Spring in Munich! August 11, 2026

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were in general much less intensive than what I was used to, although I think more difficulty would have been available to me if I had chosen to take German language courses at the LMU. You definitely have the opportunity to learn a lot of German. Science courses are not usually available to students in the program, which could be difficult for STEM majors.

On-site administration of your program

Administrators were very available and willing to help with any questions or problems we had. I do really wish more could have been communicated outside of in person sessions-- orientation felt unnecessarily long and like a lot of the information given would have been better if just sent in an email.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

All students are housed in OlyDorf, which is the old Munich Olympic Village now converted to student housing (I thought that was super cool!). I loved having my own little apartment, especially my own kitchen-- it made cooking for myself so much easier. Not having roommates did mean that I had to go a little more out of my way to make friends, but I was okay with that. The location was also great and very close to both parks and public transportation, and being in the student village meant that I was able to get a lot of my furniture or appliances for free or very cheap through the neighborhood marketplace. The apartment itself was not luxurious and got very hot in the summer, but was still nicer than a lot of college dorms I've stayed in.

The program does not offer a meal plan, so I ended up cooking most of my own food at home. That worked really well for me, although I know some of my classmates struggled. Groceries in Germany, especially at discounters, are much cheaper than in the US.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

You had to make an effort yourself to join clubs etc. and meet people outside of classes in order to get to know anyone who wasn't an international student. Even then, most of my friends were non-Germans. The program introduced us to aspects of Bavarian culture but it felt a little bit more touristy. That said, even though I didn't know as many people there were a lot of events and things to do in the area that helped to get to know the culture.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not end up needing to use health services while I was there, but I thought the program did a good job letting us know what was available to us, and helping us find English-speaking doctors/make appointments if we needed it. We were enrolled in the German public health insurance so everything was free or very low cost; I think I would have been much less worried from a financial perspective about going to the doctor or emergency room than in the US.

Munich is a very safe city overall, especially within OlyDorf. Obviously regular precautions should be taken, but I never had a situation where I felt unsafe.

I really liked Munich and getting the chance to improve my German. However, I think a lot of what I loved about it, like the independence, the exposure to the language, and the chance to travel and explore a new place, could have also been found elsewhere. The timing of the program was definitely a drawback and prevented me from doing something else with my summer in addition to the program, and I felt like I would have liked to integrate more with the culture.

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

I ended up spending quite a lot on travel and discretionary expenses, if I had chosen to do less of that I would have saved a lot more.

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

All classes offered directly through the program are in German, although English-medium classes are available at the LMU. We spoke exclusively German with program administrators and were strongly encouraged to only speak German with each other while in the JYM building. We were also required to take a language course as one of our classes.

Select all that apply

• Apartment

Select all that apply

• N/A

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Language exposure!
• Ease of travelling
• Location near both city and nature

• More cultural integration
• Less 'admin' time in orientation

The Academic or Linguist