263 reviews
4.08 / 5 based on 263 reviews
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1
kevin_M_Steel
Housing
Type of housing: On campus
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose:
Why?
I would choose to live in a different hall of residence (probably Klinikum Großhadern in south Munich) because it was hard to get in contact with other students where I lived (they were all a lot older and even some families were living in my hall).
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Personal comments
The hall was called Studentenstadt and it was pretty easy to get about as there was a U-Bahn station there. The halls look quite run down but the rooms themselves are ok if a little small. I've been back since (i.e. in the Summer semester) and the atmosphere is much better there with more things going on. I didn't have a bad time there though, it was just a bit hard to get to know other German students.
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0
kevin_M_Steel
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
KPO - huge club complex at the Ostbahnhof station. Anywhere on Münchener Freiheit (a main road with loads of pubs). English/Irish pubs:- Günter Murphy's (inbetween Münchener Freiheit and Gisellastraße), A Hard Days Night (near McDonalds at Münchenerfreiheit - brand new this year), Ned Kelly's (Irish/Australian Bar near the Frauenkirche at Marienplatz). Also Hofbraühaus - about 5 mins walk away from Marienplatz.
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1
kevin_M_Steel
Academic
Course recommendations
As the university is so large it is also very impersonnel. Lectures often have 300 students attending (although half of them tend to leave after 30 mins). Seminars can also be quite hard as some of the lecturers treat you as if you are a German student regardless of whether you understanding of German is good enough.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
More consideration for Erasmus students (if you are treated like a German student then the expectations are too high and it is very hard to pass the exams at the end of the course). The translation classes I attended were good in this respect and the tutors gave the Erasmus students some leeway when marking work.
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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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5
kevin_M_Steel
Overall
I wish I had known...
That you have to pay to register for courses (not a lot - about 10-15DM per course) and you also have to pay for the photocopies from the lectures (which cost anything from 5 to 50 DM). This put me off some courses as I didn't think it was worth paying for the lectures.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Nightlife is excellent. The university itself is probably a bit too big and impersonnel and I found it quite hard to get a lot out of lectures. There are probably too many English/Irish/American students there (i.e. I spent a lot of my time with them as it was hard to meet other German students and my German suffered as a result).
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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
When you register for health insurance make sure they give you your health insurance card (they didn't give me one so I had to pay for medical treatment). Go (from British Airways)offer the cheapest flights to Munich from the UK and it takes about 40 mins on the train to reach the city centre. Munich is probably one of the more expensive places to live in Germany (which makes it about the same as the UK so its still not too expensive). There are also a lot of tourist trap bars and shops in the city centre so beware.
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1
kevin_M_Steel
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings<br>
An ERASMUS grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
I used my English phone when I got there for a few months which was a huge mistake and got a huge bill (German mobile phones aren't very reliable but they are quite cheap so I now have one of those). My accomodation was about 100 pounds per month which was very cheap. Travel is also very inexpensive if you travel in groups (5 people can travel on a Bayern Ticket or Schönes Wockenende Ticket which costs 40DM). I also got a Bahnkarte which cost 135DM for students and makes all train fares half price (this is because I now travel mostly alone as I no longer live in Munich). The U-Bahn is also fairly cheap (about 20DM per month for the Innenstadt in Munich - this also includes busses and trams).
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Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Food, Nightlife, Overall:
was the same price as at home.
Housing, Travel:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Don't use an English mobile on international roaming if your stay is more than a few weeks.
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1
kevin_M_Steel
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: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
Unless you get actively involved in activities outside of the University then it is very difficult to improve your German. My level of German only started to improve after I joined a football team and also I am now doing work experience here (which has been the biggest help to my German).
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