Université des Sciences Humaines (Strasbourg II)

Ensure that you plan your year abroad carefully as regards courses, modules, etc. The same applies to your budget(perhaps even more so!) Think about getting a part-time job throughout the year so that you won't have trouble looking for jobs in the summmer if you intend to stay until September. To apply for jobs, it is best to arrive in the August before your year abroad. Overall, my year abroad experience was very challenging but very, very positive and I would recommend Strasbourg to anyone planning to study in France. Strasbourg is a very multi-national, multi-cultural city, where you'll make some of the greatest friendships and have the best time of your life.

I know it can be the easiest thing to do when you first get to a new country and in strange situations, to bind yourself to a group of people that speaks your language. From personal experience, It is always better to have a good mix of friends. Make an effort with the french students because (eventhough it might be a struggle at first) it will benefit you in the long run, as you won't find yourself always taking the easy way out and speak english whenever you have a problem communicating your views across. You will always learn something from the french students and it will help with your confidence and classes as well.

Take the opportunity to use the train system to travel throughout Europe while you are there! Youth hostels and one-star hotels are inexpensive and give you a place to sleep. Get a good map of your host city so you can find where you want to go. Learn the bus/subway systems to get around.

Great tarte flambees at les trois brasseurs (which has been renamed to just les brasseurs now I think). Most of the international students I knew congegrated there because of good cheap beer and lots of good deals during happy hour. Le trou on a monday night was a big hit but now I think it might have shut down. There are also salsa classes in cafe des anges. If you fancy a nice relaxing drink with a good crowd then I suggest Le gayot. A great pasta takeaway place I recommend is near le gayot, and there are also great kebab places in the city centre. Cinemas has to be the UGC which is the biggest one near the bridge at the Esplanade tramstop. Anything else just give me a shout... I can't think of anything right now. :)

The Securité Sociale program in France will pay part of any student's housing, including international students. Check bank rates before choosing a bank in France; most have hidden costs, such as fees to close the account.

Personally, I didn't get a chance to live in halls because there wasn't any space for me. If you intend to apply for halls accomodation, I suggest you do it pronto! Because it's relatively cheap to live in halls, the places go pretty quickly. From what I've heard from friends, it is good to live in halls because you have to interact with the students living in your dorm thereby making you speak french which is always a good thing. Everyone is generally very helpful, but don't expect to be living in luxury because its not. There is one kitchen and you have to share showers and toilets between (approx.) 15 students per floor.. (or maybe more). Apart from that though, it is a good experience because if you're lucky, some of these people will become great friends throughout the year.