Boston College Exchange Report (Fall 2019)

By: Javier Paul LAO

BBA Economics & Finance Class of 2021

A Little Bit About Myself By way of introduction, my name is Javier LAO, but you can call me Javi. I’m a 3rd year double major in Economics and Finance from the Philippines. Growing up, me and my family moved around a lot, so when I got the chance to participate in the exchange program, I jumped at the opportunity to explore and add Boston to the list. This turned out to be one of the better choices I’ve made in the last 21 years! Over the course of the program, I was pushed to grow and explore myself in new and strange situations, which I believe has only changed me for the better. If you’ve got your heart set on the United States for your exchange institution, I give Boston College the highest recommendation possible.

Monthly Activity Log August I arrived in Boston in late August, equal parts anxious and excited. Would I make any friends? Are the classes going to be hard? Is college in America really like in the movies? (It is.) The weather was on the uncomfortable end of warm whilst I was busy checking in and setting up my dorm room, taking the customary trip to target to stock up on essentials(i.e. pillows, sheets, blankets, etc.). Most of my queries on vaccinations, course selection, and banking were all answered during the orientation for exchange students. Orientation is also the best opportunity you’ll get to meet fellow exchange students and make some friends to navigate the whole exchange experience with. In my opinion, you should really try to branch away from students from your home country to really have as rich an experience as possible. Also don’t forget to explore the city, Bostonian architecture is truly unique!

September An academically quiet period, this is probably the best chance you’ll have to travel and go out before you get bogged down with assignments and exams. At this point I had gotten pretty close with a group of European exchange students and we’d decided to check out New York on one of our long weekends! We scoured the city from noon to the early hours of the morning checking out the night life whilst making sure to tick off the main tourist draws. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, had burgers at Times Square, checked out Rockefeller Plaza and settled on a picnic in Central Park.

Coincidentally, it just so happened that the US Open was going on at the same time, so me and a couple Dutch guys spontaneously booked tickets. We got to see Nadal and Medvedev face off in a particularly heated game, the suspense and intensity was palpable! October Midterm season is in full effect! Luckily, I was on a Pass/Fail scheme which allowed me to experience a level of relaxation and procrastination unseen since my first semester of freshman year at HKUST. This opened the possibilities up to a whole range of activities, from binging Netflix to enjoying the Halloween parties. It starts to get fairly cold at this point of the year, with the trees turning all shades of red and orange, but for some reason on October 31st, the weather provided respite for the dozens of house parties taking place around Boston College. At this point, my friends and I began talking about how quickly the semester was going and how we’d already reached the midpoint of our time together. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

November By November, winter starts to get a bit chilly (think 0 to 5 Celsius), so I took the Thanksgiving break as a chance to escape the cold for a bit. My exchange friends went to check out Cuba while I decided to visit some high school friends studying in California. Given that my friend was part Iranian, I had a uniquely Persian thanksgiving with my friend’s family in LA (if you ever get the chance, turkey kebab is a must try). They made me feel right at home! Afterwards, we skipped most of the LA tourist attractions and opted instead for Fairfax where some of the more creative types in LA prefer to spend their time. From art galleries to vintage clothing stores, there was never a shortage of interesting things to check out.

December By the time December rolled around, I had already put on an extra 10 lbs from late night eats (American food is large and always accessible). During the study break that precedes final exams, my exchange friends had gone for a trip to Montreal while I had to stay back in Boston as I was interviewing for internships in Hong Kong via video and phone. They had a really fun time and I got an internship so I think that worked out well!

The snow really starts picking up at this point, which made for a pretty fun snowball fight with all the exchange kids! We celebrated a bunch of birthdays and enjoyed the last month we had together as a group. Exam season went off without a hitch, nothing a few hours of cramming couldn’t fix.

Not long after the end of exams, I had to head to Australia early to catch my brother’s wedding, this ended my exchange program a bit sooner than I would’ve liked, but I was happy to have experienced it at all. As much as Boston College is a cool university and Boston is an interesting city, I can honestly say that what made my experience so rich and rewarding were the people I met along the way.

General Exchange Information Visa Procedure The visa procedure is extremely straight forward with the US consulate. The exchange out office at HKUST really handles the heavy lifting when it comes to documentation. The visa interview is extremely relaxed, and almost none of my supporting documents were actually requested. Accomodations I was lucky enough to get housing on campus at Greycliff Hall. While this allowed me to not stress about finding roommates and an apartment to rent for the semester (which can be quite difficult for such a short period of time), it did end up costing more than some of the better alternatives. Not to mention the oversized meal plan that is required to be purchased for on-campus housing which is non-refundable. (I ended up buying everyone free food to try and spend the remaining funds (I failed)). Transportation In terms of getting to classes, I was able to use the BC shuttle which runs until about 1 am and is extremely convenient and free. While you can use the T to get around Boston, I ended up relying pretty heavily on Uber and Lyft to get around. Orientation Activities While previous exchange classes had access to an introductory cruise in the fall semester, we were unfortunately not included in this year’s one. Nevertheless, a couple of socially inclined Australians took the liberty of organising a party at the local bar, so I’d argue we had just as much fun! Course Registration. & Teaching Methods I took the following 5 courses listed below. All courses had an HKUST equivalent and therefore yielded 17 transfer credits. Course Code Course Name Professor HKUST equivalent FINA4303 Fixed Income Analysis Helen Peters FINA4303 (3 Cr) MFIN1127 Corporate Finance Elliott Smith FINA3303 (3 Cr) ECON3334 Econometric Methods Sajala Pandey ECON3334 (4 Cr) ECON3371 International Trade Daniel Lashkari ECON4364 (4 Cr) PSYC1110 Intro to Psychology Gene Heyman SOSC1960 (3 Cr)

While Americans might be more vocal during classes, actual academic difficulty is equal to / less than that of HKUST. In terms of sorting out which

courses to take, I recommend consulting the transfer credit system on the exchange out website for HKUST to make the most out of the classes you take. As a side note, there were noticeably less presentations required in these courses compared to the usual class at HKUST. Also to avoid any headaches, DO NOT TAKE International Trade. International Services By far the most valuable resource you can consult if you’re confused by anything is the International Students Office, specifically Minna Ha is the go-to on most issues you will face when setting up. Having trouble enrolling in certain courses? Talk to Minna Ha. Have you been wrongfully charged for vaccination fees? Talk to Minna Ha. She’s very nice and will help you sort it out. Climate August – Early September: Reasonably warm. Mid-September – October: Starts getting a little chilly, a jumper will suffice. Late October – December: Basically the tundra, bring layers to insulate. Finance & Banking While I got to campus early and was able to set up my account with Bank of America in the city, most banking needs will be settled during the orientation lecture. A local branch nearby the university is conveniently located to fulfil most of your needs with Bank of America ATMs spread all around campus. All though you can simplify your life a lot more by just using Apple Pay. Networking & Social Clubs Given my heavy interest in the world of finance, I casually attended the Boston College Investment Club. There is no shortage of clubs to join, all of which will be on display during a massive club fair which will be announced beforehand by the international office. Sports & Recreation Facilities Boston College just finished construction on a four floor complex consisting of three basketball courts, four tennis courts, an Olympic-sized pool, and tons of gym equipment. The university also hosts sign-up classes for yoga, palates, and even soul cycle.

Checklist: - Winter Coat - Boats are optional but useful - Passport, I-20 - Adaptors - Vaccination Records - Bedding Items - Phones, Laptops, Etc (Laptops can be borrowed from the library) - Suit in case of interviews and formal events

Contacts & Useful Links:

- Minna Ha (Your Exchange Advisor at BC) – hamc@bc.edu - Agora Portal (Similar to HKUST SIS) - http://portal.bc.edu - BC Canvas - https://bostoncollege.instructure.com/ - BC Course Information - https://www.bc.edu/courses - HKUST Transfer Credit System - https://crtran.ust.hk/credit_instit

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out, good luck!

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