where you go in Cape Town.

Regardless, OP is probably going to go to prague since no one will kill him or dislike him there.

Interesting. Thanks for the head up. I heard that Cape Town has some of the best surfing beaches in the world. Too bad it is so far away from the U.S, especially the West Coast. One would have to spend a whole day flying just to get there, with no direct flight. It is a lot easier for Andy to get there from Buenos Aires thou.

Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep.
 
brandon st randy:
yeahright:

It is still dangerous if you go to Long Street which is a pretty common place for locals and tourists. If you go to the shore, it is extremely safe. Most of the people I was with were robbed on Long Street. And we were never robbed in Johannesburg. Cape Town is just as dangerous.

Also, race density is going to depend on where you go in Cape Town.

Regardless, OP is probably going to go to prague since no one will kill him or dislike him there.

Interesting. Thanks for the head up. I heard that Cape Town has some of the best surfing beaches in the world. Too bad it is so far away from the U.S, especially the West Coast. One would have to spend a whole day flying just to get there, with no direct flight.
It is a lot easier for Andy to get there from Buenos Aires thou.

Indeed, it was a 26 hour flight from NYC, stopped in Senegal for a refuel. Longest flight ever, watched like 9 movies cause I couldn't sleep on the way there. Dropped 2 ambien full doses on the way back and slept the whole way.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

I have been to Prague three times for weekend trips during college. It's definitely a extremely nice city with great architecture, awesome people and lots of stuff to do and see. Moreover, it's kind of a partyhub where many Europeans travel for a weekend to go crazy. Lots of kickass clubs and bars around and many hot chicks. The location is also a plus, you can reach the major German cities by train, or fly over to Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, whatever for a weekend. Also, make sure to check out the other major East European cities like Warsaw or Budapest. Being in Prague gives you plenty of opportunity to discover Europe, which I imagine might be cool for a non-European person.

Concerning Australia: I have been to Sydney, Melbourne and a few other places. Given that I'm a European, I really loved it over there. The constant sun, surfing, beaches were just great if you are used to the Central European weather and life. There's also plenty of great stuff to do and see, especially if you are into nice beaches and coastlines. However, I lived in SoCal for a year as well, and I don't think Australia it is thaaat much different from what you see and experience in SoCal. If you are already used to the beach life style, the weather, etc., I would cut Australia from that list, just to explore something new.

Capetown, what can I say. I have been to a surf trip on the South African coast, including Capetown. Great city, just like yeahright mentioned. Pretty diverse bunch of people, but I never felt insecure or in danger over there (unless you count that fat shark that nearly hit us during a surf session, jesus..). It also gives you the opportunity to travel around South Africa and other countries in southern Africa. Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Madagascar were pretty impressive, so that's definitely a plus. The coastline is really awesome and if you are into surfing, you'll love it. However, it's kind of dangerous to surf at some places, so keep that in mind. Btw, we have been invited to some kind of strange dinner with a tribe/large family in Mozambique, what an unforgetable experience. We made friends with one of them when our car broke down and we had to wait for the car service, which took forever. Again, awesome people.

However, the comment "I couldn't care less for the people" somehow tells me that you're not interested in the amazing people and cultures of Africa, so you should better go to Prague or live the beach bum life in Australia.

 

Can't comment on Oz, but thoughts on the others I have experience with:

Prague - cool vibe, easy to travel around Europe, awesome history and architecture. Just a heads up though: In my experience (admittedly limited to a few cases) Eastern Europeans can be more insular (i.e. not appear welcoming to non-white locals) than most. This sounds important to you so I thought I'd mention it. Most people have no problem though.

Cape Town - I live and work here since studying here. It's basically a first-world city mostly. A big part of Africa's Asset Management industry sets up shop in CT, something about the PM's and analysts loving the beaches, epic mountain biking trails, world-class golf courses, friendly and diverse people (UCT is c 50% white and 50% black/asian/coloured), awesome entertainment scene (seriously some of the best restaurants and clubs in the world are here - it's not uncommon to see Charlize Theron or Leonardo Di Caprio chilling at some of the Camps Bay hot spots), pretty decent wine region if you're into that too. Lots of Europeans here (Swiss, Germans and Brits are buying up property like crazy here). As someone said above, the opposition party controls and runs the province and the city and it's by far the best run city in Africa.

The crime is definitely here, so you have to be sensible like in most big cities (e.g. don't cruise around dodgy parts of London by yourself at unsafe times), but my and my family have thankfully only got good experiences. Stay in the safe areas and don't walk around by yourself or with target items (camera/etc) visible and you'll be fine.

Academically University of Cape Town is very good (it's produced people like Mark Shuttleworth (Ubunto), Emanuel Derman (of GS quant fame), produced 5 Nobel Laureates). Obviously not as good as a target ivy league school, but it's very well recognised internationally.

 

definitely prague. it's a beautiful city with long, long history. its location is also very conveninet and you'll be able to travel to poland, germany, austria and other countries. if you would like to study in english school then you also have pretty wide selection. i recommend e.g. university of new york in prague (http://www.unyp.cz).

 

At the undergrad level, I don't think there's a best place to go, it really depends on your objectives. Whether you want to learn / improve a 2nd / 3rd language, practice one of you hobby (ie. skiing, surfing, etc), go to a well-known school (ie. LSE, Oxbridge, St-Andrews, etc), live in a very "foreign" place (ie. China) or just want to live to life and travel europe will influence greatly where you choose to go and these are all valid reason. To be honest, I don't think I know anyone who didn't have the greatest time of their life studying abroad so I would just try to think what's important for you to get out of this experience and choose the school accordingly.

I spend 1 year and half abroad and it was the best time ever, I am still very close to my group of friends (and it's been just a little over 10 years).

 

"Abroad" is a preeeeeetty vast place. I'd say it depends a lot on your goals - what you want to do, what part of the world interests you, what languages you know, and which ones you want to learn.. etc. etc.

There's no country without at least 1-2 good universities.... (more or less :) ) so that's a preeeeeeeetty large pool of places to choose from.

 

I spent a little over 3 months in London and fell in love. You can't possibly explore every corner of a city that size in 3 months, but it offers you plenty of resources to travel to nearby (or not so nearby) countries. It's not the most popular study abroad choice because those who want to go to Europe don't really view it as such, but I challenge you to find a city with a wider spectrum of cultures

 

In no particular order:

Tokyo Barcelona Taipei Rome Seoul St Petersburg Prague Berlin Buenos Aires Bogota Rio Jerusalem Beirut

Basically major historical cities where English isn't the primary language but where it's cosmopolitan enough where you can get by while learning the local language.

Alex Chu www.mbaapply.com
 

Studied abroad in New Zealand as an undergrad and loved it. Not a world party capital, but I bought a car and had an amazing time driving all over the north island and also did a few weekend trips to the south island. Really a place that you need a few months to do right, so it was great to have the time.

For those who have (or considered) studying abroad during an MBA, i'm curious how you thought about it. I am hopefully going to b-school next fall, and am on the fence about whether to study abroad again. I am pretty sure I will never move abroad more permanently, so it seems like a last chance to spend 3+ months in another country. That being said, so much of the value of an MBA is in the networking/social experience, so spending 25% of the time away from your classmates seems less than optimal. Also, how does it impact recruiting and/or your academic options (e.g., skipping cool electives)?

 

Really depends on what you're looking to get out of it. If you're really keen on getting a brand name on your CV, I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities to go to another good university. If you're just looking to have fun I'd suggest going to Hong Kong, Singpore or a top ten party school in the states

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

I did Kuala Lumpur and that was pretty loose.. Bangkok though, without a doubt. (Assuming you primarily want to have a ridiculous amount of fun and scrape by in your studies, which is exactly what you should be wanting to do if you're going to go out there!)

 

I don't think I would suggest Melbourne if you are going to do Australia. Why not Sydney?

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

Did a similar experience and no one cared/knew because I never told them and they never brought it up. All that they cared about was that I had an internship experience. Do the second internship experience because it matters more than your GPA. 3.6 is nothing special just like 3.4 is nothing special. You will need to do a lot of networking regardless. Since your a finance major college means two things to you. Experience of four years and a FO job at the end. Who cares how hard you have to work senior year if you have a IBD job waiting for you (just don't fail). Most seniors slack off after junior year because they have an offer waiting for them. The only ones that are still working hard either work hard regardless or want to get Magna or Summa Cum Laude.

Also, do you go to a certain school near Philly? (I know an older guy who did JPM FX for the Summer)--PM me and I'll give you more recruiting details/advice.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

It sounds like Option #2 will put you in a better position come recruiting, though I think Option #1 would be a far better life experience. As someone who studied abroad, I fully regret going to a country where I already knew the language. If you don't mind going into recruiting with one less internship under your belt, hit up Austria/Sweden/Denmark and enjoy yourself.

Regardless of which you choose, I offer you one bit of add'l advice: Don't hang out with kids from the U.S. while studying abroad. It will become a 4 month long frat party and your deepest experiences will be drinking with your friends in a British pub instead of the local bar at home. Be a little out-going and make friends with locals or other study abroad students from other countries.

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CompBanker:
It sounds like Option #2 will put you in a better position come recruiting, though I think Option #1 would be a far better life experience. As someone who studied abroad, I fully regret going to a country where I already knew the language. If you don't mind going into recruiting with one less internship under your belt, hit up Austria/Sweden/Denmark and enjoy yourself.

Regardless of which you choose, I offer you one bit of add'l advice: Don't hang out with kids from the U.S. while studying abroad. It will become a 4 month long frat party and your deepest experiences will be drinking with your friends in a British pub instead of the local bar at home. Be a little out-going and make friends with locals or other study abroad students from other countries.

I agree with you on the whole frat party thing, but the only way to completely not experience the frat party thing is to go backpacking with you and maybe 2 friends. He mentioned in his post that a lot of kids from his school were going on both trips, so it going to be hard to escape that. I went to China last Summer. We stayed in the international dorms and made friends with Russians, Italians, Koreans, Japanese, other Americas...it was a blast and we did learn more about other cultures..even if it wasn't Chinese culture. On the advice on not making it into a frat party the best thing you can do is to just walk around the city (or go on a weekend vacation) have no set plans except to explore. The thing that kills a study abroad is that you make plans to out at night, but then spend the rest of the day anticipating those plans or sleeping off the night before...Time is short while you are abroad so make the most of it.

Saying that. I stand by my earlier recommendation that he needs to get that internship. If he goes to one of the non-targets I think he goes to then that internship will really make the difference. He can always travel to the different countries when he gets to London.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Going abroad is for the personal experience as the people mentioned above. Yes, having that internship in option 2 may help (i don't think it will that much), but you will probably never have an opportunity to go abroad for an extended amount of time like this so make sure you do it right. Go somewhere where you will have crazy adventures, meet locals, and be able to travel all over. I highly suggest going to Copenhagen, I studed abroad in Copenhagen and it's an amazing city and the girls are some of the hottest in the world. It's also very easy to travel everywhere in Europe from there, and english is not their native language, but everyone still understands and speaks it so you can meet many locals. I have friends that studied abroad in London and they only interacted with other american students and didn't learn anythign about other cultures. Don't fall into this trap as I see so many people who go abroad. PM if you have any questions on Copenhagen, DK or Sweden (Spent a lot of time there).

 

I agree with Nimz, the internship abroad will not help as much as you think it does...I had an finance/accounting internship while abroad with a huge corporation and no recruiters really cared; they were far more interested in the experiences...go with the program that most interests you and will allow you to have the most fun

 

Are we all talking about trying to get a FO job? He goes to a non-target school and his GPA is average/maybe even below average for those types of positions (no offense man). With London, he get the international experience AND a job. I know the London program, you have plenty of time to travel during it. I have been on interviews and they ask about the international experience, but they don't go over it more than 60 seconds because these days 95% of kids go abroad. They want to hear more about the internship experience and what you did/what you learned. Unless your going some place really exotic like China or Singapore, then its ok. I once spent 5 minutes talking about my other study abroad experience in China and China's future. But I had two study abroad experiences so it was part of my "package" and I also knew a lot of what I was talking about with China. Going to Sweden or a similar place, who really cares about them economically? Go to London and you can at least talk about how out of control government spending and entitlement programs are hurting their economy and how truly grim their future outlook really is.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

I participated in the BU internship last spring. The internship I had (small PE firm) got my foot in the door at a ton of places. Particularly coming from a non-target it really helped to differentiate myself. The program is fantastic and a ton of fun and the internship forces you to interact with foreigners all day long. The only disadvantage was trying to find an internship in the states while abroad.

 
Best Response

Sydney is a beautiful city (basically on water - you can catch a boat to the city from the suburbs). There are a lot of young people from all over the world studying and working. It is very expensive, but I think this would be a good choice if you wanted to get a strong English-language education and like the outdoors (deserts, rainforests, the Kimberley...). There are also cheap-ish flights to southeast Asia, including Bali, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.

I would recommend strongly against UAE. I've never been, but have some close family friends who moved there, as well as some other friends from college. It's unbearably hot that you basically can't do anything except go to massive malls (you can go to malls anywhere else in the world too). There's also apparently a really weird social structure with the locals at top, western expats, and then migrant workers at the bottom. The lifestyle can be flashy, but I've heard of westerners getting sick of it and finding it uncomfortable. Maybe for a visit, not for a few months.

 

Probably Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Dublin in that order.

Sydney - too many dumb laws (e.g. lockout) that prevent party from booming NZ - more of a sightseeing area Beijing - if you're white and into Asian girls you will do well. London - a good option but not that different to US. If you can deal with the accents, it'll be great.

 
still_an_accountant:
Probably Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Dublin in that order.

Sydney - too many dumb laws (e.g. lockout) that prevent party from booming NZ - more of a sightseeing area Beijing - if you're white and into Asian girls you will do well. London - a good option but not that different to US. If you can deal with the accents, it'll be great.

Ive gotten so many mixed reviews on Dublin. I like clubs if that matters

 

London -> never know if you'll be in the stuck of a terror campaign by some raghead Dublin -> part of a country without much relevance across the whole world Sydney -> just a capital of a large country with some mines Barcelona -> can you speak Spanish ? this could be the target of some terror campaign too Wellington NZ -> This is the best option. Low-crime rate, no to nil immigrants, terrorists don't usually look at this side of the world Buenos Aires -> Most Western European of the South American cities and Argentinian girls are cute looking Beijing-> food and language problem along with pollution

D.I.
 

Here's the thought process I would use to reduce the options if I was in your position. Your focus is obviously on wheeling for this criteria:

  • Do I have a particular fetish for asians? If no, Beijing out.
  • Do I think I can learn Spanish fast? If no, Buenos Aires out.
  • Do I prefer women from Sydney or Wellington? My vote is Sydney. Wellington out.
  • Dublin isn't central/doesn't have as much international diversity as London or Barcelona. Dublin out.

Now you're left with London, Barcelona and Sydney. You really want to pick this based on wheeling? Do it intelligently then. Create a Tinder account for each location and test your hit rate for the next 60 days. See which place you have the most success. Also doubles down as pre-wheeling for when you actually get there. Thank me later.

Just had my trade dispute rejected by Schwab for a loss of 35k. This single issue alone should be a gigantic red flag to anyone who trades on their platform. If they have a system error, and you do not video record your trading (they actually said this), they will not honour their fuck up. Switching everything away from them. Fuck this company.
 

Assuming you speak conversational Spanish then Buenos Aires would be the pick. It is an amazing city with everything you could want and feels much less "American" than going to another English speaking country. However, if you speak little to no Spanish i would rule it out. I was surprised how little English was spoken compared to major cities in Europe.

 

I’d vote Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. It’s the best business school in Asia and it’s in the most fun city on your list (not to mention the world in general). The campus is a bit far from the city, but they make up for that with the campus essentially be a resort on beautiful Clearwater Bay. I know the exchange students there are pretty close-knit and have a good time. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to network with bankers as pretty much every expat there is in finance.

Queens are Ross could also be good choices but the weather will be shitty half you time there, you probably wouldn’t have a lot of the same networking opportunities, it won’t be as unique, and the brand name probably won’t help you that much since it’s just an exchange.

 

I thought exchanges were more about enjoying yourself, partying your ass off, traveling, and experiencing a new culture (since your marks don't get transferred on your transcript, just your credits). At my school, Spain (ESADE), France (HEC Paris), and Asia (hkust) are top destinations.

 
Universite:
I thought exchanges were more about enjoying yourself, partying your ass off, traveling, and experiencing a new culture (since your marks don't get transferred on your transcript, just your credits). At my school, Spain (ESADE), France (HEC Paris), and Asia (hkust) are top destinations.

Of course the partying and new experiences are important, that's why I said that I'd like to be in a nice city with a good student community. But on the other side, for me it is important to build some new quality connections and get some high quality extra education on finance as well. It's about the overall picture.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology indeed seemed like the best of the Asian uni's (I left out a couple of good ones too though), but I'm a bit afraid that there's going to be a lack of really outgoing people there, at least that's my impression beforehand.

 

" I listed the schools which appeal to me below"

Can you choose any of these?

Bocconi is a good uni, not that hard to get into from a dutch uni and has good network opportunities for Milan of London. I'm not sure, but I think most of the programs are in italian and the programs that are in english didn't appeal to me. Grenoble I wouldn't do. Spain IE Madrid is a good school. St. Gallen and ESADE are reputable names.

 
Walkerr:
" I listed the schools which appeal to me below"

Can you choose any of these?

Yes, to put it in another way, I listed the schools which were on the list of my uni and which appealed to me. Selection is done by my uni and not the one I prefer to go to (however, some do set requirements).

Bocconi is indeed a nice choice as well, but in terms of experience not really comparable to a US campus as it is pretty similar to what I'm doing right now.

 

USC, Texas, and Michigan would be my top choices. I'd personally go for Texas for having the best weather, best girls, and less preppy, rich-kid baggage (more prevalent at USC). Just don't, under any circumstances, go to George Washington.

 

Dude go some place you can get the "college experience" as well as enjoy a nice city that you've probably never been to. Under those parameters UT/ USC are the only choices. Austin is awesome and LA is obviously LA. I would go USC but wouldn't mind UT.

Array
 

From someone who is familiar with all of those universities but does not attend any of them, U of Michigan and USC would be the best times for sure. Sometimes going to the "best school" for academics may not be the best experience for life.

Michigan football is amazing USC best parties

 

you haven't named what you're looking to get out of. the USA is HUGE and each university entails a totally different experience...you will find pieces of American culture anywhere you go in the USA. Remember, there are 50 different states, and even within each state there is a different culture in different parts of it. ie northern California =/= southern California, western Pennsylvania =/= eastern Pennsylvania, etc. So what type of person are you and what do you like?

Do you want to get a fantastic education or hook up with as many hot chicks as possible (not mutually exclusive, but you know what I mean)? Do you absolutely hate cold weather or want to see how the country has fun when it's below freezing? Do you want to experience the "real" USA and be around normal American people from normal backgrounds or in a huge international city? Until you address these the recommendations here are useless for you.

it's like someone who's never been to Europe asking a European "I decided that I'm going to live in Europe for a year and want to see and experience European culture. I've narrowed down my choices to Dublin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Marseilles, Barcelona, Minsk, Naples, Budapest, or Odessa. What's the best?"

Get what I mean? Get on wikipedia and start looking at these areas, states, regions, etc.

 

I hear you! I should've been more specific in my first post as the USA offers many different experiences.

I prefer quality education over a party school so without being too pretentious I do want to visit a university with a good business school, reputation etc. Although I'm not planning to spend all of my time studying as I would also like to see things outside of the classroom/library.

As my current university does not have a campus, but rather buildings across the city, it would be fun to go to a campus-based school to get some of that "American College Experience".

I'm used to a weather ranging from about 80 F in the summer to about 14 F in the winter. So this is not a breaking point for me.

I'll update the thread with more info about me and what I'm interested in when I get the time and research the areas around the universities on my list.

Thanks for pointing this out!

 
  1. University of Southern California = Beautiful weather, good looking people, pretty campus and there are great parties and places to have fun. emphasis on sport events.

  2. University of Michigan = Great environment, amazing football games, fun atmosphere all around while having good academics.

  3. George Washington University = If you are interested in politics, IR, world affairs then there is no better place than DC.

  4. Boston College = If you really love the Boston area.

  5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - meh.

  6. University of Texas at Austin = Football? But you have UMich already, so this shouldn't have much relevance.

  7. University of Washington = If you like rain, there are better places like LSE and Oxford in the UK

  8. Indiana University = Nothing here

 

First, those are all really good schools so I think you'll have a great experience at any of them. Things I would consider with each:

USC - would be difficult to fit in as an exchange student. I've had family members, friends, and coworkers go there and it's a very clubby school that tends to attract rich students that have tight social cliques. The people I knew were all in frats or sororities and were generally arrogant a-holes. It definitely has a rep as a party school.

University of Texas at Austin - this would also be a great choice. The weather is usually great and it's a relaxed student body in a midsized city with a lot to do. Good balance between academics and social.

University of Washington - would be a great choice. Very socially open and liberal campus with a diverse student body. Only downside is it rains a lot. Seattle is a big city but quite nice so a great place to spend a few months.

University of Michigan - similar to UW but weather would be a bigger concern (brutal winters). One of the more academic choices.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - another very balanced choice similar to UT Austin.

Boston College - possibly the most academic of the choices. Smaller student body. Located near Boston and easy access to NYC and Philadelphia if you wanted to do weekend trips there. Brutal winters.

George Washington University - not sure.

Indiana University - personally this wouldn't be my top choice as it's located in a smaller town, so you wouldn't be able to visit the bigger cities as easily. Hate to stereotype but most of the people I meet from IU are from the midwest and have relatively limited horizons.

 

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We're not lawyers. We're investment bankers. We didn't go to Harvard. We Went to Wharton!
 

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I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

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