University of Leipzig Exchange Program Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Most of the real learning I did was outside of the classroom in my discussions with other students. While the readings and assignments often were the foundation for the discussions, the real interesting material was brought out after class over lunch, dinner, or a drink at the bar.

On-site administration of your program

I am not sure where to start on this question. Overall, I felt as if the student exchange program was in an amazing state of disarray. When I first arrived in Leipzig, I was supposed to be greeted by an individual who would help me travel from the airport to the city and take me to my hostel. Afterwards, this individual would take me around the city and help me get settled in. However, I was not met at the airport and in fact did not even know such a contact existed until I had lived in Leipzig for over 2 months. I later learned that the reason for this was that Binghamton University had NO IDEA I was even in Germany. They were under the impression I would not arrive for another few months. That, in my opinion, is outrageous considering the Germany department at my school personally faxed over a form I gave them which enrolled me into a German language course beginning on the 5th of January. Further, I came to Leipzig with no place to live. My plan was to live in a hostel for the first few nights until I secured an apartment. While this is not the worst plan, I would hope that my University in NY would be mindful of the fact that I had no place to live and be in constant contact with me in order to see that I was safe. I also had some trouble registering for classes since most of my paperwork had not yet been sent to the University of Leipzig (a problem also related to my "early" arrival). My next problem arose when I tried to register with the city of Leipzig. Once again, my contact here should have been able to help me sort through some of the German paperwork (which was, at times, difficult to understand). However I was left on my own to register and found the task to be most difficult. Now that I am at the end of the semester here, I am wondering how my credits will transfer back to New York. I can only keep my fingers crossed that the process will run smoothly, but honestly I have little reason to suspect it will. I do not want to leave you with the impression that I had a horrid time abroad, since the truth is quite the opposite. However I do mean to shed light on the numerous shortcomings I found, especially since they are areas in which, with a little more effort, could be easily corrected.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived on Arthur-Hoffmann Str. 87 in the Südvorstadt of Leipzig <br /><br /> I cannot say enough good things about the people I lived with. The flat itself was nothing special, although it was clean, warm and safe. The people I lived with were not students, just 2 guys who needed a 3rd roommate.

Of course I will give the cooking a 5/5. I mean, who wouldn't grade their own cooking like that? After living here 7 months, I can roast a pretty mean Bratwurst.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I had the opportunity to travel to Florence, Prague, Frankfurt, Dresden, Berlin and Copenhagen while studying, but all of those trips were organized on my own or with my friends I was traveling with. Watching the World Cup was also fantastic since Germany is doing so good.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I felt safe the whole time. I never got hurt or sick so I cannot comment on the doctors/healthcare system.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I came to Germany with an overwhelming desire to better my German. I quickly discovered that most other students spoke English, and frequently found myself speaking only English with them. While it cannot be denied that my German has improved since January (mostly in understanding it when spoken to me), I feel that if English was not so widely spoken I could have improved more.

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• Apartment

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• Other

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• International Students