Second year! It seemed so far away, and now I’m a month into it. I’m really enjoying it thus far: classes are interesting and smaller in size than first year, and, of course, the weather is great—spring has truly sprung here in Sydney. Yes, Sydney. Like about 10% of my classmates, I have chosen to spend a term on foreign exchange, and I chose to do so at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) in Sydney, Australia. While I definitely miss Tuck, I am appreciating life on exchange. For starters, I get to meet a completely different group of students, both those who have chosen to study full-time at AGSM and those who chose to come here on exchange. Second, while fall in Hanover is amazing, spring is pretty nice over here and makes it easier to enjoy the different outdoor activities Sydney has to offer. Third, I get to interact with a different set of faculty and see how similar/different academics at Tuck are. And, finally, I live near the ocean and can see it from my window (I am literally steps to the ocean—about 100 stairs separate me from the coastal track).
There are definitely differences from Tuck. The program size here is much smaller (50 or so full-time students, about 50% of whom are on foreign exchange this term) and is a straight 18 months (no summer/winter break for internships). The biggest impact that I am seeing thus far is that there are simply fewer outside-of-class opportunities to socialize with classmates—we all live scattered around (some live close to school, some live close to the beaches, others live downtown) and there’s no regular tempo of social activities (like weekly Thursday Tucktails or Monday coffee break). There are also similarities: group work is required in each of my classes, and the case method abounds.
Regardless of similarities or differences, this has been an amazing experience thus far and I am grateful for the opportunity to gain experience living abroad, explore a new country/city, and enjoy spring again!