학부
체험수기
안녕하세요, 2017-2학기 미국 남부 Lousiana주에 있는 New Orleans에 위치한 Tulane University로 파견되었던 한지수 라고 합니다. 어렸을 때부터 미국에서 대학 생활을 한번쯤 해보고 싶다는 생각에 교환 프로그램에 지원하게 되었습니다. 예전에 파견되었던 학생과 같이, 한국인이 거의 없는 환경에서 새로운 경험을 쌓아보고 싶어서 남부쪽에 있는 New Orleans를 선택하게 되었습니다. 희망 파견교 리스트를 제출하기 전에 여러 대학교들을 검색을 해봤는데 New Orleans는 제가 살아왔던 환경이랑 너무나 다르고 매우 festive해 보여서 top choice에 넣게 되었습니다.
1) Introduction of New Orleans and Tulane University
When I read the previous reviews of the past exchange students, many of them mentioned about the safety of the city, how dangerous it was at times and that students had to be careful. While I was there I only knew about a few robbery cases and thankfully I never had to experience any dangerous situation during my exchange. Rather, I felt that it was safer than what many people thought about New Orleans. This was probably because the university was very protective and provided students with several services that enhanced safety. Whenever there was some sort of crime, the university would email a “Crime Alert” to all students about the incident and warn them about such situations. Additionally, before classes started, all students attend the orientation where students were educated about what to do in certain situations and how to prevent dangerous situations. Not only that but in the evening, Tulane University also provides students with an Uber-type of car service, Tapride, that takes students home or anywhere they need to go within the “Gold Zone”. The student body is very diverse so you can meet people from diverse backgrounds. The university has numerous activities, festivals, and clubs. Outside of school, the city also has festivals almost weekly. Although I was sad that I was not going to be able to attend the main festival, Mardi Gras, I had arrived just in time to see the Mid Summer Mardi Gras. I loved the ambience, very festive and friendly.
2) Things to do before leaving
-Once you are nominated to go to Tulane, the international programs office from Tulane University will send you an application package to your email. The application papers are not very difficult and if you have any questions about the papers, send an email to the exchange coordinator of Tulane University and she will help you in every step. About the course registration, the US colleges also have something similar to 쿠클루 which is used for all colleges across the US. http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ Just be aware that the website does not ALWAYS have all of the classes that you are looking for. With this website, you will be able to have a better understanding of the course. Also, you will probably need the syllabus of the courses so ask the coordinator for these in advance since it takes time for them to get these from the professors.
-The documents you might want to start right away are the Immunization form(백신접종), VISA, and the financial document. The course registration is done for you by Tulane but in order for them to do it for you, you need to submit the immunization form and have it approved. Tulane Univ will give you a list of the vaccinations/tests you need and you just need to take this to the doctor and he or she will help you. In my case, I had to go to two different hospitals. First I went to 고대안암병원 to get the QuantiFERON TB Gold test which is a blood test to detect tuberculosis. Some people think you can go to the 보건소 for this but no, the blood test type is done at hospitals. For the shots, I had to contact a nearby pediatrician, show my 아기수첩 and get the missing shots. I went to the closest pediatrician, 김세진소아청소년과의원, located in 월곡역. These shots and tests are expensive by the way. For the VISA, you can find detailed instructions online. The VISA interview is just a 2minute conversation of “Where are you going? What are you going to do in the US?”. For the financial document, my parents who live abroad sent me a scanned version of the document so I am not sure of how exactly the process is but according to previous students, it is not complicated.
-Months before going to New Orleans I had already started to look for houses through “Tulane Classified” which is a facebook page used by Tulane students and Uptown residents. It’s basically a platform to buy/sell items and you can also find housing information. I had found really good places at good prices but did not sign a contract because the coordinator and other students said it was best to visit the place in person and then decide. Although it is true, you might also lose a good room while waiting to arrive to New Orleans. If you think it is really good, close to the school(walkable or bikeable) it is not a bad idea to close the deal through email(some of my friends did this). I waited until I got to New Orleans, stayed in an Airbnb near the school for a week and signed a contract in a so-so house ($650 including utilities)with another exchange student because there weren’t any good places left. You can find decent places for 650~750 a month. So make sure you look into that page in advance and also, try to find a roommate before arriving. And just so you know, the international office does not help very much with housing.
-I arrived to New Orleans Mid August and it was very humid, hot, rainy. Carrying an umbrella everywhere was a must! Also, because it is a stormy season it is good if you have your rain boots with you because when it rains, it floods. I took mostly summer clothes and only a few of fall-winter clothes. Make up products were the only things I brought from KR. The rest of toiletries I bought them at Walmart.
3) After arriving
-Orientation: Few days before classes start, there will be a “Meet and Greet” session where you can meet other international students. You will also have to go to 2 orientations: one for business school students and another one for all exchange students. It is mandatory to attend these orientations since they help you log in to the school WIFI and give out important information for international students specifically.
-Sim Card: After you complete your application package, you will receive a welcome packet from Tulane which will have important documents as well as a mobile sim card(MintSim) for you to use when you arrive the US. Do not EVER activate this chip because it has a very bad service. During the Meet and Greet, people from AT&T will visit to help students with the purchase of prepaid plans. I got the $45/mo package with unlimited texts&calls+6GB of data.
-Bank account: I made a debit card at Chase because the previous exchange student recommended it. It worked perfectly. Easy to open an account and easy to close when leaving.
-Health insurance/Health Center: The health insurance is mandatory. The school offers their own health plan but it is ridiculously expensive. I followed the steps of the previous exchange student and got a waive by getting a health plan from ISO. You get to choose the time period in months. I selected a time period of 5 months and it was about $100~$120/mo. You then need to apply for a waiver through a school system online and get approved. Sometimes students get declined but just contact the agents and they will help you. Apart from the health insurance there is an additional cost for the health center which is also mandatory. This is about $320 and to be honest and my friends and I were very disappointed with the health center. They do not have doctors or anything helpful for when you are very sick. All they do is measure your temperature and help you book a doctor.
4) Courses
-Dimensions of HR (Prof Ambika Prasad, 3학점, 전공선택인정)
You learn about all the aspects you deal with as a HR manager. It was a 8am class but really enjoyed it. The professor is nice and she really knows how to teach a class. The course consists of PPTs, participation is important, 1 team project&report, mid term&final exam, 4 quizzes(worst grade is disregarded), and guest speakers.
-Strategic mgmt. (Prof Jennifer Kuan, 3학점, 전공필수인정)
Analyzed companies’ business strategies. It was kind of an intensive class. 9:30 am class, reading assignments everyday: a case study & parts of Michael Porter’s book, writing assignments, team project and quizzes(6). Reading is mandatory because you never know when you will get a pop quiz. They are really easy but you have to read in order to answer the questions. The professor would go over the whole reading throughout the class and ask questions to students. Participation is extremely important in this class. There are no exams but there is a team project: presenatation&report. At the beginning of the semester the professor brings in two clients and you choose one client to work with. The project is basically applying the concepts learned in class to help the client to enhance their business.
-Negotiations (Prof Michael Wilson, 3학점, 전공선택인정)
The professor is very nice and funny and really wants all students to do their best as a businessmen/women. There is a program that all students have to purchase called iDecisiongames ($75). This program is used every class and it basically assigns every student a role: buyer or seller, it gives them a particular situation and students need to negotiate and come to a deal. It was a very fun, interactive class. I learned a lot about negotiations in the business world. The best part of this class is that you get to experiment whether particular actions or words help the negotiation or not. There are no exams but one team project.
-Ceramics (Prof Michelle Swafford, 3학점, 교양인정)
I wanted to try something new and com pletely different from my major. I used to like making artsy things with my hands so I registered for this course. If anyone is looking for an elective course, I would really recommend them this class. Some art major students took the course as a requirement but one third of the students were from a completely unrelated major. All sorts of techniques are learned, you might need to spend a few hours outside class but it is really fun and helps you relax throughout the semester and explore your creative mind.
Clubs I joined:
-I met a friend from Tulane while she was in KU as an exchange student and when I went on the exchange, she recommended me to join TUVA which is the Tulane University Vietnamese Association. At first I thought only Vietnamese people could join the group but it was open for everyone and anyone interested in the Vietnamese culture. I went a few times and had a great time with very nice people.
-I joined BCM which is a Christian community gathering and it was nothing like I imagined. I thought it would be gatherings for bible study but it was more like an international networking time. Every Thursday they hosted “International night” and it was dinner+games+meeting people. It was very fun and if you join this group, you will be able to go on a trip to the beach in Alabama and go to special holiday dinners with cool people. *You do not have to be Christian to join BCM! Anyone is welcome.
Additional notes:
-Every Sunday I went to a Korean church in Metairie: First Presbyterian Church. It was a small church with only 8 adults and 5kids and I was the only person of my age. Thanks to the pastor at my church, I got in contact with an old couple from this church that were pretty much like my parents while I was in New Orleans. I cannot thank them enough for taking good care of me. All the people at church were actually very caring and extremely nice. I also loved the fact that I could get free Korean food every Sunday after the service.
-The sports facility: Reily Center, is huge. Regular Tulane students have to pay a monthly plan to use this facility but for exchange students it is free.
Getting around: Uber is expensive and buses take forever so I walked a lot, bought a bike, used the streetcar, the school shuttle buses, and Tapride. If you meet a Tapride driver named Kevin,(always wears a hat) say hi for me! He is very nice and hilarious. My friends and I ended up being really good friends with him and we were like VIP riders. Also, I sometimes used a carsharing app to rent a car for a few hours. It is similar to SoCar. The only different thing is that the Enterprise Carshare does not have a lot of cars allocated all around the place. Tulane has a special deal with Enterprise Carshare which leaves you at $5 per hour and $30 for an entire day. I only used it a few times when my friend and I needed to buy a lot of things from Walmart. It is kind of a cumbersome process to get the key card but still worth it. *You do not need an international driver’s license for this.
-Tulane University’s dining hall Bruff Commons is a buffet style dining place and it is usually used by the regular students who have a meal plan but you can enter by paying the daily fee. They have a lot of good food. Loyola University’s dining hall has a 50% discount ($7) every Wednesday, also a buffet style and its good.
1) Introduction of New Orleans and Tulane University
When I read the previous reviews of the past exchange students, many of them mentioned about the safety of the city, how dangerous it was at times and that students had to be careful. While I was there I only knew about a few robbery cases and thankfully I never had to experience any dangerous situation during my exchange. Rather, I felt that it was safer than what many people thought about New Orleans. This was probably because the university was very protective and provided students with several services that enhanced safety. Whenever there was some sort of crime, the university would email a “Crime Alert” to all students about the incident and warn them about such situations. Additionally, before classes started, all students attend the orientation where students were educated about what to do in certain situations and how to prevent dangerous situations. Not only that but in the evening, Tulane University also provides students with an Uber-type of car service, Tapride, that takes students home or anywhere they need to go within the “Gold Zone”. The student body is very diverse so you can meet people from diverse backgrounds. The university has numerous activities, festivals, and clubs. Outside of school, the city also has festivals almost weekly. Although I was sad that I was not going to be able to attend the main festival, Mardi Gras, I had arrived just in time to see the Mid Summer Mardi Gras. I loved the ambience, very festive and friendly.
2) Things to do before leaving
-Once you are nominated to go to Tulane, the international programs office from Tulane University will send you an application package to your email. The application papers are not very difficult and if you have any questions about the papers, send an email to the exchange coordinator of Tulane University and she will help you in every step. About the course registration, the US colleges also have something similar to 쿠클루 which is used for all colleges across the US. http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ Just be aware that the website does not ALWAYS have all of the classes that you are looking for. With this website, you will be able to have a better understanding of the course. Also, you will probably need the syllabus of the courses so ask the coordinator for these in advance since it takes time for them to get these from the professors.
-The documents you might want to start right away are the Immunization form(백신접종), VISA, and the financial document. The course registration is done for you by Tulane but in order for them to do it for you, you need to submit the immunization form and have it approved. Tulane Univ will give you a list of the vaccinations/tests you need and you just need to take this to the doctor and he or she will help you. In my case, I had to go to two different hospitals. First I went to 고대안암병원 to get the QuantiFERON TB Gold test which is a blood test to detect tuberculosis. Some people think you can go to the 보건소 for this but no, the blood test type is done at hospitals. For the shots, I had to contact a nearby pediatrician, show my 아기수첩 and get the missing shots. I went to the closest pediatrician, 김세진소아청소년과의원, located in 월곡역. These shots and tests are expensive by the way. For the VISA, you can find detailed instructions online. The VISA interview is just a 2minute conversation of “Where are you going? What are you going to do in the US?”. For the financial document, my parents who live abroad sent me a scanned version of the document so I am not sure of how exactly the process is but according to previous students, it is not complicated.
-Months before going to New Orleans I had already started to look for houses through “Tulane Classified” which is a facebook page used by Tulane students and Uptown residents. It’s basically a platform to buy/sell items and you can also find housing information. I had found really good places at good prices but did not sign a contract because the coordinator and other students said it was best to visit the place in person and then decide. Although it is true, you might also lose a good room while waiting to arrive to New Orleans. If you think it is really good, close to the school(walkable or bikeable) it is not a bad idea to close the deal through email(some of my friends did this). I waited until I got to New Orleans, stayed in an Airbnb near the school for a week and signed a contract in a so-so house ($650 including utilities)with another exchange student because there weren’t any good places left. You can find decent places for 650~750 a month. So make sure you look into that page in advance and also, try to find a roommate before arriving. And just so you know, the international office does not help very much with housing.
-I arrived to New Orleans Mid August and it was very humid, hot, rainy. Carrying an umbrella everywhere was a must! Also, because it is a stormy season it is good if you have your rain boots with you because when it rains, it floods. I took mostly summer clothes and only a few of fall-winter clothes. Make up products were the only things I brought from KR. The rest of toiletries I bought them at Walmart.
3) After arriving
-Orientation: Few days before classes start, there will be a “Meet and Greet” session where you can meet other international students. You will also have to go to 2 orientations: one for business school students and another one for all exchange students. It is mandatory to attend these orientations since they help you log in to the school WIFI and give out important information for international students specifically.
-Sim Card: After you complete your application package, you will receive a welcome packet from Tulane which will have important documents as well as a mobile sim card(MintSim) for you to use when you arrive the US. Do not EVER activate this chip because it has a very bad service. During the Meet and Greet, people from AT&T will visit to help students with the purchase of prepaid plans. I got the $45/mo package with unlimited texts&calls+6GB of data.
-Bank account: I made a debit card at Chase because the previous exchange student recommended it. It worked perfectly. Easy to open an account and easy to close when leaving.
-Health insurance/Health Center: The health insurance is mandatory. The school offers their own health plan but it is ridiculously expensive. I followed the steps of the previous exchange student and got a waive by getting a health plan from ISO. You get to choose the time period in months. I selected a time period of 5 months and it was about $100~$120/mo. You then need to apply for a waiver through a school system online and get approved. Sometimes students get declined but just contact the agents and they will help you. Apart from the health insurance there is an additional cost for the health center which is also mandatory. This is about $320 and to be honest and my friends and I were very disappointed with the health center. They do not have doctors or anything helpful for when you are very sick. All they do is measure your temperature and help you book a doctor.
4) Courses
-Dimensions of HR (Prof Ambika Prasad, 3학점, 전공선택인정)
You learn about all the aspects you deal with as a HR manager. It was a 8am class but really enjoyed it. The professor is nice and she really knows how to teach a class. The course consists of PPTs, participation is important, 1 team project&report, mid term&final exam, 4 quizzes(worst grade is disregarded), and guest speakers.
-Strategic mgmt. (Prof Jennifer Kuan, 3학점, 전공필수인정)
Analyzed companies’ business strategies. It was kind of an intensive class. 9:30 am class, reading assignments everyday: a case study & parts of Michael Porter’s book, writing assignments, team project and quizzes(6). Reading is mandatory because you never know when you will get a pop quiz. They are really easy but you have to read in order to answer the questions. The professor would go over the whole reading throughout the class and ask questions to students. Participation is extremely important in this class. There are no exams but there is a team project: presenatation&report. At the beginning of the semester the professor brings in two clients and you choose one client to work with. The project is basically applying the concepts learned in class to help the client to enhance their business.
-Negotiations (Prof Michael Wilson, 3학점, 전공선택인정)
The professor is very nice and funny and really wants all students to do their best as a businessmen/women. There is a program that all students have to purchase called iDecisiongames ($75). This program is used every class and it basically assigns every student a role: buyer or seller, it gives them a particular situation and students need to negotiate and come to a deal. It was a very fun, interactive class. I learned a lot about negotiations in the business world. The best part of this class is that you get to experiment whether particular actions or words help the negotiation or not. There are no exams but one team project.
-Ceramics (Prof Michelle Swafford, 3학점, 교양인정)
I wanted to try something new and com pletely different from my major. I used to like making artsy things with my hands so I registered for this course. If anyone is looking for an elective course, I would really recommend them this class. Some art major students took the course as a requirement but one third of the students were from a completely unrelated major. All sorts of techniques are learned, you might need to spend a few hours outside class but it is really fun and helps you relax throughout the semester and explore your creative mind.
Clubs I joined:
-I met a friend from Tulane while she was in KU as an exchange student and when I went on the exchange, she recommended me to join TUVA which is the Tulane University Vietnamese Association. At first I thought only Vietnamese people could join the group but it was open for everyone and anyone interested in the Vietnamese culture. I went a few times and had a great time with very nice people.
-I joined BCM which is a Christian community gathering and it was nothing like I imagined. I thought it would be gatherings for bible study but it was more like an international networking time. Every Thursday they hosted “International night” and it was dinner+games+meeting people. It was very fun and if you join this group, you will be able to go on a trip to the beach in Alabama and go to special holiday dinners with cool people. *You do not have to be Christian to join BCM! Anyone is welcome.
Additional notes:
-Every Sunday I went to a Korean church in Metairie: First Presbyterian Church. It was a small church with only 8 adults and 5kids and I was the only person of my age. Thanks to the pastor at my church, I got in contact with an old couple from this church that were pretty much like my parents while I was in New Orleans. I cannot thank them enough for taking good care of me. All the people at church were actually very caring and extremely nice. I also loved the fact that I could get free Korean food every Sunday after the service.
-The sports facility: Reily Center, is huge. Regular Tulane students have to pay a monthly plan to use this facility but for exchange students it is free.
Getting around: Uber is expensive and buses take forever so I walked a lot, bought a bike, used the streetcar, the school shuttle buses, and Tapride. If you meet a Tapride driver named Kevin,(always wears a hat) say hi for me! He is very nice and hilarious. My friends and I ended up being really good friends with him and we were like VIP riders. Also, I sometimes used a carsharing app to rent a car for a few hours. It is similar to SoCar. The only different thing is that the Enterprise Carshare does not have a lot of cars allocated all around the place. Tulane has a special deal with Enterprise Carshare which leaves you at $5 per hour and $30 for an entire day. I only used it a few times when my friend and I needed to buy a lot of things from Walmart. It is kind of a cumbersome process to get the key card but still worth it. *You do not need an international driver’s license for this.
-Tulane University’s dining hall Bruff Commons is a buffet style dining place and it is usually used by the regular students who have a meal plan but you can enter by paying the daily fee. They have a lot of good food. Loyola University’s dining hall has a 50% discount ($7) every Wednesday, also a buffet style and its good.