Details

• Netherlands
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

I would definitely recommend to start preparing everything as soon as possible. Take your time, it might be a lot in the beginning and it's important to figure out what's most urgent. I informed myself about my partner university, followed their newsletter, contacted them about the questions I had. I looked at the course catalog and met up with a girl from WU that was also going to do her exchange at UvA (University of Amsterdam). We decided which courses we want to take and started looking for accommodation. I decided to go to Amsterdam by plane, but met many people there that took a train. I had two large suitcases (20kg) and one backpack.

2. Accommodation

Finding an apartment or a room in Amsterdam was as expected really hard. There was a lottery, where some of the students "won" a room in a student accommodation, but I unfortunately didn't. After I realised that I had to find something on my own I got really worried. I then started looking for student accommodations and found "The Social Hub". It was quite expensive but it was the only thing I could find so I booked it and really loved it in the end. I met amazing people there and had an amazing time. My university was located in a nice area, close to the city centre and surrounded by beautiful houses and canals. It was located right next to a zoo and a cute park. I wish I knew beforehand that I really had to bike a lot and it takes me 30min to get to uni.

3. Academic life at host university

I really liked my university and my campus. I decided to join a student association called ESN that organised events for exchange students. I joined the integration committee and had a lot of fun with organising fairs for example or getting to know people from all over the world. The campus itself was very pretty and clean. All the classrooms were big and bright, the buildings were very modern. The teaching style was quite similar to WU but I almost only took electives at UvA so it's hard to tell. Therefore I also cannot really give course recommendations but probably Retail marketing. The exams were hard so it's very important not to underestimate them.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport was very expensive. I got the so called OV chipcard which gave me a 40% discount but I still had to spend almost 150€ a month for transportation. Amsterdam is a very safe city. I felt comfortable all the time, during the day and at night and never heard anything bad. I really enjoyed my free time in Amsterdam and loved going to different events, parties, clubs, parks and so on. There is always something to do and you will never be bored ever. There are also some options for sports, similar to the "USI-Kurse" in Austria. Additionally student associations are a big thing in the Netherlands. Some of my friends joined either a swimming team or a running club. I joined a race bike association.

6. Testimonial

For me it was the city itself and the people I met. I really loved Amsterdam and it was and still is my favourite city in the whole world. I want to go back and live there longterm. I met many of my best friends there and it still hurts that I had to leave them behind. I am more than grateful that I experienced this exchange.