7 out of 10, would recommend Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I found the academic rigor of Jacobs University to be lacking compared to what I was used to at Wellesley. I was able to perform well in courses without putting much effort into them and the work load was very light. For instance, in my Renewable Energy class, I had 4 p-sets for the whole semester and each p-set had around 4 questions. Although I didn't find the courses very challenging, I found it difficult to seek help when I needed it. Professors don't post office hours and TAs don't make themselves available. I think one of the reasons for this is that Jacobs is very much a research institution. In fact, I think the best "course" I took at Jacobs was the independent research course I took where I conducted research under a PhD student in the physics department. The research labs are very new, well-stocked, and have state-of-the-art equipment.

On-site administration of your program

I found the administration of Jacobs University itself to be unorganized. We didn't receive a finalized course catalog until a week or so before our arrival so we weren't able to resolve conflicting courses until a couple days before the first day of classes. This was extremely stressful since a lot of us were counting on certain classes to be available to fulfill major and distribution requirements. In addition, the final exam schedule wasn't released until a month before finals, which made coordinating flights back home difficult. That being said, I thought that the coordination for the exchange students was really great. Yuliya, the exchange student coordinator, was a godsend and I felt like she really advocated for us.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Living arrangements were incredible. We were each given a semi-private apartment, where two people each had a single with a common living area and bathroom. I was housed in Krupp college, the oldest dorm. I think Krupp is about 10 years old so everything was super new and in great working condition.

I thought in terms of quality, the food was really great for dining hall food. There were only 3 hot food options each day so for those with dietary restrictions, it might be difficult to find something to eat. However, there's also a hot bar with side dishes, a salad bar, and a small sandwich station.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Being an international school, Jacobs University was a bubble since people spoke English and most people were from a different country. As a result, I felt like I didn't get the most out of German culture. That being said, a lot of that is also due to the fact that I knew no German prior to coming to Germany.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Health care was amazing. Health insurance is compulsory for students in Germany so we were required to sign up for health insurance during orientation. Wellesley paid for all of our expenses so it was a very non-stressful experience.

I didn't think Jacobs University was the ideal program, but it allowed me to complete the courses that I needed to finish while abroad and I had the opportunity to absorb some German culture and travel to places that I never thought I'd be able to go to.

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

I found it easy to stay within my budget at Jacobs. Since the school had a dining hall, we had 3 square meals covered each day. Most of my expenses came from traveling and eating out when I was tired of the dining hall food. In addition, I found that stuff was a lot cheaper in Bremen than it is in Boston, so I didn't spend very much on toiletries and snacks.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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