Testimonials and experiences of exchange students

In order to help future exchange students choose a host country and university, former exchange students have agreed to answer some questions related to their own experience. You will find some of these testimonials below classified by region.

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Testimonials

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Unsplash © Praveen Kumar

University of Montreal

Lindrina - 25 years old - Master in Physical Activity Sciences

1. What was your first impression of your host country and university?

A very good first impression upon arriving in Montreal. First of all, I was surprised by the friendly people. Here, when you enter a shop or a restaurant, you will often hear "Hello, are you alright?", at first you are a bit surprised but you get used to it and you quickly adopt this closeness. It's quite a change from Switzerland... In Quebec, in general, you'll find this mentality, which is very pleasant. As for the host university, it's also a time of adaptation that is necessary. I'm lucky enough to have my classes at the sports centre, which has a lot of interesting facilities if you like physical activity!

2. What kind of accomodation do you live in and how did you find it?

I live in a shared flat. I found it thanks to the different Facebook groups for housing in Montreal. I must admit that it was really complicated to find, I had to persevere a lot because the housing market in Montreal is currently saturated. But I found what I was looking for so I'm super satisfied.

3. What is your monthly budget?

It's quite variable. I would say that for accommodation you count between CHF 400-500 if you want to be in a shared flat, less than CHF 300 for food, to have access to the metro and bus for 4 months, the subscription was CHF 163 (for the 4 months). So I would say about CHF 1'000 per month for basic necessities. Then it depends on how often you go out to eat, shop or travel.

4. What was the most challenging part of your arrival? Practical life (administrative procedures), academic life...

The most complicated thing for me when I arrived, after having found accommodation, was probably the various administrative procedures to be carried out in the host university. Several documents to upload, understanding how a new platform works etc.

5. What would you recommend to future exchange students?

Not to lose patience despite all the administrative steps to be taken before leaving and when arriving, the efforts are worth it. I would also recommend that you go ahead and find accommodation (although the time between the Unil decision and the start of the semester is relatively short).

6. What's the biggest difference between Lausanne and your host country?

I would say that in Canada, everything is relatively big! Whether it's the buildings, the cities, the distances, the supermarkets, and sometimes the portions at the restaurant :). But Montreal is really a great city with a lot of diversity, lots of different little neighbourhoods and lots of activities! I'm mainly looking forward to one thing when I get back, it's to find the Coop and the Migros because here the supermarkets are really different hahah, not always easy to do your weekly shopping and find the products you're looking for!

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Dalhousie University - Halifax

Lea - 20 years old - Bachelor in Management

1. What was your first impression of your host country and university?

Great! People are super nice, social, courteous and pleasant! Canadians are very easy to talk to and help us.

2. What kind of accomodation do you live in and how did you find it?

I live in a shared flat. The first month I lived in student housing (on campus dorm) but it was way too expensive, canteen mandatory and super expensive! But good solutions on facebook market place. The accommodation is however quite expensive, I pay CHF 650 and I have a very good plan.

3. What is your monthly budget?

Per month, rent $650 and food + going out $450 but a bit short! There is a food bank where students can go once every 2 weeks and get food for free, that's great!

4. What was the most challenging part of your arrival? Practical life (administrative procedures), academic life...

Nothing was really complicated when I arrived! But I was a little disappointed that there are no associations for exchange students in Canada, unlike in Europe where exchange students are often together and do activities organised by associations.

5. What's the biggest difference between Lausanne and your host country?

The people! Very very nice here, so warm!

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Western University - London

Tania - 24 years old - Bachelor of Arts

1. What was your first impression of your host country and university?

My first impression of the university and the campus was good. The campus, compared to the one in Lausanne, is much more convenient, big and self-sufficient. On the other hand, the city of London did not leave a good first impression. Beyond the university, there is nothing to do, the city lives to the rhythm of the campus so during the holidays or reading week, the city is as good as dead. It's a student city so it's easy to go out, and weekends are hectic and the bars/clubs are made for young people (beware, the legal age is 19 in Canada)

2. What kind of accomodation do you live in and how did you find it?

The hardest and most stressful part of preparing for this trip was probably finding accommodation. The university has a website for students only and a special body to help international students in their search. It is possible to delegate students from this body to visit flats or rooms. I myself have been researching and applying to this special body for 2 months, without success. It is possible for international students to apply for a room in residence during the month of July, after all first years have been placed in a room. However, this is not an option; it is risky as it is based on a first come, first served system. As soon as you receive the email, you have to apply via a website (all information will be given). It is possible that you apply too late and that no rooms are available. The total cost was around CHF 3100 for a semester and by adding about CHF 2'500, you benefit from the meal plan (cafeteria meals included). Be careful because this option is not necessarily more advantageous because the money appears directly on your campus card and is deducted from each purchase on campus (cafeteria, campus restaurant). In the cafeteria, prices are set by weight. Many students end up spending money on snacks, breakfast or other items because cafeteria hours are not very flexible.

3. What is your monthly budget?

I don't have a monthly budget because my room in the residence is already fully paid for and includes wifi, electricity, water, etc. The only fixed monthly expense is for food. Prices in Canada are similar to Swiss prices (or even higher for some things). So I count 100 Canadian dollars per week for groceries. It is possible to find, via instagram, colloquiums that apply for residency that want to share the cost of groceries and so it is much cheaper.

4. What was the most challenging part of your arrival? Practical life (administrative procedures), academic life...

My arrival was quite simple, everything is well explained and guided. However, the lack of information about the rooms. There was absolutely nothing provided in my suite (suite = 4 bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom). I had to buy everything (kitchen utensils, duvet, etc.)

5. What would you recommend to future exchange students?

One recommendation for those who would like to go on exchange to London is to read and follow all the information given in the emails. There will be a lot of them but they are very important: respect the deadlines. The courses are much more sustained and demanding than in Lausanne (participation marks, midterm, and frequent reports) but the level is not higher, or even lower than the European level in certain faculties and the student life is much more rhythmic, eventful and friendly than in Lausanne; there is always an evening, an activity or clubs offering something.

6. What's the biggest difference between Lausanne and your host country?

The biggest difference between Lausanne and Western is that the social life is much more eventful, the university puts a lot more things in place to ensure a diverse student life and not purely focused on studies. I would recommend this university and exchanges in general; it's a good opportunity to meet people, to travel and to expand the subjects of learning because they are more varied than in Lausanne!

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