Experience report
ANR:
Name:
E-mail:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
Country:
248731
Linda Rosenbrand
linda@rosenbrand.com
fall
2014/2015
University of Central Florida
United States
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?
My arrival was organized perfectly fine. Nobody picked me up from the airport, but we did have
an introduction day that provided us a lot of information. The accomodation was very nice. I
lived on campus in a building with all the other exchange students who also stayed for one
semester. Within the building we all lived in an apartment which you shared with one other
exchange student and 2 American students. The university automatically booked this
accomodation for us, which was very convenient.
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?
In Orlando, as in the rest of America, everything is very spread out. This, in combination with
the disorganized public transportation, requires you to make friends with Americans, who
almost always have a car. Especially, when you want to go for groceries, you really need to
find someone to drive you. Luckily, for going to the gym you just have to walk 3 minutes on
campus and for going out to ‘Pub’ or ‘Knights Library’, you’re also able to walk. If you want to
go out downtown, which we normally did at least once a weekend, you can go by partybus for
$10. This bus departs from campus, so this is also no problem at all.
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.
The courses I took at UCF were: Labor Economics, Health Economics, Financial Derivatives,
Commercial Bank Management and Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Overall, I would say that
the level of the courses is definitely a lot lower than I was used to at Tilburg University.
Especially my Economics courses, Labor Economics and Health Economics, were more easier
than the Economics courses I was used to in Tilburg. The only hard course I had was Financial
Derivatives. On forehand I knew this was an extra challanging course and I don’t regret taking
it, but you only should take it if you’re willing to put some extra effort. I would definitely
recommend to do this, since the rest is easier and you already have so much free time
anyway.
What is different is that you get lots of small tests during the whole semester instead of one
big one at the end. This is so much better since you most likely already know you pass the
course before your final exam.
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?
Concerning social activities, my university had chosen some ambassadors which helped us
with starting up a little bit. They organized trips to the beach and parties, which was really
cool. Also, 2 of them became very good friends of me.
Making friends in general was very easy, since you are with a bunch of enthusiastic young
students of all different countries living in the same building. I have made so many friends,
and it is so cool to know that you have a friend to stay with in all over the world. I am definitely
going to visit some of my close friends this summer and we might do a reunion in Barcelona
all together.
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 didn’t receive any grant from Tilburg University, which really sucked, because my almost all
my friends did receive a riant grant from their home university.
Housing was pretty expensive, but worth it. Furthermore, I spent way more money than at
home because I travelled, went out so much more and groceries are a little bit more expensive.
Textbook were also very expensive, especially when you buy them in the bookstore on
campus. My advice would be to wait until your first class and see what your proffessor says
about the book, because sometimes they decide to use an older version than they would
provide you in the bookstore, so that you can buy it cheaper online.
I think in total I spend like 600$ on textbooks (but with more effort you could do that cheaper),
housing was around $3000 and for food I spent like $300 every month. Take in mind though,
that I almost always cooked at home from that.
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 didn’t expierence any culture shock. In general I expierenced American people as very
friendly and helpful and less individual than Dutch people. What did bother me sometimes is
that they overall do their job less quick and efficient as I was used to. I think American cities in
general are very cool and definitely worth visiting.
Normal neighbourhoods are very different from Dutch ones, since the houses are so big and
there is so much more space.
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?
My worst expierence is that I had ants in my house on campus. This was the only bad thing
about my residence. What I would have done differently is calling someone to spray for it
sooner, since I only found out that was possible when I was leaving in 1 week.
Overall, this exchange was the best expierence of my life and I could never imagine how
awesome this was gonna be. I learned so much from my international friends and my English
improved so much.
My most important lesson is that you can feel at home whereever you are, as long as you talk
to people and make friends around you.
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 definitely recommend an exchange period to everybody. This is such a big oppurtinty
which I think everybody should take advantage of. For me these past 4 months were just 4
more months of so much fun. Of course I did have to study sometimes, but not even close to
what I was used to in Tilburg.
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.
Below some pictures of tailgating before the UCF football games, which was so American and
so cool to expierence: