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Regular version of the site

Exchange Programme in George Mason University (USA)

Maria Ryadova, a 2nd year student of ‘World Economy’ programme of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics shares her impressions about the exchange semester at George Mason Universiy, USA. The trip was supported by the Endowment Fund of Higher School of Economics.

My spring semester 2020 I spent in the USA taking part in the international student exchange program. My host university, George Mason University, is located in Fairfax county, Virginia. Living on campus was very convenient for me. First of all, libraries, canteens, learning buildings were at my fingertips and I did not have to spend time commuting from home to the university and back. In addition to this, I was never bored living on campus, the life was in full swing. There were a great many events for students, especially for international ones. The local international office organized meetings to adapt students to a new country and culture. It was possible there to make friends from all over the world from China and India to Western Europe.

However, despite the fact that the life on campus was fun and interesting, sometimes I wanted to go to the downtown. And exactly at this moment I faced some obstacles. In America almost everyone has a car, that is why an American urban public transport is not developed to the same extent as in Moscow or European cities. Living in the U.S. you have to get used to the situation when, for instance, buses do not always go on schedule and on weekends and holidays they have long breaks. However, such insignificant difficulties can not be compared with the fact that in just 1-1.5 hours you can get to the US capital - Washington and see the White House and the Capitol, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, take a walk along the National Mall, and visit the Library of Congress and the National Gallery of Art.

I was also surprised by the American education system, which has a number of differences from the Russian one. First of all, each semester students choose disciplines they want to study in the next semester on their own (of course, there is still a number of compulsory subjects and elective subjects that a student must complete in 4 years), make up an individual schedule for themselves and choose the number of classes they want to take each week. This means that there is not such a familiar concept as a “university group” in the USA. On each subject you have new groupmates, which means that the chances of finding friends are increasing! And some more interesting facts about studying in the USA: you can start studying in America not only in September, but also in January; the student has the opportunity to get their bachelor’s degree in 3 or 3.5 years; and for those who like to study all year round, there is an opportunity to have classes even in summer, since there is a third (summer) semester in American universities. As you can see, American students have a wide range to choose from.