I. Monthly Log

January: Arrival, Orientation, Chinese New Year

I arrived at UMD on the earliest move-in day. The weather was a bit chilly, but

I was told it had been quite warm compared to the previous year. I had a week of free

time before school started. I took this time to familiarize myself with the large and

beautiful campus and also to get all the important things done, such as student ID,

health insurance, visa, bank account, etc. I got to know other exchange students

through the DC excursion held by school. It was also a very interesting time to be in

DC due to the change in political

landscape. It was a day before the

inauguration and we were able to

walk freely on the streets due to street

closure. On the day of inauguration,

we saw people celebrating and some

others protesting. My first impression

for DC was great, and thus decided I

should visit often and explore as

many places as possible. Finally, the

school started from the last week of January. On the Chinese New Year Eve, all

exchange students from Hong Kong had hot pot together. Then on the last of January,

I finally saw the first snowfall in my life. A thin layer of white covered the whole

campus. The view was so beautiful!

February: School, DC, Philly

February was mainly about schoolwork, short trips and relaxing lifestyle.

Assignments and quizzes were a big part of workload for most of the courses I took.

Some first midterm took place in late February as well. I might have quizzes or

deliverables due every class, so I tried my best to make sure I was not behind. UMD

is famous for its men basketball. I watched my first game this month. It was a really

special and exciting experience. During weekends, I spent time going around DC.

There are a number of great museums (a lot of them are free!) and beautiful places

like Georgetown that I enjoyed a lot. I also arranged a short trip to Philly with other

exchange students. Philly had an old city vibe and was suitable for a short 3-day trip.

March: Midterm, Spring Break

After finishing several presentations and midterms in the beginning of March,

the most anticipated spring break began in mid-March! My friend and I traveled to

Miami and New Orleans. Generally

people think of these two cities as party

destinations but we found them both

very unique and had so much more to

offer. I was fortunate to travel with a

friend with easy-going personality and a

driver license! We drove all the way

down to Key West and Everglade Park.

The scenery along Route 1 was purely

stunning. We encountered many

unforgettable episodes and created so

many once-in-a-lifetime memories. Weather in the south was wonderful, and our

schedule went smoothly. We came back feeling refreshed and ready for the second

half of the semester.

April: School, Projects

Although the weather was gradually turning warm, it could still get quite cold

during this time. The annual Cherry Blossom Festival in DC took place in late March

this year but I didn’t have time then, so I visited DC in early April. Tidal basin was

one of the most popular places to enjoy

the view. The rest of the month was

mostly about schoolwork and spending

time with friends on campus. I spent

quite a lot of time on group projects and

assignments. I felt lucky to have nice

teammates and became close with them

through working on projects and studying

together. During weekends, I sometimes

spent time in DC, went to free fitness

classes offered by the university, or just

dined out at nearby places like Rockville

with friends.

May: Final exam, Travel

My exchange life at UMD was about to come to an end. May was mainly

about finishing up projects and exams. UMD doesn’t have a study week like UST, so

make sure you manage your revision time well. Sadly, it was also time to bid farewell

to my UMD friends. After my semester officially ended, I traveled to Chicago, which

was an extremely charming city that I definitely recommend going, with other

exchange friends and then flew to Las Vegas to meet up with my family for our west

coast and Canada Rocky Mountain trip.

II. General Exchange Information

Normally you will need a J1 visa. Just follow the instructions and you shall be

fine. Remember to make an appointment with the US consular as soon as you receive

DS-2019 from UMD. I would like to point out one thing that you should pay extra

attention to. When you are at the customs, make sure to confirm that the record, both

the handwriting on passport and the record officer enters into computer system, says

you are using your J1 visa to enter. For my case, the officer made a mistake and

entered F1 instead, so I had to go back to the airport to correct it later on.

Orientation activities were held one week before school started. Some were

compulsory some were not. I suggest you attend since they talked about important

topics such as course registration and visa, and it was a great opportunity to meet new

friends and learn more about UMD from local students.

If you know a bit cooking, I would suggest you apply for apartment mainly

because the expensive dining plan could be waived in this case. If you prefer certain

dorm, you should email the housing office to specify your preferences. I stayed at Old

Leonardtown, which was apartment form. It was a bit far from business school

(around 20-25 minute walk), but I really enjoyed staying there because it was the

closet to the college park metro station (less than 10 minute walk), quiet, and

independent housing has a totally different feeling from living in dorm on campus.

All the business courses should be registered through a business school

advisor. You should register other courses by yourself online.

Remember to check-in every day to save your place on waitlist. Also, be aware

that you can drop courses even until early April, but you can’t add any course after the

first two weeks.

BMGT402

Database Systems

Instructor: Lanfei Shi

Workload: 12 quizzes, 10 homework and lab assignment, 1

(Equivalent course:

ISOM3260)

group project, final exam

This course taught SQL, ER and relational model. With some

basic knowledge learned from ISOM3210, you would not

find the content too difficult. Workload seemed quite a lot but

it was absolutely manageable. Group project required many

deliverables but offered great opportunity for hands-on

experiences. Quizzes and final exam were all open-book.

BMGT440

Advanced

Financial

Management

(Equivalent course:

FINA3303)

Instructor: Susan White

Workload: Homework, case study, in-class activity, 1 group

project, 1 takeover project, 2 exams

This course taught topics such as capital budgeting,

financing, dividend, IPO, M&A, etc. A lot of time was spent

on case study which made it a very practical course. You will

be familiar with DCF, multiples, etc at the end. Professor

White was a very nice and approachable professor.

BMGT444

Futures and

Options

(Equivalent course:

FINA

Instructor: Julien Cujean

Workload: 4 assignment, 1 final exam

This course covered topics including futures, forwards,

options, binomial option pricing, Black-Scholes model, etc.

Lectures included a lot of math, and the assignments could be

very hard and took very long time to finish. The grading was

relatively generous in my opinion.

BMGT446

International

Finance

(Equivalent course:

FINA4403)

Instructor: Michael Padhi

Workload: 5 homework, 14 quizzes, 1 project, 2 midterm, 1

final exam

This course covered topics such as foreign exchange, global

financing strategy, foreign financial trade, global capital

budgeting, parity, etc. It was a relatively easy and useful

course, and the instructor explained concepts very slowly and

clearly. Exam questions were similar to those on homework

and lecture note.

SOCY100

Introduction to

Sociology

Instructor: Andrés Villarreal

Workload: 5 pop quizzes, 3 midterm, 1 paper

(Equivalent course:

SOSC1850

This course taught sociology theories and focus on several

social topics, such as population, family, education, crime,

inequality, etc. The content wasn’t difficult and I find it

interesting to learn and think about those social issues from

US perspective.

&

It is usually very safe on campus, but it is always unwise to go out late alone.

And always be aware of your personal belongings and your surroundings.

Mostly winter and fall clothes, and a bit summer clothes

Laptop

Charger and adaptor

Stationary and financial calculator

Copy of important documents

International driver license

Medicine

Cash

Course registration, waitlist check-in, financial inquiry, unofficial transcript, etc

http://www.testudo.umd.edu/

ELMS (similar to Canvas)

https://www.elms.umd.edu/

Housing

http://reslife.umd.edu/