Details

• Singapore
• BBE-18
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

Tips for the application process: Know why you want to join NUS and what courses interest you. Try to not look at rankings and instead ask yourself what you want to experience in your exchange. Why NUS? Why Asia? Tips for preparing your semester abroad: Travel Insurance (Campus has free general practitioner (i.e. Hausarzt), but still), Read all E-Mails (even if they seem to spam you), Inform yourself about the courses on NUS-Mods, Ensure your bank offers free currency exchange (e.g. Revolut)

2. Accommodation

Search Experience: NUS offers student accommodation, but in our case, the majority of applicants were rejected in the first round, and the same happened during the appeal round. Eventually, everyone did receive a housing offer, but the process was quite delayed. I personally was the last WU exchange student to be assigned a room, only about two weeks before the start of the exchange. My recommendation is to trust the process and avoid looking for external alternatives too early. It may feel risky, but it seems that everyone gets an offer at some point, even if it happens very late. In the worst case, you might need to stay in a hostel for the first week, but it’s worth it. Living off-campus changes the whole experience and is generally not what you want. Location: There are many student residences on campus, but the campus is large. If possible, try to secure a place in UTown (but not UTown Residence) with a meal plan (e.g. CAPT, R4, Tembusu, or Acacia/Cinnamon). These options offer a much more immersive campus experience. Tips: Don't look at the accommodation types on the website, just on google maps. Location is everything and even if you don't have A/C, you get used to it after the first week. In my opinion it is not necessary (but a big plus).

3. Academic life at host university

I had a lot of group assignments and my peers were mostly very motivated to achieve a high grade. The infrastructure is extremely good and reliable. Buses and lecture rooms are very cold though, so be sure to bring a sweatshirt/hoodie (max 2 though, as you won't need them outside of lectures). Teaching styles vary of course, but are generally inclusive and professors seek students' opinions. In comparison to WU, courses are either harder or easier. I feel that they are harder if you take into account that you will most likely not study as hard abroad as at home.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport is based on a per-use-basis, so each ride costs you approximately 1€. Time to city center is 50 minutes, 20minutes by Grab (Asian Uber). Safest country in the world(?). Phone/Wallet/Laptop can be left unattended in public for hours/days, without the risk of it being stolen. Lots of sports/leisure clubs that you can join. Big sports center with everything from gym, running track, olympic pool, etc. for free. Depending on the accommodation you stay in, there are also a number of events. I stayed in Tembusu, which is very active, with events nearly every week. There were also on-campus events that were amazing. Such as concerts and dance competitions, with approximately 2,000 attendants each.

6. Testimonial

Overall, the experience was incredible, and I can recommend it without hesitation. The courses were challenging, but they taught me exactly what I hoped to learn. The professors were very supportive, and the students were always willing to help. I met people from all over the world, enjoyed amazing food, and gained valuable insights into Singaporean culture. Additionally, I got to travel to countries I never would've visited otherwise (mostly because of time and money). Furthermore, my worldview has changed in many ways, which has already benefited me multiple times.