Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why? I liked the space and the rent was reasonable. Next time I would prefer to live more in the center of the city. Especially since the rent prices are quite low in Berlin anyway. I lived together with two others and there was a very good atmosphere.

Personal comments:
The university was located in an old building near the city center. I was not very impressed by the number of PC's they had and the library was quite small aswell. There was a restaurant and a bar, but other facilities like a bookshop and a copy center were not available. The atmosphere was very good.

Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement

Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment

Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment

Nightlife: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Personal comments:
In Berlin the clubs are not located in one area, but spread out over the center. A great area for people who like bars, is Oranienenburgerstrasse and Hakescher Markt. Bars and small clubs will be found here. Another area you could go is Kreuzberg. The last couple of years alot of trendy bars and clubs have opened here. Some of the major techno clubs include, Tresor (Go there before it will close-near Liepziger Platz), Sage Club, Casino and the Matrix. There are a lot of festivals in Berlin. The gay parade was more extravagant than the Love Parade. (love parade is especially brilliant in the evening)

Course recommendations:
The guest students can choose the courses they want to follow in the first month of the semester. So take your time. There are also courses in English. Non-English students can improve their English aswell. There are courses with an written exam, an oral or an essay as examination, make sure you realize what kind of course you attend.

Personal comments:
none

Language of instruction: German

Main source of funding:
Family

Other sources of funding:
Personal savings

Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work

Personal spending habits:
the food here are in general cheaper than in holland, also the rent. moreover, as a student in berlin, we have semester ticket, which allow us to use all public transportation for free 24 hrs

Nightlife: was more expensive than at home.

Food, Travel, Overall, Telephone, Housing: was less expensive than at home.

I wish I had known...
I think I am quite satisfied about how things went. I didn't have much expectations about the year and I don't think that I would have done anything differently.

In my opinion:
Most people loved it.