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1055 BIF
515 East Gregory Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 244-7245
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Comments about Erasmus University from Past Participants
for more complete comments, please check out the binders in the student lounge, 215b DKH
Useful Advice
“My overall experience simply stated was the best time of my life. I imagined partying all the time and trying to get my schoolwork done, but the lifestyle was so refreshingly not Champaign which is exactly what I was looking for in the first place. Dinner parties all the time, good conversation, open-minded students, different food, different ideas, and so many other things that I cannot write down…I wanted to find some perspective and that is exactly what I got.” – Joseph Haberer, Fall 05
“I would rate my overall experience as absolutely wonderful. Erasmus provided great courses and activities for exchange students. I was able to make great lifelong friends. The biggest piece of advice I can give to future study abroad students is to be prepared. Be sure to know information about the country and city you are going to. Also make sure to complete all the forms from the study abroad office as well as from the exchange university. I would also tell them to go with an open mind; there are so many new and wonderful experiences to be had.” – Jackie Brazzil, Fall 03
“Erasmus is a great program. The best part is living with international students from all over the world and building close friendships with them. I can honestly say I have close friends all over Europe, Canada, the US, Asia, and Australia now. You learn a lot about Dutch culture but you also learn a lot about the cultures of all the different students. Don’t be worried that you don’t speak Dutch. Everyone in the program has English as a common language and practically all Dutch people speak and do business in English. Rotterdam is a fun place to live, an easy place to travel from, and the Dutch are general open to Americans. I chose Erasmus somewhat randomly but it was an excellent decision. Meeting people your age from all over is an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. We’re all still in touch and continue to make travel plans together. The only advice I have is to bring a laptop and a digital camera. Also, try to contact the Internet company and set it up before you go, you might be waiting a very long time.” – Dana Fabrizio, Summer 05
“My overall experience was truly amazing! I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Not only was I able to travel and see the world, but in the process, I made life-long friendships with numerous other students. The school aspect of studying abroad was also interesting. It taught me patience and allowed me to establish a first-hand, realistic perspective of different cultures. To put it best, whenever I look back on studying abroad, my mind floods with countless, terrific events that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life. Anyone that has the opportunity to study abroad and doesn’t, is a fool.” – Joseph M. Lotysz, Sp 03
Location
“The location of Rotterdam is excellent for traveling throughout the rest of Europe, a mere three hour train ride from Paris and excellent flight deals fifty minutes away in Amsterdam. Rotterdam is an interesting city, seeing how it is completely different from most other Dutch towns, this of course being attributed to the fact that the city was leveled in WWII and that it is the biggest port in the world so it has quite an industrial feel. The city does have its pro’s though; it has great architecture (cube houses, skyscrapers, etc…), a great market (Blaak), and a great night life among others. It was great being close to Amsterdam, especially for such entertaining events as the royal wedding and Queen’s Day. It is very easy to get around the country with the Dutch transportation system, so it is possible to see the whole country from Rotterdam. Transportation within the city is convenient with the trams running; however there are not too many places to see in Rotterdam besides downtown.” – Jared Conway, Sp 02
“Rotterdam was a great location to live for a semester. It is not a big tourist city, which made it easier to adjust and feel at home. But if you like the tourist feeling, the center of Amsterdam is a fun day or night trip. Rotterdam is a great location to travel from since it is close to many destinations. Amsterdam airport is about 45 min train ride from Rotterdam. I flew out of Amsterdam to Verona and spent a week traveling throughout Italy. Trains run often from Rotterdam to places like Belgium, Paris, Germany, etc. There is a convenient tram stop right across from the international student housing.” – Julie Christensen, Fall 04
“Studying in Rotterdam has many advantages. First, the central European location allows for easy and inexpensive travel to most of the hot spots in Europe. The train system allows you to travel to places like Paris, Brussels and Cologne for a little over 70 Euros round trip. I took advantage of a lot of day trips in Holland and excursions to other countries virtually every weekend.” – David Brodsky, Spring 02
“Rotterdam is a very industrial city with regards to the large about of sea trade and population density. It is a very liberal city in terms of architecture, night life, and laws. Some people may be turned off by the idea that it may have a high crime rate and/or vast amount of people. The campus is extremely beautiful and the area of town in which you will spend most of your time is very safe. I never rain into any difficulties involving the issues of safety or crime.” – David Matheis, Sp 03
Courses
“I took two courses as well as the business project. They divide semesters in to 2 blocks, so I took one course in each block. I had class 2 days a week, but for 3 hours! I was not used to sitting in class for that long, but I managed (you do get breaks thank goodness!). The classes I took were Human Resource Management and Organizational Learning.”
“I did not like the way they were taught. It was not hard…I am just used to more structure. I took the classes credit/no credit as electives, which I highly recommend because their grading system is a lot different. The business project was something I really wish I hadn’t participated in because it was more of a time commitment than expected. I only had class 2 days/week, but the rest of the days were taken over by the business project. I am proud of the final report, but I had really hoped to travel more.” –Julie Christensen, Fall 04
“I took the Human Resource Management and Organizational Learning as well as the International Business Project. HR wasn’t a bad course. The lectures were long but the work was group based and there was no final. The plus side of group work was that I really got to know the Dutch students in my class. The down side was long group meetings but nothing that ever got in the way of my travel plans. Organizational Learning was a discussion course that was graded by a take home essay final… Again, the group work is a great way to get to know other students well. At the same time, you do learn a lot about how to conduct business with people from different backgrounds. The nice thing is you spend a lot of time trying to overcome differences so that the differences in working styles are out in the open and addressed. Plus, the business will pay your expenses which helps.”
“The courses had long lectures and a lot of group work. The classes get to be pretty long so check the scheduling of courses before choosing them. Also, there are some language barriers even though you obviously know English. Students abroad phrase things differently, which is confusing at times. It is hard to follow discussions in class. The business project does take a lot of time.” – Dana Fabrizio, Summer 05
“Erasmus University offers a large variety of business courses that are taught in English. By reading the descriptions you can get a general understanding of what will be covered in class and how difficult you should expect the class to be. You are never taking more then two courses at a time so the work load is not too overbearing. The business project is very hands on and serves as a real life working experience. It’s very unique to work towards a business goal with students from all over the world.”
“The courses require you to do a lot of reading on your own, unlike most University of Illinois classes where the majority of the material is presented in class. Many classes require writing papers a bit longer then Illinois students are used to.” – Jason Mezyk, Sp 03
“The courses were very laid back and I found them easy to follow, even though they were master-level classes. There was a large amount of group work both in and outside of class, which was a great way to meet Dutch students as well as other international students. I especially enjoyed the coffee breaks every hour during long classes which was a good time to talk with other students and regroup before returning back to class.”
“Because the grading scale was different in Rotterdam, I think it make it difficult to transfer grades accurately. Also, the computer labs at Erasmus were really not large enough for all of the students to use them. I think students should plan on bringing a laptop and setting up Internet at their residence once they arrive.” – Margaret Weber, Sp 05
Housing
“Almost every U of I student lived in the housing provided by Erasmus University. It is called the Erasmus International House. The rooms were extremely large with a small kitchen and a bathroom and toilet shared with a roommate. There is plenty of privacy and a chance to meet people from all over the world. Almost all of Erasmus’ exchange students reside in the International House so partying and hanging out with students from other countries is an awesome experience.”
“The International House was very accommodating. The rooms were very big but very boring and bare. I would recommend bringing plenty of pictures and buying some stuff to fill it with. Other than that it is fun and sufficient.” – David Matheis, Sp 03
“I lived at the International House with the majority of the other international students. That was the main reason why it was such a great location. Other than that, other places such as campus, grocery store, city center, and bars were very accessible from the International House. There’s also a bar right across the street, where they have happy hour every Sunday and Wednesday night. Those are always fun and most of the people from the program go there.”
“No major complaints about the International House. My basic needs were met. I guess if I did have one complaint; it would be that the International House was having problems with the Internet provider last semester and not everyone could subscribe to it. That made it somewhat inconvenient, but it was not that bad in the end.” – John Y. Kim, Fall 04
“The housing at Rotterdam was ok at first then turned into a hassle near the end of the semester. The spot is great being a ten-minute walk from school and having a tram stop right in front of the place that goes downtown. The space in the dorms is huge, which was nice and it was great to have our own kitchen (with my roommate).”
“The hassle was the company that is in charge of housing; they switched our telephone carrier in the middle of the semester and made it impossible for us to get more time on the phone without having to pay a transaction fee. They were also very unreceptive to any question about the policy that they enacted. I also was upset that we had to pay for the months of January and June (seeing how the program did not start til January 28th and the program ended June 14th).” – Jared Conway, Sp 02
“I lived in the International House. That was definitely the best part about study abroad. We didn’t have TV’s and only 3 of us had Iinternet so we had spent a lot of time just hanging out with each other. Every afternoon was spent cooking huge dinners, hanging out, and then either going out for the night or playing poker or watching a DVD on a computer. The rooms are very big and fully furnished. Everything is there for you down to silverware and bedding. Plus there’s a huge terrace on the roof where everyone would meet and hangout. There’s always people around looking to do something so you’re never lonely or bored. You make a lot of friends that way and you find people to travel with.”
“The kitchens in the International House aren’t very nice. You only get a small fridge and set of hot plates. So if you want a toaster you have to purchase it at the market, and they run between 20 and 60 euros. Usually a couple of people buy them and everyone shares.” – Dana Fabrizio, Summer 05
