Undergraduate Current Students | Student Testimonials

Name: Kunal P.

Highlight of my semester abroad:

Traveling around Europe and making friends from all over the world. Academically, I likely learned the same/similar content to what I would have at Stern, but what IBEX gave me is perspective so I tried to take every opportunity to broaden mine by traveling every weekend, immersing myself in Italian culture, and developing friendships with people from a much more diverse set of backgrounds than here in New York.

If you go, you must...:

Every pizza, pasta, and panini place around Bocconi is amazing. You can't go wrong. Join ESN (Erasmus Student Network) Facebook page after the semester starts to keep up to date on clubs and where everyone is going each night. Duomo is a must-see, don't wait until the last minute like me (I went the night before my flight home).

What would I say to students considering participating in IBEX:

Course selection is great, strong in finance and economics. Italy is the best, there’s a large proportion of international students, and you'll come back more fashionable.

• Expenses
• Banking
• Housing
• Academics
• Course Registration
• Course Recommendations
• Student Life
• Restaurant, Shopping, and Must-See Sites
• Travel Tips
• Language Skills
• What You Should Bring

Expenses

• Airline ticket to/from IBEX site: $1,000 - $1,400 USD
• Housing: $2,400 - $3,750 USD/semester
• Food: $1,000 USD/semester
• Books: $120 - $500 USD
• Local Transportation: $100 - $300 USD/semester

Banking

• "Capital One had great cards without fees that were a great value abroad. Highly recommended."

Housing

• "I rented an apartment near the campus. I lived with other girls from different countries. I found the website for apartment hunting on the school website."
• "I lived in Arcobaleno Residence hall–it's a converted hotel about 30 minutes from school. The location is definitely not the best, but the people here are what make the dorm so incredible. It's largely composed of international students (a lot of Americans, Australians, Canadians, Spaniards, Indians, and Chinese) with a few Italian students here and there. It's nice to be in an environment where everyone gets close so easily and starts planning travels together from week one."

Academics

• "International students have to take all of their finals in 1 week. Exams don't have many questions so if you don't know 1 question you're not in a good position which is different from Stern final exams. The overall course load during the semester was lighter than Stern but the rigor of exams was a little worse than Stern (especially because you don't know what to expect)."
• "The grading system and expectations were not as transparent as compared to Stern. The quality of the instruction was also different because teachers were not as charismatic and classes were much larger.  The workload involved reading and some online quizzes/tests to gauge learning."
• "The academic structure was both distinct from and similar to NYU Stern, particularly in terms of grading. Bocconi is heavily exam-focused—in most of my classes, passing the final exam was required to pass the course. As a result, students typically receive very few assignments throughout the semester; in the courses I took, there were usually only about two assignments. Additionally, in many classes, if your exam grade is your highest score, it becomes your final grade for the course." - Deyona R., Spring 2025

Course Registration

• "The course offerings were published before August. My classes were confirmed after the add/drop period, which was two weeks after school started. I registered through an online registration process."
• "class registration at Bocconi was also similar to NYU’s—your ability to enroll depends on how quickly you register. Courses fill up fast, so it’s important to have backup options, as once a class reaches capacity, it is closed." - Deyona R., Spring 2025

Course Recommendations

• "My favorite class was Introduction to futures and options. The professor explained the concepts very clearly. I recommend this class. I would not recommend financial markets and institutions if one wants to learn something more challenging with little repetition of previous knowledge. Part of the content of this class overlaps with foundations of finance at Stern."
• "All classes are incredible. I particularly enjoyed Public Finance–it was a class that at first really challenged me and became very rewarding."
• "Corporate Finance with Professor Hannes Wagner. He's won a couple of distinguished professor awards at Bocconi and realizes why we're taking the class (interview prep and a career in Finance) so he keeps everything real. He also is German and went to Oxford so it’s refreshing to have a non-Italian professor."
• "My favorite class was ‘The Enterprise and International Markets' with Professor Carlo Alberto Carneval-Maffe. He was an engaging and very knowledgeable professor and used real-life examples from cases and his own career to teach about forming strategies within a company."
• "I recommend the course “Managing Fashion Companies,” as it featured multiple guest speakers who shared insights into different aspects of the fashion industry—after all, you’re in Milan, so you might as well take a fashion course!" - Deyona R., Spring 2025

Student Life

• "Erasmus Student Network puts on trips basically every-other-weekend that are much cheaper than planning on your own, you go in a big group, and it’s a good way to meet people."
• "Student life was great because I finally got the chance to experience a real college campus! While I didn’t join any clubs, I did attend a fashion event where I had the opportunity to meet the CEO of Golden Goose—and I’m now connected with him on LinkedIn!" - Deyona R., Spring 2025

Restaurants, Shopping, and Must-See Sites

• "Lake Como, Italy"
• "The International Student Organization at Bocconi is great at organizing get-togethers. Old-fashioned is great when they have events there. Fratelli la Bufala is a good chain pizza place. California Bakery (multiple), Stendhal (Brera) / Chocolatini (Duomo)."
• "Cinqueterra and Sicily"
• "DaWilly has huge pizzas that are really good."
• "My favorite restaurant was Mr. Fisherman—I loved their special shrimp and butter cheese pasta! I ate there more than 10 times. As for sightseeing, my favorite spot was the city center, where the Duomo is located—it’s absolutely stunning! There are also plenty of nearby shops, malls, and more to explore around the Duomo. There is also a 2 hour designer outlet from Milan that is great!" - Deyona R., Spring 2025

Travel Tips

• "Try to fly from the Linate airport since it's much closer to the city center. Take the train when you can."
• "I traveled almost every weekend. Traveling from Milan is an extremely cheap way to explore Italy. You can fly or take TrenItalia or Italo to travel to other countries. And you’ll end up taking EasyJet and RyanAir a lot!"
• "I took 10 trips abroad from Milan–it was very easy. I would recommend booking as early as possible although doing it on short notice isn't horrible price-wise. For cheaper lodging than hotels Airbnb is great although you have to be discerning."
• "I didn't really seek advice when it came to traveling abroad, so I didn’t receive any! However, if someone is traveling abroad, my piece of advice would be to soak up every moment. Travel if you have the opportunity—even if it’s a solo trip, go and see the world with your own eyes. Take lots of pictures and capture the memories, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Also, don’t forget: this is studying abroad, so please do study!" - Deyona R., Spring 2025

Language Skills

• "Italian is very helpful. High level gives you many more options."

What You Should Bring

• "Clothes for all seasons; it's damp and cold in the winter."