ANR: 496573
Name: Simon Schreuder
E-mail: Simonschreuder1@gmail.com
Exchange semester:
Academic year: 2014/2015
Fall / Spring, 2014
Host University: Instituto Technológico de Monterrey (ITESM)
Country: Mexico
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Living in Monterrey and studying at Tec de Monterrey University is a nice experience. As the name of the city suggests, the city is surrounded by mountains (Monte = Mountain, Rey =
King). In my experience it is very pleasant to live in this city. The view of the Cerro de la Silla
Mountain is very imposing but also the university itself is surprisingly beautiful. It is a very green university with lots of trees and animals like peacocks, ducks and even a few deer! The university is located in a nice area of the city and therefore a lot, if not all international students live within 15 minutes walking-distance of Tec. Within this area there are plenty of sport accommodations, supermarkets, restaurants, fast food-stores etcetera. There are also a few bars, but most of the bars and bigger clubs are in another area called San Pedro. This took a 15-25 minute taxi-ride away from where I lived, which was Garza Sada 1982 (I will come back to this later), depending on traffic. Don’t worry; taxis are not as expensive as in the
Netherlands. Also students within the Tec area will organize a lot of house-, pre- and after parties. I don’t know the exact number of (international) students, but if I remember correctly the total number is 17000 students in the Monterrey campus, a few hundred of which are international students.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Unfortunately, I had a few small difficulties with the website. Basically, the problem was that a few courses that were supposed to be taught in English were actually given in Spanish. I had to change something, but luckily the responsible people in Tilburg replied really fast so I had no troubles with approving the new courses or anything. This problem is supposed to be fixed now, since they have a new website. Another problem I had was the fact that there was a limit of 6 courses. I wanted to take a Spanish language course, but I had to drop another course to do that. Eventually I ended up taking the Spanish course, so now I have to take an extra elective in Tilburg.
Information before you left
The pre-arrival information was really clear. I had a small problem with an email I didn’t receive, and therefore missed one deadline from delivering some document, but the people from the international office there are really nice and they will always help you.
Visa procedure and arrival
Visa procedures can always change from time to time, so always check the most recent information you can find. In my case it was really easy. I flew from Amsterdam to Houston so I needed the ESTA visa in the USA (25 bucks, valid for 2 years). In Mexico I could stay 180 days without visa. One tiny problem however: If you arrive and leave by plane there is no problem, but I did some travelling after my semester, went to Guatemala for a few days and back by bus obviously, then they will charge you some extra money at the border on your way out (25 dollar if I remember correctly).
The arrival procedure was really well organized. Not by the University itself, but there are 2
‘student associations’ called ‘International Student Embassy’ (ISE) and ‘Integrate’. They are very different from the student associations in the Netherlands, but I don’t know how else I

should call it. You could see them as a group of friends (20-40 people) that like to hang out with international students, organize trips & parties (which I really recommend!), and just help you with whatever you need. They also do airport pickups, so they pick you up and bring you to your hotel or wherever you want. Maybe even to a welcome party if you like! They will add you to their Facebook page and there they will let you know everything about airport pickups and parties etcetera.
The reception and administration was well organized. Except for a few things. In the
Netherlands, we had to get our courses approved beforehand and whatever. In Mexico it is a bit differently organized. They will tell you there that maybe one of the courses you registered for was actually full or taught in Spanish instead of English, but from my point of view that’s a bit of the charm from Mexico. They help you choose a new course, and a few e-mails later with the responsible department in Tilburg this problem was also solved.
Orientation/Introduction activities
The university actually organized some sort of introduction week. I myself arrived 2 weeks before university started, so I already knew a lot of international and Mexican students via the many many many welcome parties organized by ISE and Integrate, and the house parties organized every by new arriving students. The official introduction week was not really my thing. As an international student you will be mixed in groups with the freshman Mexicans.
We did some (childish) games, mostly in Spanish, so a friend and me were gone after a good
15 minutes. Therefore I can’t tell you more about the week unfortunately. On the arrival day however you also get a tour around campus so you do get to know the campus if you like.
Housing
There are three options for housing in Monterrey. You could get a host family, an on-campus apartment or you could easily find a place for yourself.
1) Host family: I know one guy who had a host family. The university could arrange this for you and he was quite content. He was together with one other international student and his family was nice. The main advantage I think is that it is really good to improve your Spanish.
2) On-campus apartment: These are very nice apartments, located right next to the campus but personally I wouldn’t recommend it. There is a strict non-alcohol, nonsmoking policy. Sometimes you are only allowed to bring a maximum of 2 friends home. Because of these rules I didn’t choose for this, and friends of mine who have also kind of regretted it.
3) Find a house yourself: It is really easy to find an apartment yourself. There are three really big apartment complexes 10-15 minutes from Tec. Torres and Villas Tec are two big buildings where most of the international students live. The prices are 4000-
5000 pesos per person, and an additional bill for gas etcetera, depending on how much you use are approximately 1000 pesos (per house). These apartments are mostly for 3 or 4 persons, where everyone has a separate bedroom, and shared living room, kitchen and bathroom(s). Private bathrooms are also available but this will cost extra. So for a, in my opinion pretty nice apartment, surrounded by many other international students you will pay 4500-5500 pesos (260320 euro’s, depending on the exchange rate of course). A small gym and a pool are included! I myself lived in
Garza Sada 1982, the other student complex. A bit more Mexicans live here, but also some international students. The pool and the gym are a bit bigger and nicer and the apartments costs 6000 pesos (350 euros), all included. Here are also a lot of different options available, from 1 to 4 persons with shared and private bathrooms etcetera.
You could also try to find housing for yourself, which are often a bit cheaper, but if you do this I recommend you to ask someone from Integrate or ISE to go with you to inform you about the neighborhood. I don’t want to scare you at all, because both me myself and all of my friends haven’t had a single bad experience with safety, but there are still some dodgy areas. I was very satisfied with where I lived, because it was close to Tec University and to Torres and Villas Tec. (Most of the house parties are organized there). There was a nice general area with pool table, ping-pong and some
TV’s, as well as study rooms. Also a lot of my friends live in Villas and Torres Tec and they were very satisfied as well!

Living Costs
I didn’t receive a grant from Tilburg. My two-way flight ticket was €1300, which is a bit expensive, but this was also because I flew in the end of July to arrive some time before the semester starts, so this was probably the most expensive time. It is probably possible to get a cheaper one. I already explained the housing costs in a previous paragraph, but to summarize I’d say that it is possible to find a place for 200 euro’s per month, but I would recommend the places that cost €250+. Furthermore, going to a restaurant will be a bit cheaper than in the Netherlands, and the food is better. If you do some groceries yourself, or get some fast taco’s, you should think of €4 at most. Transportation costs aren’t that much.
The taxis are cheap (€1,5 within the TEC area and €4 to the clubbing area). I didn’t have to buy books (1 was optional, but I could borrow it from the library and copy the relevant chapters), but some of my friends did, so the book costs depend on the courses you take.
And last but not least: The trips! The trips may sound a bit expensive but they are definitely worth it! Integrate and ISE organize 3-4 day trips to a beach festival and a trip to Guanajuato and Mexico City, where we celebrated Independence Day. In the spring semester, they will have a different plan of course. These trips cost approx. €150, which sounds expensive but these were the highlights of my semester.
Academic Calendar
The exact calendar will be a bit different each year, and it is available on their website. In my case, the introduction week started the 4 th of august and the first week of courses started at the 11 th . The examination period started at the end of November until the 10 th of December. It really depends on your courses. I myself had my last exam on the 6 th of December so I had a lot of time to travel and discover the rest of Mexico!
The International Office
There is an international office in Monterrey, which is really easy to reach via e-mail when you’re still in Tilburg. Once you’ve applied they will contact you with the necessary information. If there is any problem or question at all, don’t hesitate to contact them. They are really helpful with every question you have and they answer really fast (but don’t forget that there is a 7 hour timedifference). Also, if you’re there they have an office where you could just knock on the door and someone will help you.
Exchange promotion
There wasn’t such a thing as a ‘promote your university day’, but I talked to people who were planning to go on exchange but didn’t really know where to go yet. I told them that Tilburg
University is a nice place to study. Unfortunately, for some reason a lot of the Mexican have some unexplainable desire to go to Germany in my experience.
Social Activities
The university organizes some social activities like a city tour at the beginning of the semester or some sport events. However, as I explained before, local students from Integrate and ISE will organize a lot more (and better!) activities where you will meet both local and other exchange students. With one of those two organizations you will go to parties and perhaps organize some trips yourself. And after the semester there is plenty of time to travel and discover Mexico (WHICH I REALLY RECOMMEND!) In my case, my girlfriend visited me after the semester to travel through the country, and we met up with 20-30 Monterrey exchange students in Playa del Carmen to celebrate New Years!
Culture and Language
I did not experience a culture shock whatsoever, but maybe this is because I’ve done some travelling in the Latin-American region before. Of course you might have to adjust a little bit, because the culture differs from our own. In the Netherlands, we are more strict and punctual.
I thought I was generalizing when I thought every Mexican would be one hour late, but actually I this is true. Don’t stress out or be angry when your Mexican appointment doesn’t arrive exactly on time. This is just their culture. Also, they are very family-oriented and more

collectivistic than we are. One more thing I noticed is that they think more short-term instead of long-term.
I did follow a Spanish language course there, but I didn’t put enough time or effort in it. The course itself was not that difficult (I was one of the best of my class beginners Spanish) but if you want to have conversations in Spanish outside class you’d have to put some more effort in it because this was really basic. I could do a bit of small talk but no more than that. This was no problem in my daily life, because everyone can order a pizza with sign language or google translate or whatever. If you need something more difficult your friends from ISE and
Integrate will definitely help you!
Personal Development
I think that this exchange period helped me improve myself on a social and cultural level, as well as academically. I met a lot of great people and I do not regret it at all. I wouldn’t change anything about my experience there if I could do things differently (Except maybe putting some more effort in my Spanish).
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Academic level at a host university
You can choose courses in Spanish and in English. I only followed courses in English. The system in Mexico is very different from the system in Tilburg. First of all, officially the courses are mandatory. You have a certain amount of hours you can skip per course, but some (in my case most) professors are a bit more flexible. Secondly, final exams generally count for 25-
50%. The focus lies more on (weekly) assignments, midterms, and participation etcetera.
When they told me this information in the introduction week I was a little bit unhappy, but as a matter of fact I really started to like this system. I think that because there are more small assignments (which count for 10% or something) it is also easier to get really good grades. In
Tilburg, I was the kind of student that got sixes and I was satisfied with that. I noticed that, if you put in a bit of serious work, it is much easier to get a 9. Also, group work is stimulated and there is a very good teacher-student relationship. Most courses are given in groups from 15-
40 students.
Exams
Some courses only have a final presentation for the assignments you are working on. Some courses have written exams, but they don’t count as high as they generally do in Tilburg. To get an idea, one of my courses consisted for 10 % participation, 25 individual assignment,
20% mid-term, 30% final exam and 15% of weekly discussions. Most of the courses have grading systems comparable to this.
Other
You need your student pass to get on the campus, and then you can visit the library. I really liked the library because there were some silent areas but also one whole floor where they had couches, tables, really comfortable seats and even TV screens you could use for group work or whatever. Also computers were available for free.
Description of Courses
In this table is some information about the courses that I took. I actually recommend all of these courses. The last one is an online course where you have to work in groups. This mainly consists of weekly assignments (small papers about 2-3 pages long) and one midterm and final exam. I thought this course was really interesting.
Course Name
Doing Business in
Latin America
Digital Marketing
ECTS
5.1
5,1
Exam Approved as
Group Presentation Common
Common
Strategic Marketing
Management
5.1
Group presentation
& Written exam
Group Presentation
& Written Exam
Common

Spanish Language 5.1
International
Business and
Human Resource
5.1
Management
Intercultural negotiation
Communication
&
5.1
Exam
Exam and individual assignment
Digital Exam
On top
Common
Common
Tips for the future students:
I definitely recommend going on exchange for every student! Also I think you shouldn’t try to be over prepared. Try to just go with the flow and experience it. Don’t worry about safety i ssues or whatever. Neither me nor anyone else of the international students I’ve met has had any trouble related to safety. Also try to be relax if anything goes wrong, because the
Mexicans will be too. If you have a problem just go to the International Office or your new
Mexican friends and they will help you with anything!
A picture is worth a thousand words
I’m not a great photographer so I don’t have pictures from the entire campus, but on the picture on the left you will see Bambi on a very nice green campus. The right picture is taken from the Tec stadium, right next to the campus. As you can see, this beautiful mountain could be your view for one semester!
Contact details:
It is no problem for me if this information is shared. Also, if you have any questions I’m very happy to help you. Just write me an e-mail!