Details

• Chile
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2026
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months
• Contact: Login to see contact information

1. Preparation

1. Choose your accommodation wisely: Living in Barrio Italia was a good experience. A popular and recommended option is housing through Rumi or Santiago Exchange, since you meet many other exchange students quickly and can easily connect with people from nearby exchange houses. 2. Think about safety: Barrio Italia felt relatively safe, especially in summer, but it is still important not to walk alone at night and to stay with friends once it gets dark. 3. Plan social life early: It is easy to make friends, especially if you attend exchange student events such as Miércoles Po and Sunday Funday. 4. Be ready for academic workload: At UANDES, the workload was quite high and getting good grades could be difficult, so it helps to prepare for that in advance. 5. Consider the distance to university: The commute can be very long, so it is important to choose your partner university and housing carefully with travel time in mind. 6. Plan your semester well: If you only stay for one semester, make sure to leave enough time for travel. Exploring Chile was one of the best parts of the exchange experience. 7. Check vaccinations and travel insurance before departure: Inform yourself in advance about recommended vaccinations, especially if you plan to travel around South America. Depending on your destinations, vaccinations such as yellow fever or rabies may be recommended. Also, check whether your credit card includes comprehensive travel insurance. In my case, my credit card covered travel health insurance, which saved me the additional cost of purchasing a separate travel insurance policy.

2. Accommodation

1.Accommodation search experience - Popular option: book through "Rumi" or "Santiago Exchange" — highly recommend. - Contracts are usually 6 months (I paid for 6); some negotiate shorter stays (e.g. 5 months) if arranged early. - Price depends on personal preferences — I paid about 350€ 2.Accommodation type (student residence/private) - I lived in Barrio Italia in a large house with many other exchange students. - Houses are close together, so you meet people from other exchange houses too. 3. Location, safety, and proximity to the university - Barrio Italia felt fairly safe, if not as safe as Las Condes; I felt comfortable going out as a woman, especially in summer. - Still, avoid walking alone at night — stay in groups after dark. - Some of us were robbed in Barrio Italia, but also friends in Las Condes had break-ins — not constant, no need for fear, just awareness. - Despite that, Barrio Italia is a great place to live thanks to how close-knit the houses are — I'd choose it again. - My commute was very long, so choose your university with commute time in mind. 4. Tips I wish I'd known beforehand - Clarify contract length/price early — shorter stays are negotiable. - Don't walk alone at night. - always check uber (sometimes its cheaper, and also saver)

3. Academic life at host university

Campus facilities - Affordable lunch menus on campus. - Wide sports offering — from paddle tennis to football and more; gym and paddle are free to use. - Paid coached classes also available, e.g. tennis, for around 20 euros/month. Academic culture & attendance - Attendance is taken much more seriously than at WU. - Overall workload is high — noticeably more effort required than at WU. Teaching style / organization compared to WU - First-semester courses recommended if possible, but WU students can only take these when going abroad in summer (SOSE), as they're easier. - Organizationally poor: took three weeks until all courses were confirmed, so we missed some teaching early on. - Course selection differs from WU — chosen from a list before arrival, not enrolled on-site. - Many listed courses weren't actually offered that semester, and this wasn't communicated in advance — we only found out on-site and had to rearrange schedules. - Professors were very understanding and helpful with these last-minute changes. Course recommendations - Recommend: Contabilidad, Principles of Economics, Entrepreneurship & Innovation. - Manageable workload (especially Contabilidad), understanding professors. - i had grades above 6.5 in all of them (scale 1–7 (7 is the best grade) ; 6.0+ is in our system a "Sehr gut").

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport - Generally unreliable by European standards, but decent compared to other South American cities. - Rush hour is the main issue — very crowded, harder to feel safe. - Taxis/Uber are an alternative but noticeably pricier. Safety situation - Overall, safety felt good for South American standards. - Especially in summer, I felt quite comfortable getting around. In winter, with earlier darkness, I was more cautious. - Las Condes is considered safer than Barrio Italia, but has much less going on socially — Barrio Italia has a much livelier exchange student scene. Social/leisure activities - Traveling was a huge part of the experience — highly recommend to domestic trips: Pucón, Atacama, Patagonia, and vineyards near Santiago. - Valparaíso — the coast, about an hour by bus, is really pretty; sand dunes by the sea are also worth visiting. - International trips: Argentina (Mendoza), Brazil, and later Peru. - Recommend doing the coastal/beach-type trips earlier in the semester while it's still warm, then traveling further (e.g. Peru) later.In In general plan trips early and schedule around the weather/season, because it makes a big difference for what you can see and enjoy. Events and sports - Lots of events happen in Barrio Italia — definitely recommend joining these. Also pride etc. is here aswell and worth to take part - For sports, I'd recommend either university sports events or getting a ClassPass — great way to try different sports and stay active.

6. Testimonial

My exchange in Santiago was truly special, mainly because of the people I met — both in my exchange house and at UANDES, I built friendships that made the whole experience unforgettable. Traveling around Chile and neighboring countries was another huge highlight — from Pucón and Atacama to Patagonia, Valparaíso, and trips to Argentina and Peru. Between the amazing people and the incredible places, this semester gave me memories I'll carry with me for a long time.