Back-to-school time for AMOS INTERNATIONAL

Today, we are discovering the story of Pauline, who is one of our Amos B3 student, who just came back from a semester in the University of New-York in Prague.

How did you find that University?

"Last year, I was meant to be going to the Amos London Campus for the second semester, but because of Covid, all classes were delivered online, so I told myself that I would wait for the next occasion to go abroad, and it arrived pretty quickly. Several options were presented to me, the US and Canada were part of my priority list but unfortunately, my level of English did not allow me to access these universities, so I looked around and found that there was an American University in the heart of Prague, and, applied immediately. It took some time for me to convince them that my English level would not be a problem, but perseverance paid off, as I got accepted to do a full semester at the University of New York in the Czech capital. I was really excited about going to this country and knowing that another student from AMOS was joining me, it gave me all the confidence needed to tackle this great challenge."

New-York University of Prague

"I chose my accommodation online, via the university website, they do have plenty of student accommodations near the campus, for very reasonable prices. The campus itself is central but not located in the tourist area, which was very pleasant as we had the chance to be living near the locals, getting immersed in their culture. For my first 5 days, we had an orientation week, in which they showed us everything that we needed to know about the city, where to go out, where to do our shopping, the places to visit etc.. we even had Czech classes to learn the basics. After a few weeks spent there, I understood that this university had a unique advantage over the others, even though it was American, with teachers and programmes coming from the US, the students were coming from all over the world. Prague is such a well-known city when it comes to travel, and you can find a lot of different cultures mixed within one campus! It is a wonderful experience to have: meeting different people, embracing different cultures, etc. and it helped be grow-up in a very short amount of time. I LOVED IT! If there is one thing that I have discovered there, it is me. I think that we are more ourselves abroad than we are at home, not knowing anyone around you pushes you to be your true self. You do not realise when you are there that you are changing, but you do, and a few months after coming back to your regular life, you’ll understand that you did! I can proudly say that after 4 months in the Czech Republic, I have friends from every continent, and we have planned to visit each other throughout 2022!"

Side Trips

"Prague has a unique location, it really is the centre of Europe, so I’ve taken the opportunity to do as much as possible. I went climbing and hiking in the Czech Republic, I also went to discover Krakow in Poland, Budapest in Hungary, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Dresden in Germany. The trains and flights were very cheap to travel to these European countries, so we took advantage of it."

What is next?

"Now that I have improved my English, I just love to speak it, that’s why I’d love to go to Canada next, there might be an opportunity for me to do my second semester in Montreal, nothing has been finalised yet, but I’m hopeful."

Today, we are discovering the story of Lucas, who is one of our Bachelor 3 students, currently doing a semester in the university of PACE in New York City.

Deciding to study abroad

I am someone who loves to travel, discovering new places, new cultures. When I graduated with my Baccalaureate, I was looking at different business schools, and what I loved about AMOS is its International Program, it has been the deciding factor in joining the school. Sport is such an international field, anywhere you will go, people will practice sports, but the way they live it, and the way events are being organized differs from one culture/country to another, which is why I think it is crucial not only for me but for any sport’s student to travel and see these differences. When it comes to choosing a foreign university to go to, AMOS is providing us with some great choices, the list of partnered universities is endless, it took me days to go through it. I had first selected a few destinations that I liked (the US and Australia), then I had a look into the different programs, and that is where PACE New York caught my attention. Their Sports Marketing class is one of the best in the country, just something I couldn’t pass on. On top of that, sport is such a lifestyle in the US, and it is so developed within the universities, the infrastructure that students are using are like the one's professional’s use. Some of the university football stadiums can fit up to 100 000 people, that is unreal!

NYC Campus

The Pace Campus is totally different from anything that I have seen in France. Everything is massive over here. First thing, the location. The campus is in Manhattan, in front of the Brooklyn bridge, surrounded by small parks and huge buildings. With such great infrastructures, students almost live on their campus, even outside of classes they like to spend time in there. The campus is open 24h a day, 7 days a week. Everything, over here, is done for the students to get the most out of their studies. All these assets just give an extra motivation to the student to learn more, practice sports (Volleyball in my case) and extend their student’ network. Regarding the classes, the learning methods are a bit different over here. The teachers are requiring a lot of interaction, we are constantly working within groups as well as doing presentations. This is great because it develops some skills such as Team Working and Communication which will be much needed when we will be looking for a job.

Exploring the city

New York New York! What to say about it, I have been here for the past 3 months, and I have not seen half of what needs to be. The city is just amazing, the buildings, the parks, the river and on top of that, the number of sports events organized in the Big Apple is next level. I went to see the US Open in the Queens, last September, a Baseball game of the Mets last month, on the 30th of November I have my ticket for an NBA game in Brooklyn to see the Knicks and hopefully in December, before going back home, I will have the opportunity to see an NFL game. Aside from New York, I have had the chance to visit Philadelphia as well, which is 90 minutes by bus from New York. A very charismatic city with a lot of history (not only the Rocky one).

Moving Forwards

Doing this semester abroad in New York City has comforted my will to study and live abroad. I am already starting to evaluate different possibilities for my master’s degree, and I think that London as a Master 1 would be of great value to me. Concerning the Master 2, I still have time, but I am thinking of exploring a country where I have never been. Originally, I wanted to work in the Sport’s Event sector, that is the reason why I have chosen AMOS, but the more I think about it, the more communication and marketing seem like things I enjoy doing. So, I am keeping my mind open for the next couple of years, who knows, maybe I will discover something else.

Advice to future students

If I have one tip to give to new AMOS students, it is to go and travel as much as they can. I am so glad I took the decision to come study over here. Living abroad will teach you many different things, on different aspects of your life, professionally and personally. If you have that opportunity too, GO FOR IT!

Today, we are discovering the story of Melanie, who is one of our Master 2 students, currently doing the second year of her Master degree in the university of San Francisco.

Deciding to study abroad

Travel Life

Travelling has always been a big part of my life, I’ve travelled with my schools since I was 14 years old and a trip by myself to Germany which lasted 3 months. It evoked something in me that I love and that is the idea of studying and travelling! After my first travel experience, the wheels were set in motion, and I was determined to do it every year. When I joined Amos, I went to London for the first year of my Masters. I loved this experience. The energy of the city, the people, the culture but by the end of the year, I had made the life altering decision to go and travel the world again.

San Francisco

So, where to begin?? Well, first of all I needed to find the right destination, with the subjects I would be interested in AND with the right environment to practice sports. Thankfully, AMOS had sent us a list of all their partnering universities for bachelors and masters, where I spent day after day on this file, creating Excel sheets, comparing the different campuses, weighing up my options... until finally, I made my decision... The Golden City, San Fran! San Francisco has opened the door to many opportunities and choices and has allowed me to form some incredible memories. Generally, there are a lot of job opportunities in the US and having been here previously and studying for a month when I was younger, it helped prompt me to move over there for a longer period.

American life

Settling in

Once the destination and the university were finally decided on, the next thing on my list was to then find somewhere to call home. I wanted to have my own studio but after seeing the extortionate cost of this (around 2000$), I thought a flat share would be the answer to my prayers. After moving from flat to flat over the first few months I ended up moving in with another student from AMOS and so far, this experience has worked out for the best. On top of that, I have managed to find a job for a French adventure company, working as an assistant, organizing events and races every month.

American VS French Education

Both France and the United States have very good universities but there are some small differences in terms of education. In France, universities are given a similar amount of work to every student, and you need to be dedicated and consistent to succeed. In the US it is slightly different, to be considered a full-time student we need to validate 12 credits. Every class I take is worth 2 to 3 credits. So, on average a student would have 4 to 5 classes but then it is up to us to increase the number of classes we take. If we are willing to learn more, practice more, we can, which is why the intensity of the weeks depend on the students.

Californian Mentality

Being open-minded is what California is about. San Franciscans are very friendly and approachable. I already felt when I came to London that the mentality is different to that of the French. People of course are friendly and talkative but over here it is a whole new level in terms of friendliness. I went out by myself a couple of nights and made friends with plenty of students with whom now I am spending most of my days with. So yes, it is very easy to meet people. And on top of that, being French really helps, people are so intrigued by the stereotype Parisian life that they love to discuss and get to know us.

Exploring the country

Discovering California

California is one of the biggest states in the US and I knew that I would need to be able to move around easily if I wanted to explore it. Therefore, I brought my bike from France with me. Cycling is such an amazing way to discover a country. When you are taking a train, you are going to a destination but when you’re cycling you have the freedom to see everything that you want to see, and I love it! On top of SF, there is a region called the Napa Valley, it is notably where most of the Californian wine is from. Recently I took my bike and went on a 3-day trip to discover the SF surroundings, it was great. My favourite place so far (in SF) are the 2 hills in the middle of the city. When you reach the summit, you have the most amazing panoramic view of SF, it’s beyond breath-taking. Next year I have so many exciting activities planned, and one being in May, I am going to take part in a race which consists of swimming for 35km around San Francisco. I have no doubt this will be another great way to discover this beautiful region. I want to do my internship over here, so I am going to ask for an OPT (optional practical training) which is an extension of 1 year. I am not worried about finding a job as there are companies everywhere. Twitter, for example, is literally down my street.

Advice to future students willing to study abroad

It can be very scary to leave your family for the first time. But you must remember that it might be the opportunity of a lifetime, it will make you grow, and most likely you are going to enjoy it so much! Take the opportunities that are offered to you, and you will think about them later. Follow your GUT!