Organization
First of all, a very big praise to the staff of MicroEDU. The organization of my summer session in Boston was easy and straightforward. There was always an open ear for all questions and e-mails were answered very quickly. I can only recommend studying or studying abroad through MicroEDU. The organization’s help does not cost anything either.
About six months before the start of my stay abroad, I thought about my dream university and finally applied about three months in advance via MicroEDU. In my opinion, this is enough time to calmly prepare everything. As soon as I gave my definitive acceptance to MicroEDU, everything went pretty quickly. MicroEDU guides you through all the details of the application. The effort is relatively low. My advice: only book your flight when you have secured your visa. Plan enough time here, because it took me 4 weeks to get my visa.
According to iamaccepted, BU has a beautiful old campus where you can run almost any distance. All buildings are connected by a large street. So if you are expecting the typical US campus from the American Pie films, you are wrong here. Still very nice. The so-called BU buses run back and forth between the buildings every 15 minutes and are free for students.
The absolute highlight of the campus: the Fitrec Center. Free for full-time students. A huge fitness studio with an indoor pool and all the trimmings. Many sports are offered here that can be used cheaply. Since the campus is right on the Charles River, sailing or rowing are ideal. A great thing in great summer weather.
You can get to the city quickly from the main campus. The main shopping streets with many cafes, restaurants and clubs can be reached in just 20 minutes. Everything can be done on foot. The biggest disadvantage of Boston: In the very conservative city all bars and clubs close at 2 a. m.
Accommodation
I chose the classic dormitory style here. I lived in one of the brownstone houses on Bay State Road. They are quite old and unfortunately have no air conditioning. So it can be pretty tough in summer. But they give you the typical American campus housing and you quickly get to know a lot of people. Since they are cleaned every day, they are also relatively clean. So I can only recommend it to others. It is important that you order a refrigerator and microwave in advance, the cost for the entire 12-week summer session is around 200 euros.
Eating
Dining in the cafeteria always takes some getting used to, but the BU cafeterias offer a relatively large variety. I wouldn’t recommend more meals than 10 per week, however, so you still have enough meals left to fill with friends in town. I can only recommend using all meals, otherwise it quickly becomes expensive if you also eat a lot. Boston is very expensive – but also offers a wide variety of different restaurants and bars. Anyone who likes classic American fast food will find a snack on every corner.
Courses
If you come from a good German university, you shouldn’t worry. The courses are demanding, but quite feasible. The difference to German universities is that you have to continuously do a lot for the course, such as housework or working through chapters for the next lecture. I do not recommend taking more than two courses per session – preferably three in the entire 12-week term, so that there is still enough time to enjoy the summer and explore the city and the surrounding area. In general, I would choose courses at level 300 or 400. Everything under it didn’t seem demanding enough to me. I was very happy with the choice of my courses. Even when I changed a course afterwards there were no problems. The Summer Term Office is directly on campus and it is no problem to change a course at short notice if the professor agrees. However, this is not a problem in summer as the courses are usually not full. In addition, international students also seem to receive privileged treatment.
Fun
Boston is a student city! There is definitely enough to explore here. Cambridge with Harvard and MIT are also great and only a few minutes away by subway. Since the Charles River is right in front of the house, many water sports and boat tours are available. The city offers a lot of history. Clubs and bars are plentiful. And there are also the classic college and fraternity parties.
I’ve also done a few short trips such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. The islands around Boston are also well worth seeing, such as Spectable Island and Martha’s Vineyard. So you definitely won’t get bored.
Boston
Now for the negative part of my report. The summer at the BU was anything but cheap for me. You should be aware that this is a great opportunity to see the world and therefore plan more money than less so that you can enjoy it. All in all, I spent about $ 15,000 if you include the flight and tuition fees. BU was well worth the money. Most of the time you only do something like this once in a lifetime, so enjoy it!
