European Adventures !! January 09, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This is not a school to go to for academic rigor or intense learning. The academics are very messy and the professors are generally not good at explaining the material. They do not guide their students to have a sense of discipline and most students do not study and cheat on their tests. The academic environment at the school does not motivate you to study and rather puzzles you with how careless everybody seems to be.

On-site administration of your program

The staff at the school does not communicate with each other so you would get asked to share the same information multiple times. I also received conflicting immigration information on multiple occasions because the staff would not communicate the answers I gave them with each other. They are hard to reach and generally unfriendly and unhelpful. They often do not have answers to your questions and when asked to redirect you to a different resource their answer often is "ask the student body".

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

If you're a POC you may receive micro-aggressions from locals.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

No vaccines are needed for this program. The school doesn't have health services so it is your own responsibility to find a doctor or specialist if any health issues occur since the school also doesn't provide any partnerships with hospitals. As a student in Germany, you will have German health insurance that allows you to visit doctors free of charge (how many you have access to depends on the insurance provider). Health care is accessible because of Germany's health care system but not because the program is equipped with any health care resources (it lacks them).

For the most part, it is very safe but beware of pickpocketers in touristy areas.

I really enjoyed my study abroad experience but this was because I made the most of it with my friends and how easy it is to travel around Europe as a student while keeping a budget, however, the exchange program and the school itself were not what I expected and I was disappointed. Had I not chosen to react to this disappointment in a positive way and make the most of the experience through my own means I likely would have been very upset and lonely. One of the girls in the program returned to her home country earlier mainly for this reason. I can openly say I do not recommend people to attend this program and encourage them to choose a different one if given the chance. These are the main reasons why I strongly disliked this school and program: - The staff is unhelpful and often times unfriendly, they are also hard to reach. - The school's academic culture encourages not working, skipping classes often, cheating, and only focusing on barely passing your classes and that being good enough. If this is not how you approach academics the environment can be frustrating and demotivating. - Professors are in general not good at teaching. I did not learn new material while being in the school and speaking with students from the university they admit they do not understand much themselves which is why they cheat on tests so often. - A fair amount of the student body is very materialistic, shallow, and sometimes unfriendly. - The program barely makes any activities that encourage the exchange students to interact with one another or with the students from the host university. If you do not know people beforehand or are fairly introverted it may be hard to build connections with people. They do not invest much in creating experiences for the exchange students, they do not take you on tours or activities. The only excursions available are within classes and oftentimes the students have to pay the cost of the trip themselves.

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

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The accomodation
• The semester ticket - This is a card that allows you to use local public transportation and all german regional trains for free :)

• Staff that is more attentive and acomodating
• Create activities for the exchange students to get to know one another and integrate on campus
• Improve the quality of academics

The Academic or Linguist