Reviews of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN) | Belgium

Useful | 0

Mualla C

Hanover College, Hanover, IN, United States
European Studies, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Student life

Describe host city:

Student life dominates the city

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

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

Personal social experience

Activities

Nightlife

Travel

Overall

Personal comments

*Bars/Clubs - Wink, Professor *Croccotino - best chocolate waffles in town! *Make sure to take the Stella beer factory tour!

Useful | 0

Mualla C

Hanover College, Hanover, IN, United States
European Studies, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Housing

Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why?

- You can get to feel the joy of independency. - You won't have to deal with curfew hours.

Personal assessment

Cost

Facilities

Location

Cleanliness

Space

Personal comments

none

Useful | 0

Mualla C

Hanover College, Hanover, IN, United States
European Studies, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Expenses

Main source of funding:

Other

Other sources of funding:

Other

Work opportunities:

I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits

- The tuition was the biggest factor in saving money for me. After using my scholarships and financial aid at Hanover College, I actually ended up spending a whole semestre at Leuven for merely 60 USDollars, and that's everything (tuition, food, room)! - Cooking on my own was much cheaper than my mandatory board at Hanover College. - I could travel to most places in Europe by bus or train, which were not that expensive. - International phone cards are expensive and may be sold "empty" with no credits on! Be careful!

Telephone:

was more expensive than at home.

Housing:

was the same price as at home.

Overall, Food, Nightlife, Travel:

was less expensive than at home.

Accessibility of student needs

Second-hand text books

Second-hand household items

Administrative

Money from home

Personal comments

none

Useful | 4

Mualla C

Hanover College, Hanover, IN, United States
European Studies, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Academic

Course recommendations

"Independent study" is the key word here. You don't have as many papers/tests/quizes/presentations as you do in the US, so you have to research on your own to get the most out of this educational experience.

My academic experiences

Quality of courses

Variety of courses

Access to resources

Interaction with teachers

Interaction with international students

Interaction with local students

Personal comments

Having one single exam at the end of the semestre to shape your grade for the course was a little scary since i didn't know what to expect.

My opinion of the university assessment

Exams at end of course

Exams throughout the course

Essays and/or projects at the end of course

Essays and/or projects throughout the course

Overall

Useful | 0

Mualla C

Hanover College, Hanover, IN, United States
European Studies, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Overall

I wish I had known...

No.

In my opinion:

Everybody loved it, you will too!

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

4

Culture

4

Costs

4

Activities

3

Campus life

3

Party / people

3

Weather / location

3

Personal recommendation

K.U.Leuven is a great university with an enormous culture and history. It was founded in 1425 and played a big role in shaping today's Belgium.

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

4

Improved language skills

4

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

4

Final comments

- Since Belgium is in the heart of Europen, travelling to other European countries is quite easy and cheap. - The academics at Leuven was much less rigorous than at Hanover, but i cannot complain since i had more time to travel around and to immerse myself in the local culture. - Go for it!

Useful | 0

Mualla C

Hanover College, Hanover, IN, United States
European Studies, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Languages

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 the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

We had a term-long mandatory course in Elementary Dutch twice a week with a couple of cultural trips to different cities, where we were forced to use Dutch. Since we were living in the Flemish culture, it was much easier to get used to hearing the language and to practicing it. On the other hand, you would be perfectly fine with English since the majority of the population speaks it fluently.

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN)

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