Details

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

1. Preparation

Prepare well for the interview - I would espescially think about the questions why do you want to do a semester abroad, what is your motivation - why do you want or why did you choose this specific city/university and also how will you overcome cultural barriers I would only book a one way ticket because you do not know in advance at what specific date your last exam will take place (e.g. I got the information with all the examination dates one month before they took place, so that is for example a huge difference compared to WU) I took the plane to Rome but there is also the possibility to take a train

2. Accommodation

I would use the typical plattforms (Spotahome, Housing Anywhere), from what I heard I would not trust facebook groups I lived in an appartment together with 3 other girls (2 of them were also from WU) The name of our neighbourhood is "Parioli" - it is a very very safe neighbourhood and also very close to the university The university has more than one campus (all of them are quite close to each other and there is also a free shuttlebus that takes you to the other campus) but the "economic" one where basically all my courses were held was the closest from my apartment - it took me only 10min by feet I really would recommend living very close to the university as the public transport is horrible in Rome - there is basically no schedule so the bus comes whenever he wants to and sometimes the public transport system does not work at all - strikes are very common - in some weeks we had two strikes in one week - so I would recommend living close to the uni - if you study law the neighbourhood "trieste" is also very nice as it is quite close to the law campus

3. Academic life at host university

The Campus is quite huge, there is a restaurant and a mensa. The only huge difference to WU is that at the economic campus there is not a library where you can study, there are only some small study rooms but during the exam season it is quite impossible to find a seat. The teaching style really depends on the course but I would say in general it was quite similar to WU. Course wise I can recommend "Organizational Behaviour" and "Principles of Accouting" both courses were quite interesting and also the workload was ok. A big difference to WU is that oral exams are very common, there is nearly no course where you do not have to take an oral exam - sometimes it is just oral so no written exam at all. My "problem" at the beginning was that no one tells you how the exam is going to look like, so no professor said anything in class because for the italians it is normal also during school so they know how it works. All of the students are in the room where the exam takes place, so everbody listens to your exam because everbody needs to be there right from the beginning. In the beginning that was quite a shock for me and I was very nervous during my exam but at the end it was totally fine becuase everyone is in the same situation and also nervous but I would have been very helpful to have this information in advance.

5. Every day life in the host country

As said before public transport in Rome is really really bad. There is a monthly pass for the public transport but I never bought any because I rarely used the bus. There is a strike nearly every week (on Mondays or Fridays) which is very annoying. I bought an E - Scooter Pass every month which was very nice and also funny and it is also way faster than waiting for the bus for 30 min. I felt safety all of the time, but I never went home alone after the parties. I would say only around the train station (termini) it could be a little bit unsafe during the night but there is also a lot of police there so it is not a problem. ESN organises a lot of events during the semester, starting with the welcome week, which means a party every night and there is also the possibility to do Erasmus Yoga and Pilates in a very beautiful park close to the university

6. Testimonial

It was my best semester! I can only recommend studying in Rome! This city has so much to offer and is just so beautiful! I met people who became lifelong friends, even though we now live all over the world but we are all still in touch and without this exchange I never would have met any of them. I I also learned a lot about myself, and stepped out of my comfort zone in ways that helped me grow personally