Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Grading system: on final test, very hard on exchange students as it is very tempting to leave everything to last. Classes are huge at the Bachelors level, for Master courses the classes are simpler, sometimes in English, smaller, and more student-professor interaction. Most of the learning is done out of the classroom by your own.

On-site administration of your program

VERY VERY helpful, Dr. Linda Conrad was a very helpful advisor and administrator, made life simple.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Studentenstadt, Blaues Haus Very simple dorm with own kitchenette, own bathroom (very ugly one), and walk-in closet. not very big. Building not very nice, but full of students (its a huge 3000 student housing complex). There was a restaurant-bar just at the side of my building with amazing prices (a pint of Guinness only 2.60 euros, a whole meal 3.80 euros), next to the famous Englischer Garten (huge beautiful park, bigger than Central Park in NYC) <br /><br /> Housing was arranged by the host university, very safe, not very nice, in the same Subway line as all the universities, awesome nightlife (as there were lots of parties)

German food is neither the best, nor of the greatest quality... Beer though is amazing.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

awesome nighlife, beer culture, very friendly internationals, Beergartens offer an excellent opportunity to meet Germans of all sorts and ages. Munich is very central, so acces to all of Europe was great, I attended the Oktoberfest, its AMAZING. Bavaria is very traditional, and you still see people in lederhosens (and lots of them in Oktoberfest and May Day).

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

German health system is great, never had a problem myself, but I know it. As of safety, you never see anybody stealing anything, violent crimes are unheard of, and Police reactions is impressive.

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

First of all, if you don't feel like it, you might as well never need German in Germany, everyone under 30 knows English. However, if you feel like learning the language, then try first to hang out with locals. On the other hand most internationals are very eager in learning German, so its easy to practice and improve the language (most of my conversations were completely in German). Avoid lazy people who have no interest in the language. READ the newspaper, WATCH german tv (although it may be boring). I only took one year of German before coming to Germany, and a year after arriving, my German is almost fluent.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
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• Local Students