Experience report
ANR:724185
Name:Ruud van den Elzen
E-mail: r.a.vdnelzen@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester:Fall
Academic year:2014-2015
Host University:Bentley University
Country:The United States of America
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
I took a standard cab from the airport to Bentley University to my accommodation. I already knew
what kind of room I was going to get (single vs double room for example, suite vs apartment), but not
yet which building. I knew this on the first day when I arrived on campus. The rooms are not luxe but
they are more than decent.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Bentley University is located in Waltham which is a suburb of Boston. Boston is a very nice city which
is definitely worth multiple visits. There is a free shuttle service from Bentley to Boston (30 to
40minutes) which runs almost every hour and even till 3AM in the weekends. ‘The Freedom Trail’ is a
famous tourist trip many people take and it’s worth it. I also want to advice the Prudential Tower in
Boston which will give you a view of the skyline of Boston. You have to pay for it (around 20 bucks if I
remember correctly.) In Boston you can also see sport of the Baseball team (Red Sox), Icehockey
(Boston Bruins) and NBA Basketball (Boston Celtics). You can also see sports on Bentley University
of your university teams. Mostly American football and almost at the end of the Fall semester the
basketball season starts. Their teams do not play very high, but it is still nice to experience it.
Sometimes a lot of families also show up and there is free food and drinks sometimes.
TOPIC: Academics
I took the courses Governmental & Not for profit reporting (AC331), Financial Statement Auditing
AC470), International Economics(EC311) and Mangement/International Operations (MG331). I took
most courses in the accounting genre and added a economics and management course. An
interesting thing to know is that the higher the number of the course, the tougher it is. The level of the
courses is not tougher than Tilburg, but you have to keep up more with the work because there will be
mandatory homework and more essays, quizzes, (team) assignemtnts etc. to do. If you want an easy
course I would suggest you take a course with a low number, but courses that start with a three for
example will definitely not be a problem for you. If you are interested in accounting/auditing and
maybe would like to work for a big four company I would recommend the course AC470. It takes a lot
of work (the same amount of work for the other three courses combined), but you will really learn a lot
from a very good professor (Len Pepe). A tip, the books can be pretty expensive so it is advisable to
rent the books on amazon (digital or paperback).
The campus is really pretty. Most buidlings have an old style but look modern at the same time. There
is also a lot of green on the campus and its spaceous. The campus is divided in upper and lower
campus separated by a bridge. If you live on upper campus you will walk to the lectures/library in
approximately 5 minutes and if you live on lower campus it will be a bit longer than 10 miniutes. There
are a lot of stairs you have to walk to go from lower to upper campus but you will get used to it. The
Dana Athletic Sport Centre is located on lower campus.
TOPIC: Social life
There is an international student organization called ISA, but it is not just meant for exchange
students. About 20% of the students on Bentley are international so ISA is also for them. Most of the
activites of the exchange students were just originzed by the exchange students via a facebook
group. You are always free however to join activities organized by ISA. They will have small things
like a casino night or a fifa tournament, but will also organize small trips. Im not sure if they visit cities
also, but I do know they went to a SixFlags park. Most of my contact was with the other exchange
students, but I definitely also had a significant amount of contact with local students. If you have
American roommates it will be really easy to get in contact with them. I had and I’m glad I did.
Sometimes you can also become very good friends with Americans you meet in a group project, this
happenend to me multiple times.
I traveled to quite some cities and always went with other exchange students. America has a lot to
offer and you should try to explore as much of it as you can (afford).
TOPIC: Living costs
You have some influence on your living costs you have to pay to Bentley. Single rooms are more
expensive for example and some meal plan options are a little cheaper than others. Either way, it will
be pretty expensive. I had a expensive meal plan and of of the most expensives rooms which gave
me a total bill of a little over $9000 to pay to Bentley (this includes health insurance and some other
mandatory fee’s). It’s a lot, especially now that the currency of the Euro is dropping. If you cannot
bring up that money and you still want to go I would suggest you start lending money from the
government via DUO as soon as possible. The interest has never been lower..
There will be extra monthly costs if you buy additional food/drinks, alcohol, clothing etc. Traveling will
be the most expensive of all though.
TOPIC: Culture
I didn’t experience a culture shock at all. I was nervous before I got there, but once I arrived I
immediately felt comfortable. The locals are really friendly and so are the exchange students. They
are really friendly and you will bond easily. Everything is a bit bigger in America, but it’s still a western
country and you will fit in fine. Language will obviously not be a barrier. English will be all you need.
TOPIC: Personal development
There are really a lot of great people in the world and being on an exchange makes it really easy to
meet a lot of those new people. They are all very open and friendly and you will really meet some
great people. My best experience were the trips I made with the friends I made over there, but the
many organized evening activities were also really great. I didnt have bad experiences actually,
expect for the last days when you have to pack your suitcases and say goodbye to others.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
I can highly recommend the exchange period. I have never heard anyone who regret it and I surely do
not regret it either. It’s a real adventure where you meet a lot of new people (who you will see again
after your exchange if you want) and will develop yourself. I would recommend Bentley as it’s a very
pretty and well organized university. On campus housing is guaranteed and the living conditions are
very decent. Moreover is Bentley Univeristy very well ranked, especially for Business/Accounting.
There are very few things you have to bring to Bentley except for your laptop. You will already have a
bed but no pillow and no sheets/comforter. In the first week there is a bus that takes you to a big store
where you can buy this if you want. Sometimes other exchange students leave their pillow/comforters
etc. behind and you can get them for free(or very cheap). It’s worth to ask for it to safe some money.
Also do not forget that the plugs are different in the USA than they are in the Europe.
Tip, if you travel, do it as soon as possible when your academic studyload is the lowest and when the
weather is the best. If you book your trips in advance you can also save a lot of money.
If you want to travel a lot you can get Monday and/or Fridays off if you choose your courses and times
wisely. If you do not mind long evening classes of three hours it is possible to have a long weekend
every week.
In Order to go to the US you need a VISA. It takes a lot of work to get it, but you will get a lot of help
from Bentley University to ease up this process.
If you have any more questions feel free to send me an email. I will be glad to help you out with your
questions.