Comments about the Norwegian School of Management from Past Participants

for more complete comments, please check out the binders in the student lounge, 215b DKH

Useful Advice

“I rate the exchange program with BI as a very good one. I think that students should know that it is a good location for all business majors and an excellent, highly ranked business school. It is also very friendly to foreigners, clean and safe. It is in a great position to travel from and close to many other countries in Europe” – Hilary Clark, Spring 06

“I had a great time in Norway. I was a little sad that the country costs so much because it’s impossible to eat out (plus side I lost a lot of weight) and sometimes you wish you could do more but you can’t afford it. However, you get used to paying roughly, $7 – 9 a beer so when you travel, everywhere else is a deal. And the students pubs, there’s 2 of them inside the school buildings itself, offer much cheaper alcohol prices ~$3 – 4 a beer. The people don’t work very hard. You could say they don’t work, but the truth is simply that they don’t worry about anything. Honestly. This is annoying coming from the US where we tend to rush to get things done, and then you’re standing in the Oslo Airport for an hour waiting for your bags simply because they haven’t been unloaded yet. But at the same time it's great, because you ask anyone on the street in Oslo for help, not only will they stop and talk with you (they all speak English at least well if not fluently) but they might go out of their way to guide you wherever you have to go. The people don’t hold doors open and don’t say please but they’re still very nice especially when you get to know them or tell them you’re an American (they love Americans).

“Oslo will not give you the feeling of a small European City and I don’t like it as much as Stockholm or Copenhagen. If you’re looking for a true “European feel” Scandinavia really isn’t for you. However, if you’re looking for a cross Euro-American feel with great fish (which I normally don’t enjoy) and beautiful women (and tall men) who speak English well and like Americans, then you can’t go wrong. I highly recommend traveling as much as possible, (TAKE THE TRAINS, they’re unbelievable) especially when the weather is nice so April – May, August – September, or if you are there over the summer months, go then because you’ll have at least 20 hours of sunlight. The reverse is true for the winter. But get outdoors in Norway, because that’s really why you’re there and you MUST see the West Coast Fjords near Bergen. Go hiking, mountain-climbing, skiing, boating, whatever, just get outdoors and enjoy the scenery because it is amazing. The fjords are the most beautiful part of Europe, and I hit enough of mainland Europe to judge. I really can’t say enough about Norway because it’s so simple but you get used to it. The people are nice but not overly friendly. The city is small. But this allows you to realize and truly enjoy the fun you are having in the cities and the countryside and with the people you meet because you lack the grandiose expectation you have in London, Paris, Berlin, Prague, Zurich, and Barcelona. After awhile it begins to feel comfortable and it grows on you. And you promise yourself that you will return...someday” – Fall 02

“I would give the Norway program an “A” grade overall. Students should know that Scandinavia is expensive, $5 for a pint and it gets pretty dark starting in November, but you get the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and classes are lots of fun, plus the locals really know how to have a good time!” – Eddie Storako, Fall 01

“My overall experience in Norway was mixed. I made so many friends from many different cultures because all exchange students lived together and interacted on a daily basis, but I didn’t meet Norwegians because I didn’t live with them and I didn’t really have class interaction with them. That was the fault of both sides. Norway is a beautiful country and Oslo is a great city with a lot of diversity, but I didn’t like two things. First the country has a strong economy, which means everything is expensive to the dollar. I felt myself constricted financially in all aspects, from going out to buying necessary items. Second, if one wants to travel Europe as a whole, they should not base themselves out of Norway, because it is very distant from the mainland and also pricey. I think the Oslo Airport has the second highest airport taxes in the world!”

“In addition to that, students should know that they have to provide everything for their living, from their bedding to the pots and pans they cook with. If they like the outdoors, Norway is definitely the place to go, but if they hate the cold, go south!! Also, because of the climate and daylight hours, I would recommend that students go in the spring. I have heard of students going in the fall who really do become depressed as the sunlight hours lessen. If you go in the spring, you start out with complete darkness, but you end up with more daylight than you know what to do with!” – Amy Ramsey, Spring 01

“The entire experience was amazing. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants a great opportunity to be independent in Europe and to interact with a great variety of cultures. Because there were few Americans on my exchange, I really got a chance to integrate heavily with other cultures. The housing was set up well to meet and interact with the exchange students on a day-to-day basis. And because there were fewer overall exchange students, it as much easier to get to know everyone and form a close group. I also had great opportunities to interact with the Oslo community. They are very accepting of Americans and very open to forming new relationships. I also was affording the opportunity to work for the American Chamber of Commerce and was involved with many events in the community and American Embassy. Even though it was more expensive to live in Oslo, I feel that shouldn’t be a reason not to go. Expenses can be budgeted. This also allows Norway to have one of the highest standards of living in the world. The entire city is clean and there is almost zero crime. Oslo is one of the few places I visited in Europe where I could walk around alone and feel safe. The country of Norway is absolutely beautiful also. But living in Oslo, I had the opportunity to travel all along the coast and visit some of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been. All and all, this program is for someone who wants to integrate themselves into a culture and community.” – Liz Fanning, Spring 01

Location

“The location of Oslo, Norway was good because it was located in Europe, which meant that there were so many countries to explore so close to where I was living. Also, Norway was very friendly to foreigners. Everyone can speak excellent English, and they do not mind doing so because they do not expect many foreigners to be able to speak Norwegian. Oslo is also a very safe city. There is a very low crime rate, so it was perfectly safe to ride the public transportation alone or go out at night.”

“Oslo is a very expensive city to live in. In fact, after I got there, Yahoo Finance rated it the #1 most expensive city in the world to live in. The exchange is not too bad though because of the low cost of exchange tuition and low cost of housing. However, food and alcohol are much more expensive than in the U.S. I was always shocked at the prices and felt poor just grocery shopping or at a restaurant or bar. However other things like transportation and clothes are about the same. So, in the end it is not really too bad, but there are times when it is hard.” – Hilary Clark, Spring 06

“Anker is less than a 5 minute walk form the school. There is a tram stop right outside Anker so it’s easy to catch public transportation which is unlike anything we have here.”

“My study abroad experience in Norway was terrific. Before departing in August I knew nothing about Scandinavia, but it is now apparent that I could not have studied in a more beautiful region of the world. Living in the city of Oslo was great because there was always something to do. Concerts, museums, parties, and a world-class city for outdoor enthusiasts made Oslo a perfect fit for me. With the ocean five minutes away and the mountains only a two-hour drive, my weekends were always spent outdoors enjoying the scenery.”

“The only drawback about living in Oslo was the problem the city presented with traveling to Central Europe. By train or bus it was 15 hours to Hamburg, Germany. And from Hamburg it just wasn’t practical to visit Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece, along with most of Eastern Europe because of the time involved. But I focused mainly on seeing the other countries of Scandinavia and Oslo was a perfect place to do that from.” – Eddie Storako, Fall 2001

“We had a great location in the capital city, very close to downtown and public transportation, and even closer to classes - about a 5 minute walk from our bed to your seat in class, max.”

“Oslo was a great place to study. It is smaller than most European capitols, so it was much easier to navigate and get around. The public transportation system is easy to figure out and very reliable. There are many cultural and entertainment activities to enjoy. During the spring, National Day is celebrated throughout the city along with Midsummer’s festival. There are many concerts and sporting events that take place in the city. It is also conveniently located for skiing and other outdoor activities. It takes only a 15-minute train ride to go skiing and hiking. It is also in the heart of Scandinavia so it is convenient to travel by train to tourist spots around Norway, Sweden & Denmark. My favorite part about Oslo’s location was that the city lies along a fjord. There are many beautiful places to visit around the city that preserve much of Norway’s abundant nature.”

“The only disadvantage of the location was the inaccessibility for traveling around Europe. It was very difficult to get from Oslo to any part of mainland Europe. The only realistic way to travel was by plane, which averaged around $250 to Munich, Madrid, Paris, etc. Additionally living in Norway incurred many other high costs. Mostly everything is more expensive than living in Champaign. Prices are comparable to those living downtown New York. But there are many ways to budget and save money with food and travel. But I did end up spending much more on going out to eat and transportation.”– Liz Fanning, Spring 01

“The absolute best part of our location was that we were literally in the heart of Oslo. School was just across the street from Anker so it was convenient for classes and the computer lab. The main street of town was less than five minutes walk from our building. There was a bus and tram stop right outside the building which made it convenient to get all over town. Oslo has many sub-districts of the city and we were between two very different districts. Anker was located right on the edge of Grønland, which is primarily an immigrant district with distinct middle-eastern flair, and Grünerlokka, a trendy student-Greenwich village-type district. Grønland had great, cheap food (rare for Oslo!) while Grünerlokka had great funky shopping and trendy clubs.”

“Oslo is not quite the large city I had imagined. It can be much more accurately described as a larger populated Norwegian small town. It still retains the small town values of Norway which makes it a very safe place to live, as well as seeing people you know over town. This, I would not describe itas bad or undesirable, just not the large-scale metropolitan I had expected. Stockholm and Copenhagen are much larger Scandinavian capitals.” – Krista Koutsis, Spring 01

Courses

“BI Norwegian School of Management is a top-rated private business school in Europe. The classes I took were all business classes and I found them very relevant to my studies. The classes are also pretty similar to classes at U of I regarding structure, the style of lecture, and the balance between theoretical and practical. The grading system is different however, but this only leads to less homework and exams during the semester, which means more time to relax and travel.”

“Another thought on location, Oslo is a great starting point for travel in Norway. I was able to see the entire country by air and train. The train station is very close to Anker and the airport is 30 minutes by express train which is extremely convenient. The school has another campus which is actually its main campus, situated outside of Oslo in Sandvika. We met many exchange students who were studying at that campus, but that was much more of a suburban-type experience for them (perhaps a comparison would be saying that studying at Northwestern is studying in Chicago: it is nearby with a significant amount of traveling via public transportation for things like going to bars and nightclubs).”

“I do not have too much bad to say about the courses at BI. Sometimes the professors have thick accents or just mess up a word, but it is about the same as at U of I with how many international TAs and professors we have. For example, in my Direct Marketing class on the first day we were talking about how mass marketing is not always right and the example was that you do not want to advertise a lawn mower to someone in an apartment building. My professor kept calling lawn mowers lawn movers. I talked to him during break and pointed out his mistake, but still he kept calling them lawn movers. What was worst was that he kept referring back to that example all semester long.” Hilary Clark, Spring 06

“Classes are taught in English and meet once a week for 3-hour sessions with 15 minute breaks every 45 minutes. Grades are also generally 100% final based, so you don’t have pesky quizzes, paper and tests. Also, for essay exams you can work in groups of 3 and have 2 weeks to finish the exam.”

“Because they’re teaching in English, which for most is a non-native language, the professors are a big self conscious about the exact word’s they are saying and tend to repeat themselves. Lectures can ramble or crawl for topic to topic with little or no transition. I had the impression that some of my professors simply didn’t care because they realized most of the international students, mainly from Europe, really didn’t care either. However, the worst thing is the grading. Grading seems entirely random and suspect. I was the class representative for one course, (and the best student in there because native English speaker) and yet I received a C+ in that course; whereas, I was struggling with Finance and took it pass/fail but ended up with a B+.” – Fall 02

“The Norwegian School of Management is a cool place to study. I took 5 classes, about 18 hours a week, and it was the easiest semester I have ever had, high school included. This may be a problem for some students, but I’m glad it worked out this way because it gave me the opportunity to develop some close relationships with the other exchange students and I really didn’t have to worry about school when planning my trips. Therefore, I recommend all courses because they are equally challenging. I have nothing negative to say about coursework. People should be aware that the courses are designed for non-native English speakers and they move a little slower than the typical U of I class. – Eddie Storako, Fall 01

‘They were specifically in the marketing/management field, which gives a deeper perspective than broader classes elsewhere.”

Some of them didn’t feel challenging enough. They didn’t really provide a great incentive for learning.” – Amy Ramsey, Spring 01

“The structure of the school system is much different that that of U of I. The advantages of the class schedules are that they are extremely flexible. I was able to go to all of the classes once arriving in Norway and then picked ones I wanted to take. The classes also do not meet as frequently as they do in the U.S. Most are in one-three-hour block once a week or once every other week. Plus, schedules of all class times for the entire semester are given the first day of class. This makes scheduling for traveling and other activities very convenient. I found the course to be very interesting and I feel I learned a great deal about international business. All of my teachers had excellent English, thus there were no language barriers. It was also great to be in class with the actual Norwegians attending BI. The exchange students were a minority in some of the classes, so you really got to know many Norwegians. Other classes were quite small, comprised of 5-10 exchange students. This allowed for direct interaction with professors and a great learning environment.” – Liz Fanning, Spring 01

“The courses offered were very diverse business topics. There were three formats for classes: Courses integrated completely with Norwegian students, courses offered simultaneously in English and Norwegian (the Norwegian students could pick which language they wanted to attend), and courses for exchange students only. This varied class structure led to a great variety in attending class, similar to the lecture/discussion format at the U of I. It enabled a high degree of interaction between professors and students as well as between students. Many courses centered around group work which was extremely beneficial to making contacts with Norwegian students. The wide array of subjects offered lent itself very well to transferring courses to U of I since the curriculums are similar. The professors are of a very high caliber and many are from English-speaking countries or have had some education in an English institution therefore have excellent communication.”

“As a native English speaker, I felt I was at quite an advantage at this institution. Norwegians, for the most part, had excellent English; however the exchange students were not of very high skills especially initially. But this is a learning experience for all involved, and I think I improved my communication skills by having to deal with others who were not strong in their English” – Krista Koutsis, Spring 01

Housing

“There are two housing options for students at BI. I chose the SIO housing, which is the student union of Oslo’s housing. It is for all students living in Oslo, regardless of which school you attend. There are several communities of dorms around the city, and pretty much everyone that goes to BI and lives with SIO housing lives in a community called Kringsjå. It was good because it was very cheap (less than U of I’s campus). I lived in an apartment style dorm with 6 other students. One of my roommates went to Bi with me and was from France on the same exchange. My other roommate attended other universities and was from Norway, Lithuania, Germany, Ireland, Russia, Estonia, and Serbia. We all hung out together and it was cool to live with such a diverse group of people. We were a little further from campus than the other housing option, BSN, but we were just a metro ride away. I only had to leave 20 minutes before class to make it on time.

“I did not like the fact that my roommates and apartment-mates changed a lot throughout the semester. For the first two months my roommate (shared bathroom and hallway and closet areas) was a girl who was going to 3 different countries throughout the year on some program. Then a girl that was in Norway for 2 months to write a thesis lived with me. Then another girl moved in, and she planned to stay longer, but I was going home in 2 months. I just felt like it was a very temporary place to live and I enjoyed getting to know lots of people, but after you got to know them they were gone pretty fast.” – Hilary Clark, Spring 06

 

 

 

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