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Studies > Belgium > Brussels > Université Libre de Bruxelles > Review by loula 
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Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

338 reviews
3.91 / 5 based on 338 reviews
Useful  |  0
loula
,
Philosophy, Undergraduate, Independent
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
I heard the accomodation on campus was really bad
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Personal assessment
Cost
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Personal comments
none
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Useful  |  0
loula
,
Philosophy, Undergraduate, Independent
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Nightlife, Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Activities
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Personal comments
The bars around "Bourse" area (such as "Mapamundo") in the center of the city are the best. There are no real good night clubs apart from "Who'sWho's", which is near "Grand'Place" and there's "The Fuse" which is alright but not that great. The nightlife is quiet in Brussels, you should go to Antwerp to party! My favourite places were the Irish pubs ("O'Reily's" near the Bourse)
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Useful  |  3
loula
,
Philosophy, Undergraduate, Independent
Overall
I wish I had known...
That the only way you can get close to locals is by either by being one yourself (not possible) or by downing as many bottles of beers as possible to get their respect (grow up??!!)
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In my opinion:
Stay home.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Academic reasons
2
Culture
3
Costs
3
Activities
3
Campus life
3
Party / people
3
Weather / location
3
Personal recommendation
I did not seek the opportunity to go to Brussels, the opportunity came to me. I shortened my stay there because it lacked interest... The courses are not great, you don't get to interact much with students unless you go through all sort of rituals called the "baptism" (baptême) in the beginning of the year... It's ridiculous: you have to drink until you're sick, eat things without knowing what they are, and do things you don't necessarily want to do... It's worse if you're female (which I am). All this grossed me out right from the start and even if I made friends with other international students (who were just as disgusted as I was!!), the whole point of being in a foreign country is to get to know the locals and interact with them. It's not at the university that you get to do this.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
2
Traveled
4
Improved language skills
2
Met people from other countries
2
Became more independent
2
Partied a lot
2
Experienced a change in life
3
Advanced my studies & career
2
Final comments
Brussels is great for travelling. You can go nearly anywhere in Europe for the weekend. Beware of the Belgian bureaucracy, it's absolutely hopeless! It's a priority to be fluent in French or you can easily get into a mess. My example: I never received my student visa, only a student card. So, I had problems with the police who had lost my file records. They said they would send my residence/visa card but they never did, so I was an illegal resident of Belgium for my entire stay there!!! It's ok if you are a European Union student (you don't need a visa) but if you're not - - good luck!!! Luckily I speak French and had my ULB student card to prove I was allowed to be there, but I don't think such a thing would happen in another country... Working is supposed to be illegal for students but you can easily find jobs anyway. There's a good English community in Brussels so you can easily get to know English people. Although you have to make the effort to interact with people or else you'll get lonely. Brussels is a highly cultural city, the beer is good and so are the chocolates, and it really is the heart of Europe. However, it's more of a quiet place therefore not a great student city and the weather is absolutely horrible.
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Useful  |  0
loula
,
Philosophy, Undergraduate, Independent
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
none
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits
Taxis are very expensive in Brussels.
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Travel, Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Housing, Food, Overall:
was the same price as at home.
Nightlife:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Personal comments
Buy your food at local grocer's, not in big supermarkets, you'll save a lot of money like this!
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Useful  |  0
loula
,
Philosophy, Undergraduate, Independent
Academic
Course recommendations
I had the impression I was receiving a biased education (the professors would only approach certain topics and not others) which something I did not appreciate at all...
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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
There is such a difference between the classes and professors. Some classes are easy, some really hard. The exams are really tough. There's a huge percentage of drop-outs (50% in year 1!!) and I understand why... The first series of exams are almost too easy, which leaves you with the wrong impression... The second series of exams are so hard - - you better have everything covered for them or you'll fail! You have to be really motivated to get through it all with a high mark... The French education system is very different to the Anglo-saxon one so it's not necessarily easy to adapt. It's definitely a challenge.
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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  |  1
loula
,
Philosophy, Undergraduate, Independent
Languages
Language of instruction: French
Was learning French a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
Language difficulties
Social
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Personal comments
Everything is in French so you better be fluent!
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