2018 FALL EXCHANGE THE BEST TIME TO EXCHANGE BECAUSE OF THE

WEATHER AND THE NUMBER OF HOLIDAYS YOU GET

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ’S IVEY RANKED 9TH IN AS ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST PARTY UNIVERSITIES

TOMAS, ANGEL DIANNE KIRSTY

YEAR 3 MARKETING & MANAGEMENT MAJOR

General Exchange Information First thing’s first: WESTERN IS A BIG PARTY SCHOOL. You have now been warned. Also since I was confused to why the place I was exchanging to was always referred to differently, let me first explain the difference between Ivey and Western: Ivey is the name used to refer to the business school in Western. Since Ivey students always have classes in Ivey and stay there at all times and because of the difference in teaching and examination styles, people typically say they are from Ivey rather than Western when they are asked. Students at Ivey also barely get to interact with other Western students and vice versa due to them typically never having to move between buildings. With that, I shall now move on to the basic information of my exchange, which I have ordered according to relevance.

Visa Procedures & Flight I have a passport; therefore, I did not need to apply for a visa to go to Canada since I am able to legally stay in Canada for up to six months. Nevertheless, it was required for me to apply for an Electronic Travel Authentication (eTA) as a visa-exempt foreign national flying to Canada by air. You can check if you are eligible to get one online and apply for it online. You can apply for eTA online for $7CAD and it should take only a few minutes for it to process before you get an email confirmation. The eTA should then be electronically linked to your passport and will last for five years or until your passport expires. You can get more information about it here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees- citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta/facts.html If you wish to go to the USA with a HK passport, you are required to get a visa. Since I did not choose to go, it would be better if you referred to the other exchange reports provided from previous exchange students, as they all went. It is also to note that many of the exchange students in Ivey are likely to be travelling there and all around if you wish to go with them. (Special mention to KUNG Wai Tat’s report, who’s report I think is very useful!)

With your flight tickets, HKUST provides special airfare flight deals with Cathay, which you can check over here: https://studyabroad.ust.hk/outbound/finances-support/airfare. Note that you should be getting an email regarding it later after you get accepted to your exchange university from HKUST’s exchange coordinator. They provide you a round-trip, and there is a deadline to which you can book your flight ticket, which should be around late April. The flights available may be very sparse depending on where you are going. For example, I flew in very early on the 19th of August despite orientation starting on the 5th of September because there were no flights later than that date or earlier than the 5th. Luckily, I have some relatives living in Ontario and so lived with them before going to London to move in for orientation. You should be getting a facts sheet from HKUST’s exchange coordinator containing key dates and information about start dates, exams, enrolment, and grading around March so you can base your planning around that. According to those documents exams would end on the 12th, so I booked my tickets on the 14th, although in the end I had no exams. Perhaps give yourself an extra week in case an exam cancels because of bad snow, as the university will postpone the exam onto a date after the stipulated date and does not tolerate for any reasons. Although, this is very unlikely, as bad weather typically comes in around mid-January. When you get to the airport, note that you will be faced with machines first to check your passport and then be directed to staff accordingly. Make sure to have your acceptance letter out even if they do not ask to ensure that you can avoid another checking process and are permitted to go pick up your luggage.

Finance & Banking It is much cheaper to exchange money in HK and then bring the cash to Canada and open an account from there. Having a Canadian bank account also makes everything much more convenient,

2 since if you go traveling with other Canadian friends, you can easily transfer money into their accounts when they pay for you, or if you are renting a place, as many expect you to pay rent through transfer. I opened a TD student account in Canada. You only need one proof of identification such as your passport, otherwise you can bring your acceptance letter just in case. After booking an appointment with the bank and showing your proof, you should be getting your card on the same day. There are many TD banks scattered around Canada and in London, with many of them being close to campus. Using a debit/credit card is the most common way to pay there, as having to calculate the final price with the 13% Ontario state tax is annoying. Note that with TD, you are only allowed up to 25 transactions per month before you are charged $1.25CAD per additional transaction. Sending money from overseas to the account also is not that bad, with each transaction costing a fixed $35CAD each, which is split amongst the two accounts ($17.5 for both), regardless of the amount transferred. Closing an account can be done within one day and the same document of identity should be brought for proof. Just in case, I had also enabled the overseas withdrawal option on my HSBC debit card, which you can do using any ATM in HK. In addition to TD, we also have RBC, Scotiabank, CIBC and BMO.

My Spending Report: Item HKD CAD Remarks Flight tickets 9,000 Special round-trip flight fare from HKUST for Cathay. Insurance, student card, 480 First school fee instalment. bus pass Casebooks 400 First school fee instalment. Second school fee. Depends on how thick the casebooks you bought were. Casebooks change every semester so you must buy them from the store. Rent (and utilities) (575+25)*4 Phone plan 40*4 Special student price provided by Lucky in Walmart. Provided 3GB data with unlimited call and international texting. Food and groceries 400 Including the costs of eating outside. Most of my food has been cooked by myself. Traveling 200 Explored and visited aunts. Total (HKD) 6:1 34,240 (Including the Although the exchange rate was technically 5.94, 1,000 deposit to UST) the bank still charged higher, so I used that.

Accommodations In terms of off-campus, ignore any advice about checking the place you plan to live in. If you find a well-located place with a four-month lease (make sure to double check this with the person who is offering the accommodation) that is under $500CAD and is only 30 minutes away by bus, go for it immediately. I made the mistake of waiting it out and soon enough my six offers became zero and I only managed to sign a contract two days before orientation. While my place ended up being 35 minutes away (15min walk and 20min bus ride), being close to downtown where most gatherings would be, and being in a quiet and safe neighbourhood with new furniture and kitchen tools provided, it was also $575 not including utilities and could end up being a one hour trip back home depending on the traffic. I do not know how the previous exchange students were able to do it with their $450 rent, but if I had to guess, it was because they just found it and went straight to signing a contract and transferring the money without visiting the place and the owner.

3 Note that there is a chance of smelling pot from your vents in your home because of living close to other students who party and smoke, as this is what happened to an acquaintance of mine who I met there when I went to visit. You can check out the accommodations using either Western’s official site: https://offcampus.uwo.ca/listings/ or on their Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/groups/900820483299228 https://www.facebook.com/groups/157249875968662 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1764825893735435 I personally prefer using the Facebook groups because the response is faster and was much less confusing than the official website. You typically get the okay faster, and by posting your specific requirements, soon enough you will get a response. Note that you want to find a place close to the Ivey business school, not Western’s front gate. The university is huge! Make sure to download the university map while you are at it. It is likely you will be needing to use Google maps while inside the university if you ever decide to explore. I do not think it is worth living on-campus is worth it, especially from what I hear from friends. While it is close, there are some off-campus accommodations that are as close if not closer than ten minutes away. Rent can range from $4k-8kCAD ($8k CAD or $16k CAD divided by 2 because you will be staying for one semester, not the whole year) CAD, which you can see here: https://residence.uwo.ca/applying/fees_and_payment_plans/index.html. Make sure to bring sheets and pillows and possibly a pot to cook with and a plate. They do not provide any bedding or kitchen utensils except for a fridge if you live on-campus.

Courses Registration Syllabuses of available courses and a handbook will be sent to your UST email at around May if you go for exchange in fall by your overseas exchange coordinator. It will contain all course details and what time they will be. Some courses that are available in UST’s course equivalence database may not be available for that semester but rather the next semester, as they sort courses out by year rather than by semester. Therefore, you may be likely to use the GR22 assessment to see if you can transform other courses back. Note that the “visa document” you are asked to pick up at UST is actually your acceptance letter, which you will need along with the full syllabuses of the courses you want to transfer back. You may email the Ivey class professor for the full syllabus. The HKUST ARR office will only look at the form at the end of the month, thus if you miss something they will only get back to it the next month after you send the additional document in. Around June, you will then start receiving information and start to set up your school email and account. Course selection is done near the end of June through Learn, basically another Canvas–you can use the same Canvas app on your phone to access both your UST account and your Ivey account at the same time. Each class reserves 20% of their seats for exchange students and they use a bidding system on Learn to determine which class you will be in–not first come first serve, so you do not need to worry about logging in first to enrol. Courses at Ivey are typically 0.5 credits, which translates to around 3-4 credits in UST.

Transportation Google Maps will become your best friend because transportation in London is very inconvenient, since buses would usually not come at the right time or just not come on some days. Although, they did implement a real time estimate and location of when buses would come to your stop in Google Maps on the month I left, so it should be better now. Most other students have their own cars or live a few minutes away from campus, so make sure to make some good friends who have cars. Otherwise, your school fees that also go towards your student card also includes a yearlong bus pass within the card so all buses in London are free for you to use during that time.

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Food Typical price of food in Canada is usually above $10 CAD outside, not including the on average 13-15% tips, with on-campus food being around $10 CAD including tax. At Ivey, you can only either eat in the cafeteria or have Starbucks. Majority of the food is Western food with the occasional special international meals. Note that many supermarkets have a student discount every Tuesday. Just ask them and show them your student card.

Climate Late August until early September will be very warm, usually at around 30 degrees up, with some random days or weeks where it suddenly goes lowest to 10 degrees. It gets much colder in November, with it usually starting to snow at the end of the month. Temperatures from late November until December can reach -16 degrees, with it being the coldest and reaching -30 degrees in January and February. When it gets colder, make sure to wear a lot of lotion, as it is also very dry.

Health & Safety Cautionary measures You have both paid insurance from UST and from Western. There are health care services in the UCC, with an on-campus hospital if needed. There is also a 24/7 hotline you can call for a general nurse, which they give you in one of Western’s orientations. You can get more information here: https://www.uwo.ca/health/staff_fac/health_services/index.html

Teaching & Assessment Methods Classes revolve around cases and articles that can range between five to fifteen pages long which you purchase at the beginning of the semester. Most of your grade will be towards participation, with its weighting being between 20-50% of your grade. Classes are organised so that the students must put their hand up and speak more than the professor after a question is asked. The professor will guide the discussion and note key sayings onto the board for a larger picture of the case or article. After add drop, your seat in class is set to your choosing and the professor memorises your name and face, also using the picture a photographer took in class, and sometimes there are class helpers who mark down whenever you participate in class and grade your answer between 1-3, 3 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Participation also includes your attendance, making it so you must attend all your classes. Also note that there are no classes every Friday for HBA2s.

Communication English will be the language mostly used by Canadians, with a few exceptions in other parts using French. When communicating with local students, they would typically use either Facebook Messenger or text messages. Voice messages are also very common in Canada. Phone plans are relatively expensive in Canada, with the cost ranging from $40-$200CAD, which are renewed monthly.

Orientation Activities International Services & Activities

Orientation starts during the first week of September before classes start. There is one optional orientation for UWO, and two mandatory orientations at Ivey with one being for introduction and another to accustom you to case classes. There are other orientations prepared by the exchange gurus (your exchange buddies) that you can also attend. UWO orientation:

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Ivey orientation:

Note that when it is the exchange fair at Ivey, you can contact HKUST for promotional material.

Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities There are many clubs in both Ivey and UWO. UWO is more towards interests and entertainment, while Ivey clubs are more career orientated and for networking. More information about these clubs can be obtained from their booths that they will set up during mid-September. There may be a small membership fee for those you wish to join. Otherwise, you can find many events being shared around in Facebook.

Sports & Recreation Facilities UWO supposedly has a good gym (I personally have never gone in to visit), in addition to an American football stadium, basketball and volleyball court, and ice hockey rink, etc.. There are also programs you can join that can teach you how to dance, do boxing or to train you to do other sports, which you can ask your gurus and other exchange students about.

Items to Bring • Bags for different occasions • A couple of summer clothes, as it does get hot at the end of August to beginning of September, but will stay cold for majority of your stay thereon • Heat-tech and some thick long sleeved clothing • Notebooks and stationary, as they do not have much range in London and are slightly pricier • Power adaptors • Beanie and gloves • Laptop • Sneakers and winter boots • Credit card • Passport and printed acceptance letter for airport • Formal clothes in case for classes • Lunch box and water bottle

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Note you can buy thicker and warmer jackets there for cheaper. Make sure to get a waterproof one.

Monthly Activity Log August I actually arrived in Canada about two weeks before orientation, as that was the latest I could book a flight with the student discount for Cathay provided by the school. I stayed with relatives while I continued my search for off-campus accommodation due to unforeseen events that led me to not having prepared one yet. I was able to explore my relative’s small town along with Toronto with another one of my aunts. It was quite hot during this time, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees, but then temperatures at night sometimes going down to 14 degrees.

September Orientation started and I stayed at a hotel for two nights, as my accommodation would only be prepared afterwards and because my relatives had to drop me off early due to them having work for the remaining part of the week. I got to meet with the other exchange students and gurus to check out different clubs. The student ethnic group separation is quite noticeable, especially among the exchange students and I found myself drifting between the European and other South East Asians group. I would barely see other Chinese students, as majority of them enrolled in finance/accounting related courses while I did marketing and management courses. The temperature also started to fluctuate a lot with random days at the beginning of the month being 12 degrees and other days going back to 35 degrees.

October Had some group projects due. Ivey students really like to have group meetings to do projects together in the building itself. Some people started to have midterms, however none of my classes had any. We also had a week off for Thanksgiving, which I spent with my relatives outside of London. I occasionally met and hung out with other exchange friends and some local students.

November Had another week off, as Ivey students have an Ivey Field Project (IFP) deliverable due. Went out with other Asian friends on a trip to Toronto and had other activities with the exchange gurus including going out bowling, watching a basketball game, and going out to eat dim sum. It also started to snow this month, but even that went on and off and only truly kept snowing right at the end of the month.

December Only got to stay in London for one last week. I spent almost every day of this week with other exchange friends going out to eat and going to pre-Christmas events. I also had no finals, as most of my final assignments for my classes were in-class reflections. I then spent my remaining time with my relatives preparing for Christmas before coming back to HK to spend Christmas with my immediate family.

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