207 reviews
4.25 / 5 based on 207 reviews
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Student life
Describe host city:
Student life dominates the city
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Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Nightlife: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Travel: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Cafe Europa was a nice place, as many international students go there and more importantly, Finns hoping to meet people from abroad also when here. The Irish bar, O' Connells was also a popular haunt of the open-minded.
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Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: With a family
Why?
Such an arrangement would really let me get to know Finnish people. However, many Finns are quite private, I am not sure how well a family would cope with an 'outsider'.
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Personal comments
The housing, while I was there, was handled by a company independent of the University. They were very professional and it was quite challenging, to work with the staff. However, they were professional and spoke very good english.
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Overall
I wish I had known...
That I should have opted to stay for the full year, and not just half.
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In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
This a pretty university. They get alot of visiting lecturers for international relations and this was a major bonus for me. It is wonderful to get a different insight into issues. I had American, Finnish and German teachers.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
You will experience a culture shock in Finland. Perhaps the most striking thing for me was how quiet the place is. Words are kept to a minimum Finland and for the talkers among you, it could well be an incrediably frustrating place to live. However, many Finns, though reserved were welcoming and hospitable.I hope to go back and stay in a cabin by a lake someday.
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Academic
Course recommendations
Course are often run in as intensive two or three hour classes over two or three weeks culminating in a tesst of some kind. This was quite a change for me. However this system allowed me to plan travelling between blocks of class. You must sign up for classes, find a noticeboard relevant to your courses and watch it for announcement of courses.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Some courses were quite relaxed and while this fostered debate and participation in the class room, there was often a lack of discipline. Lecturers were often VERY difficult to meet with outside class times. Office hours for meeting students were regularly flouted.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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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
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
Most young Finns speak english, this is pretty good. However, speaking to begin with is not their strong suit, so it was challenging to make Finnish friends even if they spoke English. I really recommend learning some basic Finnish.
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Expenses
Main source of funding:
An ERASMUS grant
Other sources of funding:
Government assistance
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
Nightlife is VERY expensive, so people tended to invite people to their home to socialise. Tickets for events were also costly. Fresh vegetables are also expensive.Calling home cost alot, but good internet access offset this.
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Telephone, Nightlife:
was more expensive than at home.
Food, Overall, Housing:
was the same price as at home.
Travel:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Be very careful to supply a date of leaving to your housing company. You must send them written confirmation at the start of your last month.Many students were charged an extra months rent because they were a few days late in supplying notice of their leaving. The housing system is quite rigid in its application of contracts.
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