Reviews of Universiteit Maastricht (UM) | Netherlands

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shangv

Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Business Studies, Graduate, Independent

Housing

Type of housing: a room with all other German students

Arranged by: Independently - My choice

If returning, I would choose: With a family

Why?

Learn Dutch more easily.

Personal assessment

Cost

Facilities

Location

Cleanliness

Space

Personal comments

Good: multicultural interaction with international students; Bad: noisy, dirty, less exposure to native culture (Dutch).

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shangv

Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Business Studies, Graduate, Independent

Student life

Describe host city:

Student life dominates the city

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

Personal social experience

Activities

Nightlife

Travel

Overall

Personal comments

Take five Cafe--youngersters' pub and social place; Bonboneie-disco, concert and social events takes place; some italian restaurant (forget name); TAFEL-- art gathering event; Carnival celebration

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shangv

Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Business Studies, Graduate, Independent

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: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Holland is impressed by me as people are flexible and have multilanguage capabilities. English is normally spoken by citizens, therefore i don't feel an urgent need to learn Dutch and still feel comfortable to communicate with people here. In UM, working language is English, too.

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shangv

Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Business Studies, Graduate, Independent

Expenses

Main source of funding:

Government assistance

Other sources of funding:

none

Work opportunities:

I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits

The basic cost of living is higher in Holland than China. The biggest cost is accommodation - occupied almost half of my monthly expenses here. Food is expensive too than in China, especially if you want to go to Chinese restaurant and buy Chinese ingredients for cooking at home.

Housing, Food, Overall:

was more expensive than at home.

Travel, Telephone:

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

Received schorlarship.

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shangv

Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Business Studies, Graduate, Independent

Overall

I wish I had known...

Dutch language.

In my opinion:

Most people loved it.

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

Academic reasons

3

Culture

4

Costs

4

Activities

3

Campus life

3

Party / people

4

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

Quite good and it's a rewarding experience both academically and socially.

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

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

3

Improved language skills

4

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

3

Partied a lot

3

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

3

Final comments

Be prepared to cycle a lot on a daily basis.

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shangv

Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
Business Studies, Graduate, Independent

Academic

Course recommendations

Problem-based learning is rewarding experience, but depends on the the level of course coordinator, the general participation degree and some other contigencies, such as the president's ability to lead a meaningful discussion etc.

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

More information on orientation, IT infrastructure update--PC number and quality upgrde, "Blackboard" systems should be stable and meaningful

My opinion of the university assessment