Experience report
ANR:
Name: Edwin van der Burg
E-mail: e.vdrburg@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: Fall 2014
Academic year: 2014/2015
Host University: McMaster University|DeGroote School of Business
Country: Canada
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an
orientation or introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the
university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university
provide? Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place
to live after you arrived?
DeGroote School of Business, part of McMaster University, is located in Burlington, Ontario.
However, McMaster University, where basically all the students lives, is located in Hamilton,
Ontario. Therefore, the cheapest option for me was flying into Toronto. I stayed in toronto for
the first couple of days to do some sightseeing, before traveling to Hamilton. I did not
arranged any room before I arrived since I wanted to see the actual room before being stuck to
a contract. The first couple of days I stayed at a place I got in touch with via couchsurfing,
which was a nice experience. The person I stayed with picked me up at the Hamilton GO
station and gave me a small tour through town. The university does not provide accomodation
for us, but it does provide some links to website where you can find ads for rooms to rent.
After about two days of active searching I found a place to stay, a $400 CAD basement room
close to the maincampus and Fortinos, the grocery store. Places to stay are relatively easy to
find. However, I have to admit it would have been nice to directly move into a room you would
stay during the whole semester. But it is a trade off between seeing the room/house before
moving in and living out of your suitcase for a few days.
Upon arrival in Hamilton several activities were arranged by the exchange office itself,
by McMaster University, by DeGroote School of Business and last but not least by McMaster
International and Exchange student club, aka M.I.X. In other words, in the first two weeks
before the semester officially starts and the first week of the official semester, a lot of activities
are organized which you can attend. You won't be bored at all and if you decide to go here,
please be sure to arrive earlier and get to know as much people as possible. Examples of
events are: Several night out to a bar/club to party, socialize and to get to know Hamilton
better, McMaster Froshweek with daily events on campus, Homecoming week with a football
match and lots of parties, and also an official welcome where you will get some good
information about the University you need to know.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best
place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host
city? What was different than in Tilburg?
McMaster University is located in the west side of Hamilton, where also most of the students
live. However, the campus for graduate business students, named Ron Joyce Centre, is
located in Burlington. This is about a 20-40 min drive by private schoolbus from the main
campus in Hamilton.
The best places to eat are around campus, but also in downtown Hamilton. For drinks, it
depends what you want to do. If you just want to have a chill/relaxing evening in a pub, you
could go to some bars in the main cmapus area, but downtown are also several bars/pubs.
When you want to go dancing/clubbing, I would suggest you go downtown because the parties
kinda happen downtown. There is also a campus club, but that one is mostly fun on
Thursdays.You could also go to Toronto and party until you can get the first bus back (or
booka a hostel/find another place to stay). The best evenings I had were mostly on
Wednesdays; club Absitnhe always had a Motown themed party where usually a major part of
the exchange students went to. If you want to work out you can buy a gym membership for the
exchange term at the athletic centre located on the main campus. Furthermore, McMaster has
intramural competitions to which you can subscribe as an individual or as a team for a lot of
different sports. Two other exchange students and me created two exchange soccer teams, to
which other exchange students signed up to. Eventually we won the mens competition.
Hamilton does not have a lot of interesting things to see, but there are a few nice things
to see. Just north of the main campus you can hike a bit and walk to Cootes Paradise, which is
quite nice to see. In addition, Hamilton is known for its many falls just outside of the town.
These falls are great to see and you have to hike a little to get there. Furthermore, you can
check out the harbour in Hamilton, watch a hockey game of the local hockey team and check
out several of the nice local pubs on Augusta street in downtown Hamilton. Also, Toronto is
just about an hour away from Hamilton, which provides you with a lot of opportunities to go
there quickly and check out Toronto. In the area of Hamilton you can travel to some nice
locations as well, locations such as: Niagara Falls, Montreal, Ottowa, Buffalo, Cleveland,
Chicago, NY, Boston, Washington, and many more depening on how much you want to travel
during, before or after the exchange.
Differences between Tilburg and Hamilton definitely exist. Basically everything is
different, besides the fact that you have a lot of opportunities to socialize and eat out for a
reasonable price.
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses
add to your program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University
concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall,
were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Please describe the
campus of your host university.
In Tilburg I study the Master Marketing Management, meaning I had to take level 700 courses
at DeGroote School of Business. I took the following courses: Managerial negotiations,
eBusiness strategies, Small business finance/financial entrepreneurship and Marketing
analytics. The reason I took these courses is since I wanted to widen my view a little, and to
gain more knowledge regarding marketing analytics. These courses increased my knowledge
regarding these topics and I got more practical experience since these courses are highly
practical and less academical, which I consider positive. When comparing the MBA courses
from DeGroote with TiU several differences pop in my mind. These differences are: the
assignments at DeGroote are way less based on theory and you don't have to refer to
academical sources as often as at TiU, the courses are all semester courses instead of seven
week courses, if you try your hardest you earn some bonus points at DeGroote which is not
given at TiU, the level of the courses is similar to some extend but due to the courses being
less academical, the assignments I had were a bit easier every now and then. Overall I was
happy with my results and with the knowledge I gained.
The campus of McMaster University is bigger than the TiU campus, way bigger to be
honest. This is due to the fact that they have more students, more buildings and because
some students live on campus. I really enjoyed the campus, it has a nice mixture of newer and
older buildings, combined with some nature, which is beautiful during fall when the leafs
change their color. Furthermore, they have a big athletic centre and a football stadium on
campus. In terms of their libraries, I did not like them too much to study individually. They
were too busy and there was too much noise in the 'silenced' areas. For group work they are
fine since you can book a room for two hours in one of the on campus libraries. The building I
spend most of my time was the Ron Jocye Centre in Burlington, the campus of the MBA
students. This building is beautiful and very modern. It even has a very nice student lounge
including a biljart table, a soccertable and several fridges, microwaves and a TV. I actually
enjoyed studying and attending courses in this building.
TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local
students? Did you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local
students and other exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your
exchange?
Social life, I don't even know where to start regarding this topic. McMaster University,
DeGroote School of Business, M.I.X. and students themselves organize social activities.
Meaning, a lot of activities can be attended. At some point I had to refuse going to too much
activities due to coursework, the actual courses and of course financial restraints. At some
point you have to prioritize how you want to spend your money; traveling more, party more,
eat out more, save it or whatever reason. Examples of several social activities are mentioned
throughout the above topcis, but others are: visiting the christmas market in Toronto, going to
a kareoke bar, bowling, oktoberfest, visiting Winter Wonderland during Halloween, a potluck,
several house parties, several themed on campus parties, McMaster organized a concert with
Lil John as DJ during the Fall term 2014, and many many others. You basically can be as
social as you want to. During my stay I had contact with local students, however I had more
contact with exchange students. This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of the exchange
students attended most of the activities. This is also due to the fact that I lived off campus and
did not really had a lot of contact with my housemates, which I did not really mind. I wanted to
have some rest every now and then, so living in a house with not a lot of contact/parties with
my house mates was quite convenient. Furthermore, a lot of the local students I had contact
with were doing their MBA as well, but they usually lived in either Burlington, Toronto or the
Greater Toronto Area (GTA). So besides seeing them at the Ron Joyce Centre, we did not hang
out too often. Getting along with all the person I met was really easy and a great experience.
Literally, I did not meet a single person I could not get along with. Most of the people I met
were open minded and easy going, therefore we got along well. A major plus because of this is
the fact that I have a lot of international friends, which I will try to visit.
As mentioned earlier, Hamilton is located in a way that allows easy traveling. Before,
during and after the exchange I travelled to Toronto (several times), Manitou (During MBA
Bound weekend), Niagara Falls, Buffalo (USA), Montreal, Quebec City, Taddoussac, Sagonay
National Park, Trois Rivieres, Chicago (USA), I visited some of my best friends that live Ohio,
USA to spend christmas with, New York (USA, to spend New Years Eve) and Boston (USA).
Also, upon my arrival back in The Netherlands, I spend some time in Amsterdam before going
back to my hometown. In my opinion, I traveled quite a lot, especially during a semester
without any study breaks. Other exchange students travelled quite some time before the
official start of the semester and also afterwards. Looking back on the experience, I wished I
had traveled to the West side of Canada before the official start of the semester. But I guess I
will have to visit that side of Canada a different time.
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?
What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your
money on? What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your
approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
To begin with, I did not receive a grant from TiU. I did not meet the requirements for any grant
at all. Therefore, I paid everything from my savings. I started to save money after my former
exchange to Bowling Green, Ohio, USA, six years ago during my bachelor the Fontys
University of Applied Sciences. Since my return from that former exchange, I knew I wanted to
go on exchange again, which I fortunately could and did. The living expenses in Hamilton were
way different than my living expenses in The Netherlands. I have been living in Breda at my
parents for a long time and never quite moved to Tilburg due to the fact getting to and from the
University was easy, free and I have friends in Tilburg where I crash every now and then after
parties. The free traveling was untill the point I was not eligable for free traveling by public
transport anymore, so I bought a car instead of moving to Tilburg. At that point of time I knew I
was going on exchange, so I had to choose between moving out to Tilburg or find another way
to commute between TiU and Breda. The choice was quite easy, since I would have had to buy
everything you need when you move out to live on your own and sell them after not even a
year, because I only had one year between that decision and going abroad. Storing all my stuff
or subletting my room did not appeal to me, since I have to write my masters thesis upon
return and I don't know where in The Netherlands I will end up for that.
During my exchange I probably spend most of my money on traveling, rent and probably
also social activities. Looking back on this, I would not have spend my money differently.
Maybe, a bit more on traveling, what I would have added before the exchange. I would advice
future students to look at sales in the grocery stores, have pre-parties since drinking at home
is cheaper than at the bar/club, try to find cheap opportunities to travel and be sure to have
money to spend! In total I spend about 6000 to 7000 euros, including the tickets to Toronto and
from Boston. Due to the positive exchange rate during my exchange, which was about 1 euro
~ 1,42, these 6000 euros would be about 8,2000-8,500 CAD. I spend 1,600 CAD on rent, about
750 euro on the plane tickets to and from North America, and I honestly don’t really know how
much I spend on clubbing, groceries, books, eating out, traveling and stuff.
TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to
your own culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different
about your host culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do
you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How
would you describe your host countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your
exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how?
Upon arrival I did not experience a culture shock. I do enjoyed the culture very much since
Canadians and other residents of Canada are very polite and patient. Furhtermore, they
respects others' culture and are very tolerant. These Canadian cultural values are different
from The Netherlands, where some people are polite but not as any as in Canada and not as
polite. Also, Dutch people are way less patient than Canadians in general and do not
appreciate others' people culture as Canadians do. In terms of tolerance, both cultures are
pretty close. What I learned about my own culture is that we could be less individualistic and
help out others a bit more and be more polite to others. Also, we could be more patient than
we are now. But, I have to admit that our culture is also a nice culture and The Netherlands
have a lot of things arranged well, for example our tuition is way lower than the tutition in
Canada which is a major benefit. There are no things I did not like about the Canadian culture,
myabe though, I would like that some Canadians would be a bit more straightforward instead
of trying to say what they want to say in a difficult manner. I did learn quite a few things about
the Canadian culture before and during my exchange. I read a book about Canadian history
before I traveled there and during the exchange I learned a lot bout their lifestyle, politics,
geographics, way of networking, way of handling the cold and snow, etc. Despite I learned
quite a few things, I would like to learn a bit more about the native culture of Canada. As
mentioned earlier I traveled to the USA during the exchange period. When entering the States,
you directly notice cultural difference despite the fact Canadian and American culture is
similar to some extend. However, citizens of the USA are less polite, less patient, show less
interest and appeal a bit more aggresive than Canadians. You instantly notice this at the
border when entering the States.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if
you had the chance, and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what
was your worst experience? What will you remember for ever about your exchange period? What was
the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
I learned a lot of things during the exchange, too much to write down. Some of the major things
are: sharing is caring, people share a lot and I learned that sharing is a nice thing to do which
should be done more often. Another thing I learned is not to judge a book on its cover and you
should judge another persons actions, they often have a reason why they act like they do. Try
to get to know people, I would not hang out with the people I met on my exchange back in The
Netherlands simply because I wouldn’t get to know them or walk into them, unless you walk up
to them and start talking. I would not have done anything differently during my exchange. The
best experience was when you realize that you have tons of new friends from all sorts of
countries and cultures, and the worst part was when slowly everybody is going back to their
home country. The things I will remember most is the fun I had with everybody I met, and also
the skills I gained via DeGroote School of Business. The most important lesson from this term
is to enjoy every moment possible.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What
should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on
exchange to this destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t
do?
YES, GO! I would recommend McMaster as an good host university, but I honestly believe you
will have an awesome time no matter where you go. However, McMaster is just awesome! I
would go there again if I got the opportunity. Bring whatever you think is needed, but you
could ask me if some things are needed or not. Leave your comfort zone behind and step out
of it. You will be amazed by the effect of breaking through your comfort zone. I did everything I
needed to prepare for.
TOPIC: A picture is worth a thousand words
If you took any pictures or made any videos that you would like to share with future exchange
students, please include them (or e-mail them separately). Pictures that show your daily life or
symbolize your exchange period are especially interesting for future exchange students.
See attachment for the photo.
The photo was taken only after a few days/week(s) into the exchange term and everybody
already got along very well. These are some of my new friends I met during the exchange.