Reviews of Helsinki School of Economics (AALTO UNIVERSITY) | Finland

Useful | 0

Verena L

Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Vienna, Austria
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Overall

I wish I had known...

I thought there are more courses in english and that the WU hardly credits any courses.

In my opinion:

Everybody loved it, you will too!

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

Academic reasons

3

Culture

3

Costs

2

Activities

2

Campus life

2

Party / people

2

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

I really liked it, becaue it is a small university and therefore it is more a school feeling. Also the courses are more practical orientated than theroetical.

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

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

4

Improved language skills

4

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

3

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

2

Final comments

A trip to Tallinn is a must. It is just 80 km away and it is so different from Helsinki. It takes a time to get used to Helsinki as it is such a modern city, and if you come from an city as Vienna,....I was very disappointed in the beginning, but I loved it in the end.

Useful | 0

bobinette

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Business Studies, Graduate, Erasmus

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: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Well, in Finland almost everybody speaks English. So there are, in general, no communication problems. I participated in two Finnish language courses but did not really used the language because everybody speaks English. Another thing is that most of the exchange students don't speak Finnish but English and usually you spend most of your time with them.

Useful | 0

Hanna B

Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland
Financial Management, Graduate, CEMS

Overall

I wish I had known...

no

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

2

Activities

3

Campus life

3

Party / people

2

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

They take a very good care of exchange students, organise a lot of different events for them or exchange students take part in overall funny activities (eg. Beerrally)

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

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

2

Improved language skills

3

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

3

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

4

Final comments

Half a year is enough to stay in Helsinki/Finland, unless you meet wonderful friends as I did (other exchnage students). Finnish people and culture is very alcohol oriented: every single possibility is used to get drunk.

Useful | 0

Lucie P

University of Economics Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Business Studies, Graduate, CEMS

Overall

I wish I had known...

Nowadays, there shouldn’t be any troubles of getting any information. Everything I wanted to know, I checked before either on the Internet, or through school or Embassy.

In my opinion:

Everybody loved it, you will too!

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

Academic reasons

4

Culture

2

Costs

3

Activities

1

Campus life

1

Party / people

1

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

Students should be prepared to work hard throughout the whole semester. There are a lot of cases, essays and project to write, what usually takes a lot of time. Nevertheless, the final exams are very easy.

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

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

4

Improved language skills

3

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

3

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

3

Final comments

I had a really good time there. However everybody should be aware of the fact that a lot depends on the people you are there with!

Useful | 0

Laurent P

EM Strasbourg Business School, Strasbourg, France
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Housing

Type of housing: On campus

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: On campus

Why?

In fact it is not really a campus. It is a building that belongs to the association of the school (KY). In that building there are only apartments for 3 people which is very useful to find friends and to know quickly people from other countries. So I would make the same choice, and you know, when you pay 120 euros per month, you are very happy to spare to travel!!

Personal assessment

Cost

Facilities

Location

Cleanliness

Space

Personal comments

Concerning the accomodation, KY, the association of the school give you the choice between 3 appartments between 120 and 400 euros. People in appartments at 400 euros are lucky because it is so beautiful and comfortable there, but so unlucky to have boring days because they are alone and it is so difficult to get friends there. At last I am very happy concerning my choice to live in "Ida", even if I have to take the bus during 30mn to go to school and to the city.

Useful | 0

MARIA S

Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
Tourism, Graduate, Erasmus

Expenses

Main source of funding:

Family

Other sources of funding:

Government assistance<br> An ERASMUS grant

Work opportunities:

I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits

at home my parents paid everythins, so i don't realize what i'm paying. When you are abroud you take more care of the money and you realize better how much things cost. I was also living in an apartment, and normally I live with my parents...There are a lot of factors.

Travel, Housing:

was more expensive than at home.

Overall:

was the same price as at home.

Nightlife, Telephone, Food:

was less expensive than at home.

Accessibility of student needs

Second-hand text books

Second-hand household items

Computers / Internet

Administrative