Experience report
ANR: 518046
Name: Remco Schaefer
E-mail: rcg.schaefer@gmail.com
Exchange semester: Fall
Academic year: 13-14
Host University: Queens University
Country: Canada, Ontario
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?
The host university provides on campus residence, but it only has a very limited amount of
rooms available. Most of the incoming exchange students will have to find residence of
campus. Which is not a problem because there are a lot of houses available for exchange. The
best way to find one through the university facebook page which has subtopics for incoming
exchange students.
I have a friend who lives in Brighton, aprox. 100km away from Kingston. I stayed there for two
weeks prior to the start of the semester. I was able to find a room via facebook whilst I was
already in Canada. I was adviced not to look for a room whilst still being in your home country,
because there is always the possibility that you will be scammed.
During the first week the university provided introduction days with guided tours of the
university.
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?
Queens University is located in the centre of the City. Kingston is not really a big city, still; it
has one large shopping street and on the outskirts there are a lot of malls and stores. It’s
worth the time to go to the outskirts and do your shopping in one of the large grocery stores.
A vast part of residents are students, either from Queens or St. Lawrence college. This creates
a unique atmosphere in the city; you can really consider Kingston to be a real student city, just
like Tilburg. Best places to go clubbing and shopping are along the main road, Princess street.
The university provides sporting activities which can also be joined by either one-semster
exchange students or fulltime exchange students.
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 a variety of courses, among them are accounting courses, management courses,
finance courses and a special course about business in the Asia-Pacific. All these courses
added to my program at Tilburg University. Especially the Finance course, which was rather
difficult increased my knowledge a lot. Same goes for the accounting course which I found
interesting. The Asia-Pacific course was unique, I really learned a lot of interesting things
about doing business in the Asia-pacific which I might not have learned in my own programme.
All the courses were taught in an interactive way which really increased my motiviation. I had
to get used to this interactive way of studying, participation was mandatory and linked to your
grade. The workload itself was a lot, but still good to manage. The campus itself was really
impressive, very big and it looked amazing. It really created an atmosphere in which you could
thrive.
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 acitivites were organized by the University and the Canadian students. There was a lot
of contact with these students since most of the courses were predominantly filled with
Canadian students. They were very friendly and easy-going. I had no problem integrating with
them. Even group-projects went very smooth. Whilst in Canada I managed to travel to mostly
the entire eastern part, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Thousand Islands, Algonquin Park.. etc. I
even managed to visit a friend of mine who was doing in internship in New York City.
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.
I financed my exchange period myself. I received no extra grant. Living expenses were quite
different from Tilburg. I payed double the rent and spend a lot more on groceries. Food is
really expensive compared to the Netherlands, even in budget stores. It is however, quite
convenient since you will never buy too much. Travelling can be either very cheap, or very
expensive. Domestic flights are extremely expensive compared to Europe. Traveling by bus
however is very cheap. You can have a retour journey to Toronto for under 30CAD. For a six
hour journey, that is cheap. Textbooks were not always mandatory for the courses.
Monthly budget:
Housing 750CAD monthly
Food 350CAD, monthly
Travel 3000CAD total.
Textbooks 200CAD total.
Other. CAD 2000
I didn’t go for budget whilst being abroad, it can be a lot cheaper.
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?
For the first few weeks I had a culture shock; Canadians are much more friendly than us Dutch.
I managed to adapt quickly, and I enjoyed my time abroad to the fullest. I knew what to expect
since I have a few Canadian friends, so no realy surprises for me. I do however prefer the
Canadian way of life over ours, it is much more easy going and less stressful.
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 to respect a lot of different nationalities and cultures, because there was a wide
variety of it present. My best experience was going to Algonquin park with six different
nationalities in our traveling group, it was fun to see how we all got a long. What I will
remember forever is the homecoming week. Something which we don’t have in Tilburg. It was
absolutely crazy, a whole week of partying, not just current students, but also a lot of alumni.
Amazing! The most important lesson I learned while being on exchange was that you have to
manage yourself, I had a lot of negative experiences concerning my home situation. With a lot
of bad news. I had to manage myself and make it through the semester.
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?
I would absolutely recommend an exchange period. It is perfect for personal development, and there
is an educational challenge since Queens is a very high ranked University. There is not really a lot of
preparation needed for this exchange, aside from the normal things such as finding a place to stay
and having a positive attitude!
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.