Details

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

1. Preparation

To prepare for my exchange semester at Queen’s University, I first read several exchange reports and watched YouTube videos from students who had already studied there. This gave me a good first impression of the university, the campus, the city of Kingston and the general living situation. Seeing the campus and student life beforehand helped me feel more prepared and made it easier to imagine what everyday life would be like. I also took care of the formal requirements early on. The visa process for Canada was very straightforward. For stays of up to six months, no classic student visa is required. Instead, I only needed to apply for an electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), which was quick and uncomplicated. In addition to the health insurance provided by the university, I decided to take out an extra travel insurance for additional security. One thing I wish I had known earlier is how easy it actually is to travel during the semester. Some students managed to go on trips almost every weekend, which I personally underestimated before coming to Canada. Looking back, I would have planned more time and budget for traveling. Overall, the preparation process was a very positive experience, and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to experience a completely different lifestyle for a few months.

2. Accommodation

Finding accommodation was by far the most stressful part of my exchange preparation. I joined several Facebook housing groups around May, as this is the main platform students use to find rooms in Kingston. From June onwards, I searched very intensively and contacted many landlords and flat shares. However, since I was only looking for accommodation for four months, it was quite difficult to find something suitable. Most offers were for one-year leases, which made the search much more challenging. During June and July, I contacted many people but often did not receive replies or any concrete offers. There was a lot of competition, especially for affordable rooms close to campus. In addition, housing prices were quite high, considering that many of the houses are in rather poor condition. Another important point is to be careful of scams, which unfortunately do occur. I would strongly recommend arranging a video call before sending any money, as this helps verify that the offer is legitimate. In the end, I found a room in a shared house in August, shortly before the semester started. While the house itself was fine, it was located a bit further away from campus than I would have preferred. Looking back, I would recommend future exchange students to try to find accommodation between Princess Street and Queen’s University, as this is the main student area. Areas further away can feel less safe, and some neighborhoods are not very pleasant due to a higher number of homeless people. My main advice is to start searching early, be patient, and not get discouraged. Even though the process was stressful, it did work out in the end.

3. Academic life at host university

Academic life at Queen’s University was one of the highlights of my exchange semester. I took four courses, all of which were very different but extremely valuable in their own way. Overall, the academic system was much more practice-oriented than what I was used to in Vienna, with smaller class sizes, a lot of participation, and continuous assessment throughout the semester. One of my courses was Interpersonal Skills for Managers, which was very relaxed and highly recommendable. There were no midterms or final exams, and the professor was amazing. She created a very supportive learning environment and taught us many practical skills that are useful both academically and professionally. Another course I really enjoyed was Negotiation Theory and Behavior. This class was very interactive and required preparation for every session. We were often assigned roles, sometimes individually and sometimes in teams, and had to negotiate with randomly assigned classmates during class. Afterwards, we discussed the outcomes together. This course helped me improve my English significantly and taught me practical negotiation strategies that were both fun and useful. I also took Introduction to Entrepreneurship, which was another great course. We had to come up with our own startup idea and then develop it step by step throughout the semester. We learned how to turn an idea into a viable business model. This course involved a lot of group work, so having a strong team was essential. I would strongly recommend choosing team members carefully, especially someone with strong finance skills, as the financial part of the project plays a major role. The most demanding course by far was Coding Literacy for Managers. This course required a lot of work, including three major assignments: one in Excel, one in Power Apps, and one in Java/HTML. ChatGPT was hardly helpful for this course, so most of the work had to be done independently. Although the workload was intense and I spent many weeks in the library, the professor was extremely supportive. In the end, I gained completely new skills that I had never worked with before, which I can now also list on my CV. None of my four courses had midterms or final exams. Instead, grading was based on continuous assessment through assignments, group projects, and presentations. Compared to Vienna, this meant more consistent work during the semester, but less pressure at the end. A big advantage was that lectures ended around December 5th, which allowed me to fly home early, before it got extremely cold. Overall, courses at Queen’s University were very interactive, practice-oriented, and well-structured. Professors genuinely cared about students’ learning progress, were open to extensions, allowed resubmissions, and were approachable if you were unhappy with a grade. While the workload was high, the learning experience was extremely rewarding.

5. Every day life in the host country

Everyday life in Kingston is very relaxed and strongly shaped by student life. Kingston is a relatively small city, and Queen’s University has a huge influence on daily life. Most people you meet are students, which creates a strong sense of community and makes it easy to feel integrated quite quickly. I mainly spent time with other exchange students, as most of them were around the same age as me. Many Canadian students were one or two years younger, since they usually start university at the age of 17 or 18. Another noticeable difference is the legal drinking age, which is 19 in Ontario. For many Canadian students, going out was a completely new experience, which you could clearly tell. Nights out were often very loud and energetic, and alcohol tolerance was sometimes quite low. Social life in Kingston is very event-based, and house parties play a big role. There were many house parties, especially around major events, which was really fun. However, it has to be said that some of the houses were in very poor and sometimes quite dirty condition, and you could clearly tell that a lot of parties had already taken place there over the years. After the fall break, there was Homecoming (Hoco), which was one of the highlights of the semester. On this day, everyone wears Queen’s University merchandise, especially hoodies, and many people also paint their faces in the university colors. There are hot dog stands everywhere, and students start celebrating early in the morning before going to the football game. After the game, the celebrations continue at house parties throughout the city. The weekend after, there was Fake Homecoming (Foco), which followed the same pattern and was just as lively. Another major social highlight was Halloweekend, which lasted three days. This meant that you needed different costumes for each night. We only had two costumes, but it was still a lot of fun. Overall, student life in Kingston is very social, loud, and full of events. In addition, the university offers many activities such as football and ice hockey games, which create a very strong sense of school spirit. The campus gym is excellent and offers affordable fitness classes such as Pilates. Kingston generally feels like a safe city, especially in student areas, although there is also a visible homeless population in some parts. Most shops, bars, and clubs are located along Princess Street and are usually open until around 10 p.m., making everyday life very convenient.

6. Testimonial

I would definitely do my exchange semester again without hesitation. One thing I really appreciated was experiencing three beautiful seasons in such a short time. In September, we were still lying at the beach and even swimming in Lake Ontario, which felt surreal. This was followed by the Indian summer and a long, beautiful autumn with incredibly colorful landscapes. I would highly recommend using this time for trips and outdoor activities, as the scenery is truly amazing. At the same time, the exchange was not always easy. I sometimes felt homesick and missed my friends and family, especially because life in Canada is very different compared to Vienna. Being so far away from home and not being able to just fly back quickly was challenging, but in the end, it was exactly what made the experience so valuable. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow personally. Academically, the exchange was also a great decision. I took very interesting and demanding courses that gave me a lot of value for my studies. The professors were extremely supportive, approachable, and genuinely interested in students’ learning progress. On a personal level, I became more independent, adaptable, and confident. Even small things, such as adjusting to a different dress code and campus culture, taught me to observe my surroundings more carefully and adapt quickly. Overall, my exchange semester was a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience that I would highly recommend to future students.