Reviews of Central European University Budapest (CEU) | Hungary

Useful | 1

Konstantin P

Higher School of Economics, Saint-Petersburg (branch), Russia
Political Science, Graduate, Independent

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my English

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

... well, studying Hungarian is something else. It's a hard language, and there is little time for it, since you get very busy with homework and different sorts of assignment. the good news is that you don't have to speak hungarian here. School is all in english; plus, a lot of people ouside of school can at least understand english (and sell you a beer in english as well :)

Useful | 1

Marjolein L

Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
International Relations, Graduate, Independent

Overall

I wish I had known...

always apply for full grant! There's a fair chance you get it at CEU. I have been to modest and asked for 80% reduction of tuition fee only. Sure I could have gotten more.

In my opinion:

Most people loved it.

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

4

Culture

3

Costs

2

Activities

3

Campus life

1

Party / people

4

Weather / location

3

Personal recommendation

good courses, highly international, most students from Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union. Budapest great city to live, very dynamic, the whole region is changing rapidly. Just the place to be these days.

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

3

Traveled

4

Improved language skills

3

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

3

Advanced my studies & career

4

Final comments

Learn a Slavic language. Makes it much easier to get around in Central/Eastern Europe than Hungarian!

Useful | 0

Boriana

Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, Bulgaria
European Studies, Masters, Intl programme for students from CEE

Overall

I wish I had known...

More about the educational system and requirements of West European and US Universities

In my opinion:

Everybody loved it, you will too!

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

3

Culture

2

Costs

4

Activities

3

Campus life

2

Party / people

3

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

The University celebrates its 10th anniversary. As member of the CEU alumni network I follow it's development and believe it becomes even better every year. A fellow student and friend recently wrote for the anniversary bulletin that CEU is the acronym for Challenging, Everlasting and Unique and I believe it could not be described better.

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

3

Traveled

3

Improved language skills

4

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4

Partied a lot

3

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

4

Final comments

The university is located now in Budapest, Hungary. You can contact it at: www.ceu.hu CEU Nador ut. 9 H-1051 Budapest Hungary

Useful | 0

caroline m

University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
Law, International, Graduate, University Agreement

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

No, it wasn't.

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Did not speak it

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Life outside the campus required quite some knowldge of the local langauge as Hungarian do not speak a lot of english, however the University made it easy for international students to get around by providing all the necessary information for living in Hungary and organised plenty of activities for the international students.

Useful | 2

anonymous

Universitatea "Babes-Bolyai" din Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
History, Graduate, Independent

Expenses

Main source of funding:

A private grant

Other sources of funding:

none

Work opportunities:

I didn't want/need to work

Personal spending habits

Because Budapest is a much more expensive than any city in Romania. But then the stipend I got from CEU was much more than any salary in Romania.

Overall, Food, Nightlife, Telephone, Travel, Housing:

was more expensive than at home.

Accessibility of student needs

Second-hand text books

Second-hand household items

Computers / Internet

Administrative

Money from home

Personal comments

No financial suprises. A cost-saving tip however would be: don't live in the dorm (on campus). It's much cheaper to rent a flat in the city and you are your own boss.

Useful | 1

Sabiha T

Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
European Studies, Graduate, Independent

Overall

I wish I had known...

I wish I had more knowledge on housing and language.

In my opinion:

I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

4

Culture

3

Costs

3

Activities

3

Campus life

2

Party / people

3

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

It's a small university which gives you the chance to interact with the professors closely. Also there are lots of resources for research eg. open society archives.

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

3

Traveled

3

Improved language skills

3

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4