Exchange Report The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USAFall 2016

Eddy, Cheung Tin HauBBA (Global Business and Finance)Class of 2018

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Table of Contents 3

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Part 1. Monthly Activity Log

Part 2. General Exchange Information

Part 3. Items to Bring

Part 4. Useful Links and Contacts

Part 5. Conclusion

Part 6. Appendix: Rewarding Moments at Penn

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Part 1. Monthly Activity Log

August 2016

I met a Wharton junior on the flight to Philadelphia. We had a nice conversation about ourselves and also what I could expect at Wharton for the coming months. Once I arrived at Penn, I settled all clerical things and started an exciting week with the New Student Orientation series of events (especially the Toga party). I made new friends from (primarily) APAC and Europe, whom I travelled with to New York City. School started in late August.

September 2016

Everyone checked out student clubs at Penn in the Activity Fair. I joined some events held by the Hong Kong Students Association, Japanese Students Association and Penn Outdoor Club. I also attended Hillary Clinton’s campaign outside Philadelphia Museum of Art, where I saw Obama. Make sure you won’t miss the restaurant week, when high-end restaurants in Philadelphia give out SHARP discounts. We had a dinner buffet to celebrate a friend’s birthday at Fogo de Chao for US$30 each (compared to the usual US$90 price), and I still recall the excitement. Talking about birthday, I was surprised when a group of my new friends flooded into my room at the first minute of my birthday (yes, it was midnight) to give me a surprise when I was doing a FaceTime call with my partner. I was kind of relieved that I wasn’t that introverted after all! (make sure you have one too if you’d celebrate your birthday there – hah!)

October 2016

Group projects came up and we did not have time for fun every weekend. Still, I had a great time (except the moment when there was a fly getting trapped under my eyelid) picking apples (real ones) with people from Penn Outdoor Club. I also went to Orlando, Florida with my friends and visited Disneyland (Magic Kingdom) and Universal Studios Florida (Islands of Adventure). I watched Dr. Strange with my friends at Cinemark near Fresh Grocers.

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November 2016

There was more school work but I still had a great time touring Philly with my friends. We explored the Philadelphia Magic Gardens (US$8 entry for students), Liberty Bell and Geno’s (not the best Philly Cheesesteak we had - try Zio’s near City Hall instead). We also did a day tour to Washington, D.C..

December 2016Since all the courses I took did not have final exams (you know why), I cherished my

final days to appreciate the beautiful Fall scenery at Penn before I flew to Vancouver, Canada to visit my cousins for a week. After having a pleasant (and expensive) farewell gathering with my friends at Penn, I left this whole miracle with reluctance to embark on my journey of touring across New York City, Florida, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco before stopping over in Doha, Qatar when going back to Hong Kong in mid January.

Part 2. General Exchange Information

Visa Procedures

After receiving instructions from HKUST Business School and Penn, you have to sign up online before scheduling an informal interview at the US Embassy. I applied for a J-1 Visa to allow for potential internships in USA. You should apply the type that suits your needs.

Orientation Activities

Mandatory New Student Orientation costs US$290 for freshman, exchange students and transfer students at fall. Large-scale events and discounts at Museums are offered. I really enjoyed the parties at Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Toga Party. Feel free to sign up for anything you are interested in. Lots of free (prepaid) food and drinks! Use all your swipes for meals during NSO! I wasted US$50 in my PennCard at the end of the semester!

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International Services & Activities

Join the international students Facebook group to stay on top of their events! Perry World House, newly built in 2016, is also a go-to place for international students (both for work and for fun). The International Student Office at Penn also organises the activities and manages issues for exchange students.

Accommodations

I was the only resident in a double apartment in Sansom West since my roommate never showed up. This gave me more value out of the US$4725 rental (plus US$115 fee) for a 40+ years old student dormitory. The three high-rises especially Rodin, along with the New College House (the newest dormitory complex) are always popular, but you don’t really have a choice (90%+ exchange students ended up in Sansom) so just apply and hope for the best.

Course Registration

Course registration is done on PennInTouch. They don’t have the waitlist system like HKUST but you can use PennCourseNotify(.com) to know when spots are released during add-drop period. Don’t register for more than two finance classes or you’ll get scheduled a chat with the program directors. However, if you need lots of Finance courses, you can register for those with cross-codes under REAL (Real Estate) or STAT (Statistics). I took 4 courses which are all transferrable as Finance major requirements and electives:

A. REAL 209 Real Estate Investment (FINA 3000 LEVEL; DB Ref No. B02494)REAL 209 gives you a comprehensive overview of real estate finance with 3 valuable

guest lectures conducted by industry experts and billionaires like Sam Zell. Prof. Maisy Wong teaches in a fast pace but is very approachable and nice. You have to work in teams on 3 real estate cases throughout the semester with 2 mid-term exams (cheatsheet allowed).

B. FNCE 219 International Financial Market (FINA 3404; DB Ref No. B03828)FNCE 219 covers foreign exchange markets, IRP, Forwards, Currency Futures, Currency

Options, Interest Rate and Currency Swaps, Exchange Rates Theories, Retail FX Trading, Risk Reversal etc. There are 4 individual and 4 group assignments with 2 mid-term exams (cheatsheet allowed).

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C. FNCE 203 Advanced Corporate Finance (FINA 3404; DB Ref No. B03826)FNCE 203 provides an in-depth analysis on corporate finance valuation practice and

strategic considerations with the use of more than 10 (Harvard Business School) cases. You need to work in groups on 3 starred-cases and 2 cases with weekly quizzes. This is the course that swallowed most of my weekends.

D. STAT470 Data Analytics and Statistical Computing (FINA 4414; DB Ref No. B08144)STAT470 is an introductory course on programming with R. Since it is a STAT-coded

course, it does not completely come with a context in finance. Coursework is relatively (very) light, with 3 guided programming homework and 6 MC-based quizzes. (cheatsheet allowed)

Teaching & Assessment Methods

It varies with each course. Overall, the finance classes I took are lecture-based, and I learned to produce 2-page cheatsheets with font size 4 and perfect use of space and colour.

Sports & Recreations Facilities

Penn students usually go to Pottruck, which is right opposite to the Wharton Huntsman Building. We are told to pay subscription fees for access but it turned out we didn’t have to. I made really great friends there and went there (mostly) regularly.

Finance and Banking

You have total control on your budget for exchange, aside from the numerous fees you’d pay Penn. Having a debit card really makes your life a lot easier as you don’t have to worry about the confusing types of coins you need to pay and receive because of the taxes and tips. I got my Penn-themed debit card at PNC (pros: ubiquitous in Penn and real-time e-banking entries; cons: branches only available on the East Coast). You can choose Citibank / Bank of America among other choices.

Social Clubs and Networking Opportunities

Greek life (fraternities and sororities) in college is quite interesting. You can go for their parties and events to meet interesting people. Wharton Undergraduate Finance Club

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organises high-quality networking events. Feel free to join some interest clubs for a semester membership if they have one.

Health and Safety

You can choose the cheaper ISO (www.isoa.org) to replace the University’ (almost-)all-inclusive insurance package which is expensive. But if you use ISO, don’t expect to get any claims because it takes weeks (or forever) and they only do so by mail. If you want to use the Student Health Service, you need to pay the US$265 clinical fee which allows you to schedule unlimited appointments. Pharmacy costs separately at CVS or other providers. I made full use of my clinical fees and did a number of different checkups.

Food

You are required to get a meal plan at Penn. The default one is Best Food Fit (BFF) that costs US$2543 but it’s only suitable if you want to have most of your meals at canteens instead of trying out food trucks and if you don’t travel at all. I switched my plan into Take Your Pick (TYP) which cost US$1103. Apart from the meal plan, you can cook or buy US$5 meals at Chinese food trucks, but if you can also easily spend US$20+ a meal if you want to. You should download Yelp (which is like the Openrice app in Hong Kong) for recommendations. Wawa right next to Sansom is like 7-Eleven in US. Some great names you can look up on Yelp are Ramen Bar, Chipotle, Honeygrow, Mad Mex, White Dog Cafe, Shanghai Station.

Transportation

Penn Shuttle is free and reaches the 30th street (Amtrak Station) and somewhere near Center City. SEPTA the subway (and bus) is quite cheap yet a bit shoddy in the evening. There is a station 3 minutes away from Sansom which is the best feature. If you’re with friends, it’s best to get a Lyft or Uber (I spent HK$5000 on Uber 20 days after semester). It’s a good idea to use Google Maps when you go somewhere far.

Climate

August is as hot as Hong Kong but it gets cold around November. I got an all-climate jacket online from American Eagle Outfitters (with free shipping and anytime free return in

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Center City shop). It rains quite heavily sometimes so it’s a good idea to have a stiff umbrella and rain boots. It was the first day of snow in Philly when I left for Canada on 14 December.

Communication

The campus provides pretty decent Wifi coverage. I got my family phone plan (US$30/month) from T-Mobile along with 3 of my friends. (pros: reasonable price with most data, calling available in Canada; cons: branches only available on the East Coast). You can also choose between AT&T and Verizon. There is also a mysterious cheap Chinese phone plan that you can ask others about.

Cautionary Measures

Philadelphia, especially the West part, can be quite dangerous at night. Make sure you play safe and hang out with a number of friends whenever possible. You should register for the Penn Alert system to stay on top of any emergency events. Use Penn Escorts if needed. There’ll be people asking you for money on the street, but you will recognise each other and gradually they will go away if you never fell for it.

Part 3. Items to BringThe easiest way to get things you need is to buy them at Freshgrocer. If you can wait for

2 days, there’re plenty of great items that you can order from Amazon and pick up at the Amazon-pickup center at Penn.

Before you depart, it’s good to have the following:1. Passport and I-20 (Don’t lose them - take them with you when traveling)2. Laptop3. (Financial) calculators4. Suits (for presentations and networking)5. Clothing (both summer and winter ones)6. Daily necessities7. Appropriate amount of cash in the wallet8. Optimism9. Enthusiasm

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Part 4. Useful Links and ContactsBefore you depart, it’s good to have the following:1. Passport and I-20 (Don’t lose them - take them with you when traveling)2. Laptop3. (Financial) calculators4. Suits (for presentations and networking)5. Camera

Part 5. ConclusionThe journey with Wharton and Canada was an eye-opening experience, which gave me

much inspiration and new perspectives towards various aspects in life (for example what kind of lifestyle and career paths I want to pursue at different stages of my life, after seeing the exuberance in New York City compared with the nice houses and laid-back environment in Canada). As a pre-professional school, you will meet lots of people who are focused on their career development and professional endeavours, while there will also be people with diverse backgrounds and interests. The most important thing is to stay open-minded and cherish every opportunity and encounter.

If you want to have a rewarding exchange experience, you need to contemplate on what you really want to make out of the exchange semester, whether it is traveling, making new friends, learning from the best students and professors, or even preparing for a finance interview. Bearing your goals in mind all the time, you will feel so accomplished when you look back and realise how much you have learned and grown up.

This exchange report has so much limit in content that it can never serve as an all-encompassing guide for your exchange journey. However, I hope you will find it useful in giving you a preview of what may happen in those coming few months. Finally, I wish you all the best and have tonnes of fun during your exchange journey

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Part 6. Appendix: Rewarding Moments at Penn

Photo taken with President Amy Gutmann (center) at the Study Break Networking event, Perry World House, UPenn.

Photo taken when my Asian friends gave me a birthday surprise at midnight.

Photo taken at the Love Statue at Penn. Befriended with westerners during the New Students Orientation series.

Photo taken when my best friends made during exchange met my high school buddy for a day tour in

Philadelphia: Minji from Yonsei-Korea (girl on the right), Samuel from Singapore Management University

(guy on the right) and Winnie from the same high school (girl on the left next to me).

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