Details

• China
• BBE-18
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 5 months

1. Preparation

I would pay attention to the schools you list in order. I would also highlight the extracurricular activities on your CV. Learning the language of your top spot is also a plus.

2. Accommodation

At my school, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the dorms fill up very quickly. It is possible you will have to find your own accomodation. It was relatively easy to find though, I looked on smartshanghai, and ziroom in order to message realtors. Wechat and Alipay are both very important apps to have

3. Academic life at host university

I was at the Xuhui campus, which is the smaller of the two, but more centrally located. Most of my classes were pretty easy and they were all in the same building. My teachers were amazing. My Chinese course was the only thing where we had regular homework. Other classes were essay/project based.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transportation is all on the phone, very easy and convenient to use. China is very safe. You can leave your phone on the ground, come back an hour later, and it's still there. It's hard to integrate with locals because of a language barrier. But if you know a little chinese, everyone is very impressed and friendly. Shanghai is a huge city with so much to do. Whatever you want to do, it's there. There are also public gyms you can access for around one euro per visit. Eating out is around 2-3 euros in small, local shops.

6. Testimonial

My exchange semester was quite formative. The people I met there were amazing and I still talk to them after we've gone our separate ways! I learned about the culture of east asia in general, but also the day to day political and social life of china.