Boston College Exchange Report - Khairpuri Prashant Quantitative Finance, Class of 2019
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Boston College Exchange Report
Khairpuri Prashant
Quantitative Finance, Class of 2019
Hi There!
My name is Prashant Khairpuri, year 3 Quantitative Finance student from Hong Kong. Since
I entered HKUST, it was a dream of mine to go to a foreign institution for exchange. I am
glad to say that I have lived that dream, in the spring of 2018 I had the opportunity to go to
Boston College for exchange. It gave me some of the most incredible and eye-opening
experiences of my life so far. I am really thankful to HKUST for the opportunity. Going for
exchange allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and explore myself in a foreign
environment. If you are thinking of going on exchange to an American institution, I would
recommend that you give Boston College a closer look.
Part 1 – Monthly Activity Log
January
I arrived in Boston on the 11th of January, with tons of
curiosity and excitement towards an unknown journey.
January was a relatively busy month, there was so much to
do to settle down and adjust to the new environment, i.e.
attending orientations, banking, getting required
vaccinations, choosing courses, etc. Boston College will
assign you a buddy, to help you, we became close during
my time there. I also spent a lot of time exploring the city
and the campus during the month, the New England
architecture is truly beautiful and historic.
February
Winter is here! It was also my first-time seeing
snow, I was struggling even with 4 layers on at
first. You do get used to it in a couple of weeks.
February was an amazing month however, we
went down to New York, which is only 4 hours
away, one of the best perks of being in Boston.
Me being me, I had to go down to Wall Street.
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The city is exactly as advertised, vibrant, fast-paced,
diverse. I fell in love with the city, ended up going
there 3 more times during the exchange. I recommend
going to a speakeasy called “Please Don’t Tell”, to get
in, you enter a hotdog place, and go through the phone
booth. Something you see in the movies. I also
attended a ball at BC with some students who had
come to HKUST the semester before. At the end of
the month, we had mid-terms and assessments.
March
Spring Break!! Me and a couple other Spanish and
Australian exchange students decided to go to
Cuba. We went there with little preparation and
were shocked with what we saw there. The country
is literally a time capsule; it was 30 years behind
the rest of the world. There was barely any
internet, cars from the 1960s, old architecture.
Also, I didn’t speak the language, which made
things harder. It was a fun trip regardless. We went to Fidel Castro son’s (Cuban
revolutionist) night club, amongst
the elite of Cuba, it was an unreal
experience. Our day trip to Viñales
was another amazing experience,
we got to see how tobacco is
farmed and Cuban cigars are made.
Not promoting alcoholism but, you
must try Cuban rum.
I went back to New York again later in the month to meet some friends from Hong
Kong, also cause I love that place.
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April
All that travelling finally got to me and I
fell sick through the Easter break, for which
I had planned to travel to Montreal, Canada.
I met with some family however, while
they were visiting from Curacao. We
celebrated Indian colour festival “Holi” on
campus, I was fairly involved with the BC
SASA (South Asian Student Association) events. Late April was a busy time with a lot of
group projects and assignments due. April was also time for the Boston Marathon! It runs
through the BC campus. Since it rained, the celebrations were relatively muted on the streets,
but more in the house parties along Commonwealth Avenue.
May
First half of May consisted of the study break and final
exams, in which I spent a lot of time meeting friends from
Boston as I planned to travel right after. Also went to Fenway
Park (Home to the Red Sox) with my exchange buddy, Dan. I
went to Orlando and Miami in Florida. Got to relive my
childhood experience of Hollywood Studios in Orlando.
Then I travelled to New Orleans, where we partied even
more. New Orleans in my opinion, was the most interesting place in the US. I spent a lot
of time having Beignets and having grenades at
Bourbon Street. My friends went on to travel to
the West Coast, I had to go back to Boston, and
take my return flight back to Hong Kong, which
marked the end of exchange.
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Part 2 – General Exchange Information
Visa Procedure
Boston College provided the documentary support for Visa procedures. You had to submit a
form that include all necessary information for Visa application in exchange their package for
visa application. After receiving that package, you need to apply for US visa online and go to
the embassy with all required documents.
Orientation Activities
As I was on exchange in the spring semester, there wasn’t much of an orientation. Just a
lecture about basic information. I was jealous of fall exchange students, as they got to go on a
boat cruise for orientation. Nevertheless it's a good opportunity for you to make some friends,
and I met a great group European students, we became really close through the exchange.
International Services & Activities
International services will also be provided by Office of International Students. They are very
helpful. Email them or go directly to them if you need any help.
Accommodations
Exchange students can choose either on-campus or off-campus housing when filling in the
application forms. I chose to live on-campus as I didn’t want the hassle of finding an
apartment off-campus. I was assigned to live in 2000 Commonwealth Avenue Apartments,
which could be the best thing that happened to me. The best part about that accommodation
was that its actually outside the campus, so there are less restrictions. I didn’t have to buy the
meal plan as it had a kitchen. Also, it was on commonwealth avenue where most exchange
students lived and most house parties are held.
Course Registration
University office will help you to enroll to the classes you want to enroll before semester
begins, and it is very flexible to change the enrollment or enroll into some new courses. You
need to find the office and ask them face-to-face. I went to the finance department to get
enrolled into 2 finance courses, they increased the quota and put me in the class for both.
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Teaching And Assessment Methods
I took 5 courses below. Out of which, I was only able to transfer 4 courses totalling 14
credits.
Course Code Course Name Professor HKUST Equivalent
MATH2202 Multivariable Calculus Goldstein, Ellen J MATH2021
Multivariable and
Vector Calculus
MFIN225001 Fixed Income Analysis Peters, Helen F FINA4303 Fixed
Income Securities
ECON2261 Money, Banking & Kazemi, Hossein ECON4334 Money and
Financial Markets S Banking
PHIL2264 Logic Ellis, David W HUMA1720 Logic
MFIN6640 Finsem: Stimulation & Haidar, Haissam Not Transferrable
Optimisation In
Finance
Money, Banking and Financial Markets was my favourite class, it taught me a lot. And I
honestly think the course will really allow you to learn about the macro environment, market
news and US economy. Professor Kazemi is experienced, professional, and knowledgeable in
all ways. He has a unique teaching style: no slides in class, he just talks about US market
news and economy concepts. He is fairly strict as well so, watch out.
Logic is also another great class, if you still need to complete your HUMA common core
requirement. Super easy and low workload.
Transportation
Uber and Lyft are your best friends here. Using the pool services in these apps was how I
mostly got around Boston. Public transportation will let you down in Boston especially if
you’re used to the pace of Hong Kong.
Climate
The majority of the Spring semester in Boston is quite cold, and it sometimes even snows in
April. We got 2 snow days while I was there. My best advice would be to layer up. There is
indoor heating everywhere so you just need to protect yourselves while outside. Late April
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becomes really warm and it feels very comfortable outdoor. You will see everyone on the
lawn when it’s nice out. Professor Kazemi had an outdoor class when it got warm in April.
Finance and Banking
There is a Bank of America (BofA) branch very close to BC where you can set up an
account. All you need is your BC ID and passport to make an account. My recommendation
would be to carry sufficient cash for 1-2 weeks and have the rest transferred to the account
once its setup. Since most places in the US accepts card, I almost never carried cash. It was
very convenient to withdrawn whenever needed as BofA ATMs were everywhere. Venmo is
also a convenient app and widely used by students to transfer money easily.
Boston is an expensive city, I spent about 150K HKD throughout my exchange. A large
portion went into accommodation, insurance, food and transportation. Just get ready for taxes
and tips, it really makes basic things expensive.
Part 3 – Items To Bring
• Passport and visa
• Vaccination records
• Cash and credit cards
• Clothes (Especially warm clothes; recommend Heatech from UNIQLO)
• Electronic devices such as computers and cell phones (Many electrical appliances
won’t work in the States as they use different voltage, make sure to check before
taking)
• Basic bedding items
• Formal Suit
• Driver’s License (if wanting to drive)
Part 4 – Useful Contacts
Your exchange buddy will be your most useful contact
Others include
• Minna Ha (Your Exchange Advisor at BC) – hamc@bc.edu
• Agora Portal (Similar to HKUST SIS) - http://portal.bc.edu
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• BC Canvas - https://bostoncollege.instructure.com/
• Boston Transport Information – www.mbta.com
• BC Course Information - https://www.bc.edu/courses
Indian | Australian | Andorran (Never will you find a more unique combination)
Have fun on exchange, it’s definitely an experience you’ll cherish forever!
Go Eagles!
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