64 reviews
4.30 / 5 based on 64 reviews
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Piet B
Student life
Describe host city:
Student life dominates the city
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Activities, Nightlife: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Nu Bar and Catwalk are great but make sure you travel to Cape Town often because that is where the great big clubs are.
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Piet B
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
The campus housing of the international office: Concordia and Academia is more expensive looks like a prison. Stellenbosch is a small village so everything is in walking/biking distance wherever you live!
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Personal comments
Rent a room in private housing. It should cost you around 150 euros a month. Ask the international office for mail adresses of landlords and arrange it before you come or come at least two weaks before the university introduction week starts and arrange it while staying in a backpackers hostel.
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Piet B
Academic
Course recommendations
Talk with the local students about your opinion on the bad situation of the black population of South Africa and they will never talk to you again. I am not black myself but worked as a volenteer in the township of Stellenbosch through ISOS, the International Student Organisation of Stellenbosch which was a great experience not te be missed. Discrimination is still a big issue in South Africa.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
You do not have a lot of classes throughout the year and are expected to do a lot of selfstudy which I describe as cheap education!
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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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Piet B
Languages
Language of instruction: English
Was learning English a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my English
How much did you improve your English?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
You can choose to speak either English or Afrikaans (very similar to Dutch). If you already speak English quite well before you go to South Africa you are unlikely to improve it while you are there because there are not many native English speaking persons studying there.
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Piet B
Overall
I wish I had known...
Remember that the houses are not isolated and that it can get cold during the winter (especially at night). I already knew this and brought a thick jacket that proved to be very usefull. It gets cold in between May and July (when I was there it even snowed on the Siemensberg, which is a mountain next to Stellenbosch)
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In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Make sure you select the right courses because although most look the same on paper, they differ a lot in difficulty in practice!
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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
Just go, everybody had a great experience. Try to reserve some time to travel: I bought an old 4x4 with some friends and traveled to Kenya through 8 other country which was the best thing I ever did! Great university, great people, great country, great continent and best of all a great culture!
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Piet B
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings<br>
A private grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't want/need to work
Personal spending habits
I think everybody knows that Africa is cheaper than Europe or North-America. We ate in restaurants three times a day!
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Travel, Food, Nightlife, Telephone, Overall, Housing:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
There is internet at the campus 24-7. You can probably withdraw money with the same card you use at home without extra costs (Cirrus/Maestro).
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