Experience report
ANR: 578340
Name:Yili Sun
E-mail: y.sun_2@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester:Fall
Academic year: 2014-2015
Host University:Queen’s University
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?
Queen’s University offers residence halls for students, but the rooms are limited, it would better if one
subscribe the room very early, because there might be no more rooms available after May. Moreover,
students can also find a room through facebook, there are a few facebook groups organized,specially
for house renting around Queen’s University. Finally, I found a room in a house in the early August,
lived with another 5 exchange students, it only takes 10 mins walk to Queen’s. After I arrived Toronto
Pearson Airport, I went to Kingston by bus, which has the direct route to go Kingston station around
the Queens Universty. I have a friend also exchanged to Queen’s and went there 2 days earlier than
me, so she leaded me to the place I lived. Exchange life started with an exciting orientation week,
Queen’s Univeristy organized many good activilities.
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?
Kingston is a small city, Queen’s University is almost located in the center of Kingston, close to the
Ontario Lake. As for go shopping or have a meal, you can go to downtown, 10 mins walk from
University, where has many shops and restaurants, especially bars and clubs, always very crowded.
Or your can also go to ‘Cataraqui center’ by bus, there is a big mall and also a Walmart supermarket
near the mall, where you can buy cheap food and stuffs for daily use. The University has a building
called the ARC where you can do all kinds of sports. What cannot be ignored is that public transport
(bus) within the city is holding free for students with studentcard.
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.
I took five courses which is required by home university, all about accounting and Finance courses,
because I heard that accounting courses are very good and famous. They are Intermediate
accounting, financial accounting, cost accounting management, financial management stragety and
investments. The education system of Queen’s is different from Tilburg University. In order to keep
the quality of lecture, they required no more than 50 students in one class and participation is also
required, normally would be counted as a part of grades. For some courses, you always need to do
lots of homework or assignment in time to get ready for the quizzes. It is a really professional
university, where you will feel pressures but also can really learn something to improve yourself.
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?
During the semester, Queen’s Univerity will organize many nice trips with a suitable schedule and ask
for a low ticket price, like travelling to Niagara falls, the capital city Ottowa, Montreal and so on.
Moreover, you will make lots of friends with local students and also exchange students, and can travel
to some other cities and places you wanna go with friends by bus or renting a car. I travelled to
Niagara Falls, Toronto and Montreal during my stay and hope have the chance to travel to more
places in Canada in the future.
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.
Canada is a country with the relatively high living expenses, such as food, groceries and
renting fee. I paid 625 CAD each month for my renting fee, including gas, electroncity and
Internet. Around 300 CAD spend on food each month, 30 CAD for mobile phone each month,
200 CAD in total paid for textbook, and others depends.
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?
I think there is not much culture difference from Netherlands, people there is also very friendly, open,
like parties and make new friends. One thing I feel difficult get used to is like when you wanna buy
one product in the supermarket, the price you see in the price tag is not the total price you need to
pay, the additional tax fee will be added to the final price in the end. One more thing, never forget to
offer tips after you finishing your meal, tips is around 10-15% of the price for your meal.
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?
Most students of Queen’s University are hard working, the library is always fulled with
students and it will even open for the whole night for students during the final exams.
Therefore, you will be also pushed to study hard in that kind of atmosphere. However, the
students also enjoy the crazy life in their free time, go to the bar, have a drink, dancing,
travelling. Moreover, it is really a nice place to improve your English, since it is a native
speaking country.
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?
It was a great experience for me to exchange to Canada, especially in Queen’s Univeristy. I find
myself more confident, have the ability to adapt to a new environment quickly and really learned
something with my study. Canada is a very cold country, don’t forget prepare some sweaters and
Thermo clothes for the winter.
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.