Exchange Report

When writing the motivation letter, you should clearly explain your academic goals, reasons for choosing specific partner universities, and how the exchange semester fits into your study plan and future. It is also helpful to attend WU information sessions. Once accepted into an exchange program, early preparation is very important to ensure a smooth and successful semester abroad. Especially in Amsterdam, as the housing situation is very bad and it is hard to find an accommodation as an exchange student. The university offers a housing lottery but there is not enough space all over Amsterdam for every single exchange student - so keep that in mind. Also, start looking at the course catalogue in time to ensure that courses can be recognized upon return.

I was living in a student residence, where I "won" my spot in the housing lottery, offered by my university UVA. As Amsterdam is experiencing a very hard housing situation at the moment, you should start looking for options in time. The lottery would be the cheapest and most comfortable way but it might happen that you don´t get a spot. My dorm was located in Sloterdijk, right at the train station in the north-west of Amsterdam. This area is very safe but it is a bit outside, so you have to take your bike or tram everywhere you want to go. The distance to the university campus was around 40 min by tram or bike - was pretty similar. Tips: Definitely get a bike at SwapFiets in time, as this semester some of my friends couldn´t get one, as they ran out of bikes.

The campus infrastructure was very good. The business campus is very modern and has everything you need. Just keep in mind when you want to study at the university library be on time in the morning, because it is always full, especially during exam periods. In general, the academic way of learning was a bit different to WU because one semester is separated into three tri-semester. That means that one course only lasts around 1.5 months and so there is way more to do for one course at once. So, time management is very important. Besides that, a lot of presentations and paper to write but I also had exams in every course. Teaching style is similar to WU but teachers are stricter in case of punctuality. Courses at UVA in my opinion were harder than at WU and a lot more effort was needed. The grading system in the Netherlands reaches from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best and you need at least a 6 to pass a course.

Public transport is very expensive in Amsterdam. There is no monthly card for international students, besides -40% on each ride. So, the best decision was to get a bike at Swapfiets and use it as much as possible. Due to rain and bad weather nearly all the time, I used the tram a lot and that´s why my expenses for public transport were a bit higher. Amsterdam is a safe city and I had no problems at all. The only thing I experienced that regular taxis might be trying to steal from you - so, at least from my experience, always use Uber or Bolt. In case of leisure activities, Amsterdam is a great place. You have a lot of nice parks and museums there but also fun activities like mini golf, bowling and so on. Also, I played a lot of padel tennis and tried classpass classes there, which were great. Also, I joined the gym, called "train more" and everyday you train there you have to pay one euro less the following month for your subscription. Of course, partying is also a big thing in Amsterdam - you have a lot of bars and bigger squares where a lot of bars are located. You also have a lot of festivals happening all over the city, so just make sure to check the schedules. And if you want to see other cities in the Netherlands, it´s very easy and fast to reach a lot of different places, like Rotterdam, Utrecht, Zandvoort and so on.

The best part of my exchange semester was to meet people and become friends with people from all over the world. You get to know people in unfamiliar surroundings, and this fact contributes to you making new, really close friends in this short time, and of course fun is the main focus!