Details

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

1. Preparation

Be well prepared for the interview, think about why you chose the universities in your ranking and make sure you can give authentic answers to the interviewer. Once you get your spot, make sure to check your e-mails regularly to not miss any important deadlines (there will be some deadlines to upload documents or apply for a visa etc.). Don’t stress yourself too much, you will definitely get all the information you need via e-mail. But, make sure to look for housing as soon as possible, because it will likely take you a while to find the right accommodation. Regarding the visa: (you will get this information via e-mail as well) you will have to login via the ICA platform - it looks confusing at first but it is relatively easy to obtain a student visa, just make sure you meet all the necessary deadlines. Keep in mind that you still have to submit the SG Arrival Card (only possible 72h prior to your arrival in Singapore). Plus, make sure you print out all the necessary documents at home, to then have no problems obtaining your Student Pass at SMU. And, familiarize yourself with the BOSS Bidding System because it can be really difficult to get the courses you want with this system. My tip here would be to look at the empty spots and medians from previous periods and then bid 2-5 e$ more. However, there isn’t really a strategy here, sometimes you just have to be lucky :/

2. Accommodation

I was searching together with 3 of my friends, which made the process a bit harder since there aren’t many options for renting 4 rooms in 1 appartment. If you are just searching for one person, it should be a little easier though. It took quite some time until we finally found The Assembly Place, where we managed to book a shared appartment (4 rooms, 2 bathrooms). It is also possible to only rent one of the bedrooms and share the common area with other people. This residence is called Mill@32 and it’s located at 1 Lor 32 Geylang 398265. The process was very easy and transparent and the lady was helpful and open to answer any possible questions. Singapore in general is an extremely safe city and I also felt safe in Geylang. The distance to the university is fine, it takes about 30min to get there by bus or MRT. The only downside for me personally would be the distance of the MRT stations (= subway), since the nearest stations are about 15min by foot. That doesn’t sound too bad, but I definitely underestimated Singapore’s humidity and heat (all year round) so a 15min walk can be quite exhausting. Another point to keep in mind is that housing prices in Singapore are extremely high, so be prepared that you have to spend quite some money on a good accommodation (rent at Mill@32 was nearly 1000€/month as a reference & it is one of the cheaper options in Singapore). Other than that, I would definitely recommend Mill@32 - many exchange students from SMU were staying here, so it was a good way to connect as well.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is extremely modern and all the buildings are connected by an underground concourse with a hawker center inside. There, you can get very cheap food and with the student card you can get an additional discount on all the dishes. The libraries are very nice, will get extremely full in exam season though. Singaporeans tend to be very competitive, and with the bell-curved grading system it is a little hard not to compare yourself to the other students all the time. The teaching style is much more interactive than at WU - at SMU participation is at least 10-20% of the final grade in EVERY course. So make sure to participate frequently, since there are teaching assistants in each course writing down who said what. Other than that, there will probably be a mid-term & a final exam, and 1-2 presentations per course so make sure to manage your time efficiently.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport is extremely safe, punctual and fast. However, the last MRT leaves at around midnight, and the last bus at around 12:30am. So, if you intend to be out later than that, you should probably download Grab or Gojek (= Singaporean Uber). I felt very safe walking around the city, I sometimes even went grocery shopping in the middle of the night (since most of the supermarkets are open 24/7 :)). Singapore in general is ranked as one of the safest cities in the world, and I would definitely agree! For social/leisure activities, I love going to the gym, so the free SMU gym was a great extra for me. Another cheap option would be the SGActive facilities, where you can work out or go for a swim. Otherwise, you can also join one of the many SMU sports clubs (they have a club for nearly everything here!). For other events, I would recommend downloading the Aentry app, where you can get cheap tickets for clubs and events!

6. Testimonial

My exchange semester was the greatest journey of my life! I not only got to see an Asian country from the perspective of a resident, but over time it even felt a little like a second home! I would definitely recommend coming to Singapore. The people, the city, the safety - it was the best choice I could have made! I also got to travel quite a bit, since Singapore is directly in the middle of South East Asia. And, I made friends in many different countries! All in all, I would 100% do it again!