GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE EXPERIENCE REPORT
Please write this report in English
The student report will be published on the:
 Study Abroad website (under “Experiences” from partner universities)
 "Study Abroad Information" TiSEM Blackboard page (course code FEBSAI)
 TiSEM students’ exchange blog
 Liberal Arts and Sciences students’ blogs
Please let us know if you do not want your report to be published.
I prefer not, but you can publish my email address for the potential students who wants to go
there for exchange.
ANR: 168843
Name: Zhichuan Jia
E-mail: zhichuanjia@hotmail.com
Exchange semester:
Fall 2013
Academic year: 2013-2014
Host University: Washington University
Country: The USA
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please, describe:
 The school and its surroundings:
 please describe the city you lived in;
I lived in Seattle, which is located in the northwest part of The USA. It has 3.5 million
inhabitants, it is the capital city of Washington State. It is a beautiful city.
 where is the university located in the city?
In the north part.
 please describe the campus of your host university
the campus is much bigger compared to the one in UVT, the buildings looked vintage like
the ones in medieval time, nethertheless, the facilities inside is advanced and modern.
The campus is beautiful and green, many green plantations, there is also a fountain on
the campus.
 what is the best place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.?
For food and drinks, there is a big cafeteria on the campus near the bus stop, I cannot
remember the name for the building, but you can get pretty much all kinds of food there
whether western or Asian.
For sport, the school gym is called IMA, you can play all kinds of sports there, it is free for
the Uni students.
 what are interesting things to see and do in your host city?
It is interesting to go around the city centre, the pike market, there is sea view over there,
it is great to take a walk there if it is sunny, you can also visit the space needle. Also the
headquarter of Microsoft is open for vistors, there is also Boeing factury.
 what was different than in Tilburg?
Seattle is just much bigger city than Tilburg, Tilburg is a university city where ¼ of the
inhabitants are students. While Seattle is busier, it is the headquater for many
international companies, amazon, boeing, Microsoft and starbucks. Centainly, there is
more places to visit in seattle.
 Current faculty divisions and special areas
I have no clue.
 Number of students: graduate and undergraduate; number of exchange students
27,868 undergraduate students, 13,081 graduate students, number of exchange students
are not mentationed.
 Study structure
A whole academic year consists of 4 quarters, the grading system is on the scale of 0-4
with 4 being the highest. For the courses I selected, there is no tutorials but only lectures,
2 lectures with 2 hours each for every course every week.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
 When did you receive the pre-arrival information from the host university?
Cannot remember clearly, maybe april or may?
 Any difficulties?
No difficulties
Visa procedure and arrival
 How long did it take you to arrange your (student) visa (if relevant)?
3 to 5 days, depends on natianlity
 How much did you pay for the visa?
Around 400 dollars in total
 How was your arrival organized?
There is a welcome week, but I didn't go
 Did someone pick you up from the airport/station?
No
 How was the reception at the school?
Good
 Was the administration and faculty well prepared for your arrival?
No so many things to prepare, I just hand in what I need to hand in, things went well.
 What problems, if any did you encounter?
No big problems, things went well
Orientation/Introduction activities
 Was an orientation or introduction activity organized?
Yes
 Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students?
I did not know
 Did you have a student mentor/buddy?
No
Housing
 How was accommodation organized?
I found myself.
 Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a
place to live after you arrived?
I search after I arrived.
 What kind of housing does the university provide?
Expensive apartments
 What support did you receive from the school in locating housing?
Nothing, I found myself.
 Were you satisfied with your accommodation?
Good except too far away from campus
 Any special issues or good ideas/useful websites for prospective students?
If you are okay with the expensive apartments the school provided which is around 1000
dollar per month, then my advice is to fill the applications as earlier as possible, there is
waiting line. Otherwise you rely on yourself, and usually you can find cheaper ones but
they are not around campus you probably need to take a bus for 20 – 50 minutes.
Living Costs
 How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from
Tilburg University?
I didn't receive any money from Tilburg University, my parents paid for me.
 What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg?
The expenses are doubled.
 What did you spend most of your money on?
Rent and food.
 What would you advice future students to spend their money on?

Clothing and digitial stuff, because they are cheaper in The USA.
Please outline your approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange:
 Housing 450 dollar
 Food 400 dollar
 Transport 75 dollar for whole quarter
 Books 0 dollar
 Miscellaneous 100 dollar
Academic Calendar
 Arrival date & introductory week
th
th
Arrive date for me: 24 September introductory week: 16 September
 First day of the semester?
th
25 September
 Last day of classes?
th
12 December
 Mid-term break?
Two breaks in November
 Examination period?
Beginning of December
 Any special events?
Yes, you will receive by emails, I didn't go any.
The International Office
 Is there an international office?
Yes
 Who is responsible for incoming exchange students?
The international office.
 How does the international office function?
I don't know, been there just once
 Are you satisfied with the information provided to you by the international office?
Can’t complain
Exchange promotion
 What kind of activity did you take part in to promote exchange to Tilburg University at
your exchange university?
I encourage the undergraduates to come to Tilburg University for exchange, I told them
the Netherlands is a great country and Tilburg University is very good in economics area.
Social Activities
 Which social activities are organized by the university/students for exchange students?
Welcome Week
 Is there a student organization for international student?
Yes
 Did you have contact with local students?
Yes
 Did you have contact with other exchange students?
Yes
 Did you travel to other places/countries during your exchange?
Yes LA and Los veges
Culture and Language
 Did you experience culture shock while on exchange?
Yes, paying tips is a American culture, I don't what approiate money to tip.
 How would you compare your host culture to your own culture?
Americans are very friendly, very passionate and outgoing, my culture is not like that.
People are more cold to the strangers but nice to the friends. They are essentially
different.
 If you travelled to other cities/countries during your exchange, were they different than
your host city/country, and how?
Amreican cities are big and usually you need to rent a car to travel in the city, while in
Holland, you can basically just take a walk or take a bus.



Did you have any language problems with the faculty or other students?
In the beginning it is sometimes hard to understand the American English, I get used to
the European English.
Did you follow language courses during your exchange?
No I didn't
Did you follow the Erasmus Intensive Language Course?
No I didn't
Personal Development
 How do you think the exchange experience will affect you from a cultural and social point
of view?
For example, I was shock that how environmental-friendly the American society is, it
brought up my environment awareness which I did not pay too much attention before.
 How do you think the exchange experience will influence your future career possibilities?
It’s possible, we will see.
 What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange?
I learnt how to protect the environment, especially how to sort the rubbish
 Would you do things differently if you had the chance, and what would you do differently?
I never sort the rubbish in NL or China
 What was your best experience, and what was your worst experience?
Travelling to LA and Las veges is the best experience, worst experience is losing money
in casino.
 What will you never forget about your exchange period?
I lost 500 US in casino
 What was the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange
period?
Gamling kills you. Never waste your money in casino
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Academic level at a host university
 In what language(s) are the courses offered at a partner university?
English
 Did you follow any courses taught in the language of the host country?
Yes, English it is
 Which courses did you take and why?
Topics in monetary polices
Money, credit and the economy
Financial crisis
These three courses are strongly related to the major I study in Tilburg university,
 Which courses would you recommend?
Topics in monetary polices, it is difficult but very useful and you could learn a lot.
 How would compare the academic level at your host university to the academic level at
Tilburg University (e.g.: level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English,
workload, etc.)?
The difficult level is more or less at the same level with Tilburg university, the workload
are similar, however some specific courses requires many readings, and self-study is
important, and good preparations for the classes are necessary to have a better
understanding of the insight of the courses.
 Is the teaching style primarily practical or theoretical?
It was more theoretical, the content is theory-based, it requires a lot of readings
 What teaching method is practiced by the host university: case studies, group work,
seminars or lectures (or a mix)?
No group work, very few case studies. Mostly just lecutres based on the syllabus,
lecutures is given based on the required readings
 How would you describe the relationship between the students and the teaching staff?
Not very communicative or interactive, mostly just the lecutuer speaks.
 In general, were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange?
I got two 8 and one 7, it was nothing to be proud of but I think it was okay based on my
input of efforts.
Exams

What types of exams did you have to sit?
Written exams.
Other
 Can students easily access the library and its resources?
Yes, there are several libraries, everyone can go there and use the facilities inside.
 Were there public computers available on campus/in university buildings?
Yes they are all available.
Description of Courses
Please list all courses you have taken at a partner university in the form below:
 Course title and code
 Course level (BA/MA)
 Prerequisites, if any
 Form of exam
 ECTS credits you have obtained in total:
 Comments: Relevance, Difficult/easy, Practical/theoretical, Enrolment problems
Example:
Course name:
Prereq.
Exam
Major at TiU Approved as
(Common/elective/extra)
Econ 421
money, credit, and the economy None
Written
Economics
Econ 425
Topics in monetary policy
None
Written
Economics
Econ 464
Financial Crisis
None
Writte and Paper
Ecomomics
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Please fill in all the courses you have taken
Elective
Elective
Elective
All the courses I took are Bas, I acquired all the ECTs which is 24 ECTs in total. ECON 421 is
relatively easy, ECON 425 AND ECON 464 are relatively hard (requires lot of reading,
attendance is highly recommended)
Tips for the future students:
 Would you recommend an exchange period?
Yes, it is a good opportunity to meet new people, experience a new whole different
culture.
 Would you recommend your host university?
Yes, UW has a great international repution, the campus is really really beautiful, the
Univerisity strives to provide the students with a good studying environment, the
professors are very experienced with high-quality lectures provided.
 What should prospective students absolutely not forget before going on exchange?
Enroll the courses, find a room beforehand etc
 How can they better prepare before going on exchange to this destination?
Listen to more Amercian English, the professors speak really fast and sometimes it is
hard to understand in the beginning. So more pratices is needed
 Was there anything you should have arranged before departure that you haven’t?
I didn't arrange a room before departure, but it found a room in the first day, though I
suggest not to learn from me.
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.
Blog
If you kept a (photo) blog during your exchange that you would like to share (e.g.:
www.waarbenjijnu.nl, www.blipfoto.com) with future exchange students, please let us know
the URL.
No
Contact details:
Can the International Relations Office share your e-mail address with prospective exchange
students, so that other students could contact you for more information?
Yes absoloutely