Anita Kumar
HEC Montréal
HT 2014
The reason for me to choose HEC Montréal was that I wanted to use the opportunity and go for an
exchange period outside of Europe. I have already travelled quite a lot in Asia but I hadn’t visited
North America yet, so the decision to choose Montreal seemed natural. Furthermore, the fact that
Montreal is situated in the French speaking province of Quebec seemed interesting, and therefore it
was also an opportunity to learn a new language.
We had to choose our courses before leaving but there is an opportunity to change, add or drop some
courses in the beginning of the semester. HEC Montréal also offers some language courses for
exchange students which I recommend taking. The courses that I chose were: Investment,
International economic environment, International financial management, CSR, Ethics and
management and Business French II. I was very pleased with my courses and with the level of
teaching, although I heard that some courses were not that good. Still I think the quality of education
and expectations were a bit higher compared to Stockholm. One thing I want to highlight is that I
struggled quite a bit with the finance courses because I didn’t have the necessary background for
them. So my advice would be that if you’re considering taking some finance courses you should be
really prepared to work hard. Otherwise, one course that I would absolutely recommend is CSR. The
teacher was very inspiring and pedagogical and one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.
Housing can be a big problem when going abroad. I was lucky to be able to arrange for the
accommodation well before I left. HEC Montréal collaborates with a company called GetYourPlace
that provides rooms (a limited amount!) for exchange students and I managed to get one. It was
situated in a neighbourhood called Le Plateau which is really the place to be in Montreal. It’s a very
lively neighbourhood with a lot of bars cafes etc. and also many of the exchange students were living
there. The accommodation costs are a bit pricier than average through GetYourPlace. I paid 680 CAD
every month for my room and even though it was quite a lot, it was nice to have everything settled
before I left. To say something about the price levels in Montreal, food is not that cheap but I think
that eating out is cheaper than in Stockholm. Also, clothing etc. might be a bit cheaper than in
Stockholm. So if you’re used to the price levels in Stockholm, Montreal won’t be a problem.
The exchange committee in HEC Montréal did an amazing job in arranging all kinds of activities and
trips, for example to Quebec City, Ottawa, Boston and even Cuba. There were overall many
possibilities for travelling. I had a mid-term break of 10 where me and my friends did a road trip to
eastern Canada. You can also easily do a weekend trip to New York or Toronto by bus and it is not
even that expensive.
Anita Kumar
HEC Montréal
HT 2014
So all in all the exchange period in Montreal was a great experience. The city itself is beautiful and
the people are very nice. Even though Montreal is a French speaking city it’s in general quite bilingual
so it is not a problem if you don’t know any French. I’m happy that I got to improve my language
skills and content with everything I learned academically. I got to see a lot of the eastern part of North
America and a lot of new friends all over the world. I would really recommend Montreal to everyone
who is interested in good education and the possibility to travel and get to know Canada.