Details

• Mexico
• MAEXINT-24
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 3 months

1. Preparation

I think to choose ITAM, you need to be interested in the Mexican culture and to speak Spanish. My preparation was mostly learning Spanish and passing the SIELE exam for the level of B2. Verify closely which dates do they offer, because the trimester system was slightly confusing for me at the beginning.

2. Accommodation

I asked the university for the list of accommodation possibilities, and they provided that to me. It was super easy to contact over WhatsApp a place to live even at the later stage and one of them confirmed. I wish I knew that ITAM has two campuses: Rio Hondo for the undergraduate level (bachelor aka. licenciatura) and Santa Teresa the master level (maestría). I confirmed a place next to Rio Hondo but all my classes are in Santa Teresa as I am a master student. Luckily, it is not far away and sometimes there is a bus that brings you from one place to another. Location is San Angel, Álvaro Obregón, less than 5 minutes walking to the campus Rio Hondo. Safety is fine here, did not hear of any incidents in the area. It is a shared house, where I have my own room (bathroom as well) and sharing with another student on the floor the kitchen, which is quite nice. In total, there are 5 students under the same roof, most of them are locals coming from other regions here to study.

3. Academic life at host university

Campus offers many facilities, especially for those at the bachelor level (Rio Hondo), it has a nice library and many extracurricular activities. My campus Santa Teresa is less active and with less people, most of the students are older than me as the MBA classes mostly for those who work and it costs more to study here compared to many other universities in Mexico. Courses are fairly advanced and it took me time to really understand the material. Not the easiest but very possible to do. Technical courses by definition are more difficult, all the professors were nice and helped me with any questions. Funny enough, when I connected to an online class like 5-10 minutes before class, I would be the only one waiting in the ZOOM and later many joined.

5. Every day life in the host country

Many people refer to the public transport's unsafety, I did not experience any of these even though I have been to all of them. Safety as I was told is not in all the regions but I did not feel unsafe and there were no issues (just rationally not to be out after approx. 11pm should work). Social/leisure activities are everywhere, just try to seek an opportunity and will easily end up at a fiesta or in a taqueria if desired. Campus Rio Hondo provides many sports possibilities like tennis, basketball, football, yoga, salsa and more. Campus Santa Teresa does not seem to offer any of these as there are more professionals who come to the classes after work.

6. Testimonial

I guess the most special is the difference between the cultures. Mexico has a lot to offer and usually not that much visited, however includes a variety of interesting sceneries, activities and it is possible to do many trips if desired.