Please read Part II below before reading this post.
Moving to the more mundane aspects, simple things such as printing for instance can become a chore. A handful of printers (definitely less than ten – although I didn’t count) were all located at one place. They are not networked (at least I couldn’t figure out a way to print directly from my laptop – and believe me, I tried).
The printers needed to be accessed directly through the desktops they were connected to. I had to first copy files to a USB drive, open them on the desktop, and then print. Before that, I needed to insert a card into a machine that reads how much money there is on it before I can begin. My fellow HEC students were also complaining, so I guess I wasn’t alone. All I’ll say about Tuck is “Go GreenPrint!”
Of the MBA students at HEC, not everyone lives in Jouy en Josas (that’s the town where HEC is located). A majority of the students live in Paris (including yours truly), a few live in Versailles, and far fewer brave hearts actually live in Jouy (not including those who live on-campus). As a result, as soon as classes are done, people rush downhill (the school is a 15-minute hike up a hill from the train station) to catch the next train.
Consequently, there isn’t that much outside-the-classroom interaction with students other than during breaks and lunch. As regards the social scene, gatherings do happen on campus. But those who live outside Jouy have a time constraint (unless they have a car) since the last train to Versailles and Paris leaves at 10 PM.
Even interactions with my team mates for class projects were kind of remotely managed since we were all living in different locations. Meetings were very hard to plan since everyone had a different schedule and once we had dispersed from school, the only way to interact was over email. (Continue to Part IV above)
Read the full article: Thoughts on Exchange Program – Part III