Details

• Canada
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

Book flights as soon as you receive your acceptance letter — prices are significantly lower right after you get your acceptance than if you wait. My tip: start with just the outbound flight, since many students end up extending their stay and changing their return date anyway. If you know for certain you won't travel afterwards, booking both legs straight away is the cheaper option. Sort out your eTA early as well — it's not complicated and usually comes through quickly, but don't leave it to the last minute. For banking, download Revolut or bring a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Standard Austrian bank accounts often charge currency conversion fees, which adds up over a semester. Attend all the online info sessions HEC Montréal organises, read through everything carefully, and don't stress too much. It's worth arriving a few days before the semester starts to settle in properly before academic life kicks off.

2. Accommodation

Together with three other WU students, I decided to share an apartment during my exchange semester. We started looking for accommodation around four months before our arrival and mainly searched online for shared apartments in Montreal. In the end, we found a four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at Alma Shaughnessy Village Residences, which offered short-term rentals and was convenient for our four-month stay. The apartment was furnished, but not fully equipped. There was no bedding, no towels, no hairdryer and only very limited kitchen equipment. We therefore had to buy many basic items ourselves, such as kitchen utensils and even a vacuum cleaner, mostly at Walmart and Dollarama. This created some additional costs and made the first days a bit more stressful. Overall, the residence was a good option, especially because many students lived there and the building had a rooftop terrace and a gym. The location in Downtown Montreal, close to Rue Sainte-Catherine and Guy-Concordia metro station, was very practical, with many shops, cafés and restaurants nearby. It usually took us around 30 minutes to get to university. However, I would recommend checking carefully what is included before signing a lease. I would also personally rather recommend living in Downtown, Le Plateau, Mile End or Griffintown instead of Côte-des-Neiges. Even though Côte-des-Neiges is close to the university, it takes longer to get to the more lively areas of the city, and I personally did not find the area as attractive or safe. My main tips would be to start the search early and also consider platforms recommended by the university, such as Get Your Place.

3. Academic life at host university

Regarding the campus facilities, I would say that WU Vienna is definitely more modern and impressive. HEC Montréal has three buildings: the Decelles Building, the Lise-et-Giuseppe-Racanelli Building and the Hélène Desmarais Building downtown. Most Bachelor exchange students have classes in the first two buildings in Côte-des-Neiges. The Hélène Desmarais Building is very modern and located downtown, but it is mainly used by Master’s and PhD students. However, it is also possible to go there to study, which is really nice and gives more WU vibes. Compared to WU, the campus felt less modern overall. Some classrooms did not have windows, and the cafeteria was quite different from the one at WU, with more packaged and rather unhealthy food options. However, the library was nice, and I usually found a place to study. There were also enough study rooms available. I took four courses, which I would recommend as a good workload for an exchange semester. I had "Business Development", "CSR", "Fashion Marketing" and a course in french "Marketing des arts et culture" . In general, I would recommend choosing some more unique courses, such as Fashion Marketing, because they are not necessarily offered in the same way at WU. I would only recommend taking a course in French if you feel very confident in the language. Even though I have a B2 level and usually speak French quite well, it was sometimes challenging to participate actively in class. Overall, I found the academic culture at HEC Montréal less structured than at WU. For example, instructions for presentations or assignments were sometimes not very clear, and grading often felt rather intransparent. At WU, I am used to more detailed task descriptions and clearer feedback. I would not particularly recommend Business Development, as the grading was difficult to understand. CSR was not one of my favourite courses in terms of teaching style either, although the grading was fair.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport in Montreal is generally good and easy to use once you get used to the system. The metro and buses are practical, and with the OPUS student pass it is quite convenient to get around the city. Compared to Vienna, however, public transport and public spaces sometimes felt less safe. There are also noticeably more homeless people and people struggling with drug addiction, especially around certain metro stations. In terms of safety, I would say that Montreal is still manageable, but definitely not as safe as Vienna. As a woman, I would be more careful in the evening and avoid walking alone in certain areas. After going out, we usually took an Uber home, which was often reasonably priced and made us feel safer. The winter in Montreal should also not be underestimated. Temperatures can go down to around minus 20 degrees, and the cold can last until the beginning of April. I would recommend bringing proper winter clothes, such as thermal layers or ski underwear. Despite the cold, Montreal has a very active winter culture. Events like Igloofest are definitely worth visiting, and there are many winter activities such as ice skating. Hockey is also a big part of Canadian culture, so I would highly recommend going to an NHL game. There are also many social and leisure activities for exchange students. HEC Montréal organizes events such as International Wednesday, and there are also regular student gatherings similar to a “Spritzerstand”. Montreal has many bars, cafés and restaurants, so there are enough options for going out. For sports, HEC students can use CEPSUM, the sports centre of Université de Montréal, although I personally did not use it. Instead, I tried a ClassPass trial, which I really liked because it allowed me to try different yoga and Pilates studios for free for one month.

6. Testimonial

My exchange semester was truly one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life! What made it so special were the friendships I formed with people from all over the world, many of whom I would probably never have met otherwise. I also had the chance to discover a new country and culture in such an intense way, and trips to places like New York and Banff made this time feel even more special. Beyond all the personal memories, I also learned a lot for my future career and professional life, especially through becoming more independent and organizing many things on my own.