Type of housing: Student residence

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why? I would no longer be a student, and in student resideces people lead student lives, very different from a worker's lifestyle. The worker needs more a quite household than a student.

Personal comments:
It was a new-built student residence, with all the facilities one can desire, expecially because it was located in a shopping center. Nevertheless it was located in an industrial area, the flat was very dark and the cleaning could have been much better.

Describe host city: Students equally interact with the local and student community

Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment

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

Personal comments:
My favourite places in Vienna was the Burggarten, where I used to go during spingtime with the other exchance students. My favourite nightspot was on the "Ring" and it was named Havana, there was really nice music and on Monday there was the student night. In Vienna there are alot of clubs downtown, like palais Eschenbach, a singular example of a disco in an historical palace. I miss walking downtown, eating in tipical Austrian restaurants like Siebenstern.

Course recommendations:
The courses of the international program are in english and they helped me to get credits even when my German wasn't that good. Choose the classes as soon as the enrollment is open, they get filled-up really quick, given the huge amount of students at the WU. Take classes in German with regular students, it helps to understand their way of learning.

Personal comments:
The number of students didn't allow everyone to get the classes one needed. I wish I had had someone expaining me the difference between a seminar a Proseminar, a Vorlesung, die Spezielle and so on. I understood it only at the end.

Language of instruction: German

Main source of funding:
Family

Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
An ERASMUS grant

Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience

Personal spending habits:
The life in Vienna is much more expensive then in Gorizia, where my home University is located. Food costs more in the supermarket and at the restaurants, the trasportation are better organized but they cost twice as much. Nightlife was maybe the same, but only because the University arranged special agreements with the clubs in order to let the exchange students have convenient prices. Only the University books were cheaper; the professors themselves spread photocopies, and the prices were much more reasonable than in Italy.

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

I wish I had known...
More knowledge about the organization of the Austrian University.

In my opinion:
Most people loved it.