Details

• France
• BBE-18
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 3 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

Traveling to Paris by rail is extremely straightforward from pretty much anywhere in Europe, therefore strongly recommend to go for the Green Travel grant. Buy tickets early as SNCF tickets work like plane tickets, and get more expensive closer to the travel date.

2. Accommodation

1. Applying for uni accommodation is very easy, just have to read what ESSEC sends you in that regard and then apply by ranking your preferred ESSEC dorms. I am not sure how difficult it is to find a private apartment in Cergy, but at least in Paris proper it is decently tough – cannot be too choosy. 2. I lived in an ESSEC dorm (Cergy Le Haut specifically). It was nothing special to be honest, big dorm with lots of people, very standard rooms, slightly dirty in my experience and definitely old. Very small gym (better off getting a gym membership elsewhere), a Tennis court, basketball hoop, volleyball net. 3. The Cergy Le Haut dorm is located in Cergy Le Haut, which is around 7 min away from Cergy Prefecture (where ESSEC is) by train (RER A). All in all, going to Uni took around 20 - 25 minutes. Safety wise I never had a bad experience in Cergy, just heard it is better to stay away from Cergy St. Christophe at night. Overall, everyone was very friendly. 4. All in all, the dorm in Cergy Le Haut was okay, but looking back, I would have rather lived in Paris or somewhere closer to Paris. The only thing to watch out for if you choose to do so is the frequent issues with the RER A.

3. Academic life at host university

I found the courses very easy. I took European Economics, Financial Markets, Conscious Business, and Environmental Economics. To be honest, im not quite sure where the great reputation of ESSEC in that regard comes from. If you do well at WU, you'll easily do well at ESSEC, no questions. The campus is very small (it feels like a high school), most teachers are friendly enough. I cant speak of any other courses, but they all seem very standard bachelor stuff.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport in the whole greater Paris / Ile de France area is fantastic. Very wide network, easy to pretty much get anywhere just by train. Within Paris, the metro system is second to none, super easy to get everywhere. If you live in Cergy, you will be extremely reliant on the RER A to get into and back out of Paris. All in all, everything is great when it works - occasionally there are strikes / works on the lines, in which cases there is either nothing going or replacement busses, which can be very annoying. Felt safe everywhere, just use common sense like in any big city. You are never going to run out of things to do in Paris.

6. Testimonial

Being in Paris, one of the best cities ever. Pretty cool, no notes.