339 reviews
3.90 / 5 based on 339 reviews
Useful |
2
RUBEN B
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Personal savings
Other sources of funding:
Family<br>
Personal savings<br>
Government assistance<br>
An ERASMUS grant
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits
Prices are higher than in Madrid, but no so much. If you wanna have a good price for accomodation, search a lot, as we did (a whole week from su to sun, almost). Brussels is very well situated in order to travel abroad: France, Holland, Germany, the UK. Don't miss Carnival in Köln (Cologne), neither forget Go-Pass within Belgium. There's a lot of Cheap travels for youngsters. Look the Pub at ULB.
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Nightlife, Food, Telephone, Overall:
was more expensive than at home.
Housing, Travel:
was the same price as at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
I'm not smoker, but I had friends who were. Be prepared for high prices for this. In order to buy food, Street Markets are the cheapest solution, and in general. Some shops are not open on Sundays, even bakeries.
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1
RUBEN B
Languages
Language of instruction: French
Was learning French a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my French
How much did you improve your French?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
Belgians are quite reserved people, as most of francophones, so you are expected to speak the most of your French with other foreign students. If you have the oporunity, make "interchange" of languages in order to improove your language and meet people.
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Useful |
2
RUBEN B
Overall
I wish I had known...
Really you must to do most of things by your own, specially for accomodation.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
It's quite caothic, but you have a lot of things to choice as studies. Be prepared to fight sometimes with the BIG BELGIAN BUREAUCRACY.
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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
For travelling, usually with bus is cheaper than train: EUROLINES is very good, but there are others companies as STARBUS, withe better prices, but less buses.
Don't miss all your students cards. Your ULB card is vailable to obtein discounts in cinema.
At Filmmusseum, there's a lot of films with very good prices (60/90 BEF).
Brussels is quite safe, but be careful if you are on quartiers as MIDI or SAINT GILLES.
Be open-minded, and be prepared to fight with the very heavy bureaucracy.
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Useful |
7
RUBEN B
Academic
Course recommendations
Try not to chose any subjet related to Local Law, because they are really hard. If you are Erasmus student your oportunities to chose are almost infinites. If you are looking for International and Communitarian Law, this is your place, but be careful, because courses are hard. In Politicsl, there are some very interesting subjetcs, specilly for Central and Eastern European Union.
But be prepared to be treated for most of teachers as a usual student.
Organisation is quite caotic, so try with all your forces to bring your califications with you to your country back.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Don't expect to meet a lot of local students on class. The best place are parties, and, nevertheless, the most amount of people will be foreigner.
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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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2
RUBEN B
Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Travel: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Activities, Nightlife: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Cafe de la Bourse (it has a Flemish name but I don't remember it). On campus until when exams come they have a lot of crazy parties (TD) where all people drink a lot, mostly bear. Students really have a lot of things to do, if you know how to search. Oxford Café is for Erasmus students. Le Soum is a good disco. Brussels, in the beginning can be very boring, so you must do your work.
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Useful |
8
RUBEN B
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
I was sharing this Apartment with 2 others studients, but everyone in his/her room. I think we had the best of sharing a house, but without being so many people as on campus. Our Apartment was also very central located and as in Brussels taxis are very expensive in order to come back home, when we were going out it wasn't so far (around 20 minutes walking). Brussels, in general, is quite safe.
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Personal comments
ULB only booked you a room on Solbosch Campus. There were 2 types of rooms, one for Belgian students, bigger, and the rest for foreigners. You must share a kitchen with 20 people. on La Plaine Campus, the situation is better, because you can share a room and a kitche with only another person. But also is more expensive. When I was around 10.000 BEF or more.
ULB, if you are lucky and can find the right person, gives you a list with rooms. But the best way of finfing a place is by your one. Living on campus is good, but I prefered to live more centrally, having the oportunity of being on campus when we wanted party there, or in the center, where are the most of places to going out.
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