14 reviews
3.83 / 5 based on 14 reviews
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paud
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Activities, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Nightlife: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Essen not a great city for nightlife, especially clubwise, but that's not to say there are plenty of bars in the city to enjoy. University bar dirty and run by students i think. Not great pricewise either i think. Best (and cheapest) were houseparties, bring your own beer. weihnachtsmarkt in Essen really nice but nothing compared to that in Koln. In winter there is a big outdoor iceskating rink built in the main square. In general, for a good nightlife, Dusseldorf, Koln and Oberhausens 'Centro' are the places you might want to take a look at.
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Housing
Type of housing: Studentenwohnheim
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: On campus
Why?
Less hassle than getting buses and metro for 45 minutes every day to college. Also less Erasmus students that speak english on campus.
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Personal comments
Organised through home and host universities. Student housing block on Someerburgstrasse. Lived on a floor with around 25 other students and shared a kitchen and bathroom with 4 others. Brilliant value for money. There were several of these types of accomodation around the city. on campus accomodation was quite dirty and cramped, but 2 minutes walk from college and in the centre of the city and good for parties.
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Academic
My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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paud
Languages
Language of instruction: German
Was learning German a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my German
How much did you improve your German?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
Unfortunately i found it quite hard to make german friends, as the only time i normally interacted with German students was in college. In the accomodation, there were very few germans, so i mainly hung around with other internationals and spoke english.
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paud
Overall
I wish I had known...
Metro and bus ticket inspectors are ruthless.
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In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Good city and atmosphere, but academic-wise, not a great choice. I took mainly language classes like most/all other erasmus students, which required minimal effort.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Travel as much as possible. Shop in discount supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl etc.)and IKEA etc. to save money. Work part-time. For every bad-humoured and ill-mannered German, there are two nice Germans, so don't be put off.
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paud
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Government assistance<br>
An ERASMUS grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
food in cheaper supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl) was a lot cheaper than home. I rang home and friends a lot with internaional calling cards but kept mobile only for emergencies. Not sure whether i spent more or less on nightlife. Club entrance and drinking in pubs is about the same price, depends where, but getting 'off-licence' is an awful lot cheaper. Take as much advantage of travel when you are there. Within certain 'zones' with your student ID, travel is free. It is worth it to make the effort to make day/weekend trips as it may be the only chance you get in your life. Tried to be on as much of a budget as possible and in the end was kicking myself that i didn't get a part-time job to support myself as there was plenty of time.
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Overall, Travel:
was more expensive than at home.
Telephone, Nightlife:
was the same price as at home.
Housing, Food:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
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