I wish I never had to leave!! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Not as academically rigorous or challenging as i thought it might be, not nearly as challenging or stimulating as my home university. But the professors were all incredibly nice, and the resources of the libraries were great, especially for English speakers.

On-site administration of your program

A little confusing and haphazard but the individual international student advisers were fantastic, super hardworking, and very helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing here can really be 50/50 as far as the quality, and the housing for international students is operated by a private company, not the university, and that can be a hassle. My first housing assignment was kind of awful - very far from the city (40 mins walk), dirty, a huge building with 8 floors of students but individual rooms were very small and cramped. I moved, though, two months into my stay to another building and it was perfect. I had a great student manager, the buildings were clean, smaller and more personal, my room was large and nice, and living in that environment with so many other international students was one of the best experiences of my time there.

Food in Groningen in general is very good, slightly expensive, but there's so much good fresh food available in general. There are a couple restaurants/canteens in the larger academic buildings that are pretty good, but there isn't anything like a dining hall or a meal plan like we are used to here in the states.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't personally have any health issues, but a friend of mine did, and everything went fine. Geneseo offers great temporary travel health insurance, and furthermore, in most of the pharmacies you can get a lot of help, the pharmacists there are super knowledgeable, and I didn't met a sing one who didn't speak English fluidly, and many drugs are available over-the-counter that are prescription here, so if you know what you need, it's very easy to get them.

I felt very safe there, pretty much all the time. In my first house, I had to walk 40 mins to get to or from the city center everyday, and I always felt perfectly safe. The biggest problem, I think, is with bicycle theft, everyone has a bike, so theft is pretty common if you don't take the right precautions. Also, there are a small number of junkies who will steal bikes and try to sell them to you late at night for 5 or 10 euros, but they're not aggressive, and not much of an issue. Basically there's the same safety issues that you would find in any small city, but on a much, much smaller scale. I felt very safe there.

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

It was definitely a bit more expensive living there than I expected, or than it is living on a student's budget in the states. I didn't keep track of my weekly spending though.

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• International Students

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• International Students

• Living with other international students was absolutely fantastic
• The freedom to travel around the country and the continent

• Support from the actual university for international and exchange students could have been more extensive