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Central European University Budapest (CEU)

Central European University, Nador u. 9 - 1051 Budapest 5, Hungary
3.93 / 5 based on 132 reviews.

Reviews
International Partners
Programmes
Accreditations
77% of students recommend
132 reviews
Housing
4.1/5
 All experiences (132)
Student life
3.9/5
 5 stars (24)
Academic
4.0/5
 4 stars (78)
Languages
4.2/5
 3 stars (30)
Expenses
3.9/5
 2 stars (0)
Overall
4.2/5
 1 star (0)
“I think for anyone from Eastern Europe, CEU is a good opportunity to start a potentially international academic career. For those of you from Western Europe or Americe, I understand that CEU is much cheaper than any other Western university.” Read Review
anonymous, Hungary

Central European University Budapest review by István

Review by István, Universitatea "Babes-Bolyai" din Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
History, Independent
HOUSING    
Personal assessment
Cost
KEY:
Couldn't have asked for more.
Pretty good.
Could've been better, but didn't lessen the overall experience.
Disappointing.
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Type of housing: On campus
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why? The dormitory (on campus) was too crowded, many students, little space for privacy. Also, the amount of money allotted for housing was deduced from my stipend so I felt I wasn't in charge of my own financial situation.
Personal comments:
Rooms were ok, if small, we had our own indoor showers and everything. But the walls were so thin I could hear everything going on in my neighbours' rooms. :)
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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STUDENT LIFE    
Personal social experience
Activities
KEY:
Amazing! Hardly had time to study.
Plenty to do when I had the time.
So-so.
Did not get involved.
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
Activities, Nightlife: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Travel: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal comments:
none
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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ACADEMIC       2.5 / 5
My academic experiences
Quality of courses
KEY:
Fantastic.
Pretty good.
Could've been a bit better.
Disappointing.
Variety of courses
Availability/access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with other international students
Interaction with local students
Course recommendations:
Since there are only post-graduate-courses, it depends very much on your topic and whether you find suitable courses. At this level people to get very specialized and the range of things you're interested in tends to narrow down. From this point of view I sometimes had the feeling that there wasn't a very wide range of courses that interested me personally.



My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
KEY:
Liked it.
It was alright.
A bit annoying.
Didn't like it.
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course.
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
Personal comments:
More stability within the academic staff. Teachers were coming and going way to frequently.

This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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Language difficulties
Social
KEY:
No problems.
I coped pretty well.
Sometimes it was difficult.
It was a constant struggle.
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Language of instruction: English
Local language was: Different than language of instruction.
Was learning English a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my English
Was learning the local language a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my knowledge
How much did you improve your English?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
How much did you improve your local language?
My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Personal comments:
Since I'm a Transylvanian Hungarian (Transylvania being part of Romania), my first language is Hungarian, that's why I didn't have any problems with the language of the host-country, which is Hungary. My English seemed to have improved during my time at CEU but not because of the other students but because either of the academic work (lectures, working with texts) or some of the students (native speakers of English.) Unfortunately, most of the students at CEU have at best an upper-intermediate level of English which is further downgraded to some sort of Eastern-European pidgin-English when they interact among themselves (speakers of English as a second language).
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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EXPENSES    
The accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
KEY:
Very easy.
Minimal effort.
Accessible but required effort.
Almost impossible.
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Main source of funding:
A private grant
Other sources of funding:
None
Work opportunities:
I didn't want/need to work
Personal spending habits:
Because Budapest is a much more expensive than any city in Romania. But then the stipend I got from CEU was much more than any salary in Romania.
Food, Travel, Nightlife, Overall, Telephone, Housing: was more expensive than at home.
Personal comments:
No financial suprises. A cost-saving tip however would be: don't live in the dorm (on campus). It's much cheaper to rent a flat in the city and you are your own boss.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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OVERALL    
Important to choosing this university...
Academic reasons
KEY:
Very Important.
Important.
Not really important.
Unimportant.
Culture
Costs
Activities
Campus life
Party / people
Weather / Location
I wish I had known...
Not really. But for me it was different. A Hungarian ethnic moving to Hungary, what real surpises would you expect?
In my opinion:
Most people loved it.



During my experience abroad, I ...
Became familiar with another culture
KEY:
Happened all the time.
Happened quite a lot.
Happened a bit.
Didn't happen.
Traveled
Improved language skills
Met people from other countries
Became more independent
Partied a lot
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies/career
Personal recommendation:
Make sure you'll find someone interested in your field of study/topic before you go. And check out the range of courses you can take, before you apply.



FINAL COMMENTS

I think for anyone from Eastern Europe, CEU is a good opportunity to start a potentially international academic career. For those of you from Western Europe or Americe, I understand that CEU is much cheaper than any other Western university.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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