THE BASICS
Your first name: Kaitlin Blackwood
Your email address:
Your partner university:Maastricht University
Your UVic major during the exchange: Psychology
UVic session(s) during which you did your exchange: Spring 2012
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GENERAL EVALUATION
Please rate your overall exchange experience on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 4
Comments:
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ARRIVAL
How satisfied were you with your experience ofarriving in your host country or city? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 4
Comments: My arrival went very smoothly thanks to a friend whom I had met in Victoria on her own exchange. She lived in Maastricht and was able to pick me up on the first day and help get me settled.
What assistance, if any, did you receive whenyou arrived at your exchange destination? All of my assistance was from my friend. However, I do believe ESN and also the Guesthouse have a pick up service from the train station.
How difficult was it for you to obtain your traveldocuments (visa, etc.)? This was a bit of a nightmare for myself and many others. Canadian students have two options in the Netherlands: you can either get a visa for about 600 euro, or apply for the Working Holiday Program for 46 Euro. If you choose the visa, all the work is done for you by the school, but if you choose the WHP you have to do all the work yourself once you arrive. I chose the WHP. It was very hard to get through to the offices as their phone lines are always busy and you are on hold for at least 20 minutes every time you call. Because your phone company will charge you per minute, and the Government offices charge you 30 eurocents per minute to call them, it is a very costly process, and often your call credit will drain out the minute you get them on the phone! I wasn’t able to get an appointment until the day before I was there illegally, which was quite stressful. My card then didn’t arrive until the week before I left the Netherlands. After you apply and before you get a card, they put a sticker in your passport, but apparently this is not enough to leave the country and travel through the Schengen area, so I had to purchase an additional Re-Entry Visa which cost 140 Euro. In addition, you have to travel to Eindhoven for each appointment with the IND (Immigration and Naturalization), so bank on paying 30 euro each time for that. You also have to go there and pick up your card, they won’t mail it to you. I asked Christianne Majelle (our exchange coordinator) for assistance with this problem, but they school said it was up to us to figure out ourselves. I know of some students who gave up completely and decided to stay illegally, which is risky. I suggest you don’t put this off and start the process IMMEDIATELY once you arrive, in order to avoid a headache later on.
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ORIENTATION AND ASSISTANCE
How satisfied were you with the orientation and assistanceavailable to studentsat your partner university? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 2
Comments: I sound a bit harsh in this section, but the truth is that the International Office were a major source of frustration for all of us exchange students. It seemed that they made a mess of everything they tried to help us with. I should add that they meant well and were very nice people. The student led PBL orientation went well, but the actual orientation for us as exchange students was a long day of not very useful information. Other universities organized events and fun mixers, but that was definitely not Maastricht’s style.
How easy was it to find information you needed to know right away? The international staff were extremely poor communicators. We had to find out everything by ourselves.
What help did you receive from the international staff or office? Very little.
What was your impression of the international staff or office? Highly unorganized and mostly useless.
What was the orientation like at your partneruniversity, if there was one, and how well did it suit your needs? We had two orientations, one basic and another focused on PBL Training. The training session was good, but the orientation had minimal info. It would have been great if they had organized some sort of events.
What was it like to adjust to the culture of yourexchange site and were there people you could talk to about what you were experiencing? Even though Maas is a Dutch city, almost everyone there speaks impeccable English. We were told the school had counseling services so I’m sure if a student was in need there would be someone to talk to. I had never been to Europe before and so for the first month everything seemed to be a bit strange. It is also a bit isolating to be walking down the street and not be able to understand what anyone is saying. However after a month everything normalized and the culture shock experiences were kept to a minimum.
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HOUSING
How satisfied were you with the housing available to students? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 4
Comments: There are many different residence buildings in Maastricht. Most students choose to live in the main Guesthouse (Brouwersweg C and P buildings). These buildings are similar to a North American res type building with big shared kitchens and bathrooms, and are a constant party. If you are looking to make a ton of friends and don’t mind a lack of privacy then these buildings are for you! They are a bit far from the Psych faculty though. I chose to live in Majellastraat, an apartment building close to the Psych and Medical Faculty (very far away from the main Guesthouse). I signed up to share a room so as to save money, but I ended up only having to share my room for 7 days. My roommate was a masters student and moved back to Italy and no one replaced her, which was cool because I got a single room at a double price! Majellastraat was an awesome place to live because all the exchange students got the ground floor apartments which shared a backyard where we had dinner parties and potlucks and study sessions together.
How early could students move in to housing at the beginning of term? When you sign up for the Guesthouse you tell them when you want to arrive and leave. I believe they are open year round so you can move in for whatever date you signed up for.
What options were available for meal plans orcooking facilities? All of the buildings had cooking facilities. Ie: (tiny!) fridge, and stove. No oven though. The people at my building pitched in and bought toaster ovens and someone had a bbq grill thing for outdoors which we all shared. There was no cafeteria or meal plan.
How satisfied were you with the food? Very, as I cooked it myself
How close are the residences to the university? It depends. There are many buildings. You have to check out the guesthouse website and pick one that works for you.
Could students stay in the residences during major holidays? I believe so, but I didn’t stay over Christmas so I’m not sure.
Which residence would you recommend to UVic students? It really depends on what kind of experience you want and what your budget allows.
If you lived in off-campus housing, how easy was itto find? I didn’t live in off campus housing, but there is a facebook page called Rooms/Kamer/Zimmer for Maastricht students looking for apartments.
What should future UVic exchange students know about living off-campus? Off campus housing is way cheaper and usually way nicer than the guesthouse residences, you just have to find it.
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COURSE REGISTRATION
How satisfied were you with the registration process at your partner university? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 3
Comments: There are a very limited amount of courses offered each term, so you pretty much have to pick whatever they are offering in English.
Please describe the registration process at your partner university. You just tell the Exchange office there what you want to take and they register you.
What kind of help was available?
How successful were you in registering for classesyou wanted? I got everything I wanted.
What advice would you offer to next year's exchange students about registrationat your partneruniversity? Maastricht’s courses are a bit tricky to transfer back to UVic. We had a meeting with Valerie Gonzales (the Psych advisor) to pick out classes and ensure they would transfer back. Their year is broken up differently than ours is. I went second semester and I took four courses. You take two classes in a term, and there are two terms in a semester. You also have the option of engaging in a research practical which adds a few more weeks onto the last term. This wasn’t explained to us very well beforehand so I didn’t do the practical, but I hear that it is good experience.
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ACADEMICS
How satisfied were you with the academic program at your partner university? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 4
Comments: Maastricht is one of the hardest Universities to go on exchange to. Prepare to do a lot of reading and self-led study. I am a Psych major in the Arts stream at home, but Maas focuses on Neuroscience. Essentially I ended up in advanced Neuroscience courses there when I had never even taken a basic neuro course at UVic. Tricky.
How did the style of teaching at your partner university comparewith that at UVic? Very Very Different. Maas has a completely difference educational system called Problem Based Learning. You get assigned to a tutorial group and you read a passage, decide as a group what the “problem” is, and then come up with learning goals for self guided study. You answer the learning goals on your own time, and then the next class you get together and discuss your answers. There are hardly any lectures, and the lectures are optional. The tutorial sessions are mandatory. There is no teacher in the class with you, but there is a student Tutor who is supposed to guide you if you are headed in the wrong direction. The exams are worth 100% of your grade, but if you fail you are given the opportunity to do a resit.
How did the workload compare to what you would expect at UVic? Pretty similar, but there is a lot more self guided work. You have to read everything and be very prepared for tutorial.
How many courses did you take in your first term abroad? 2.
Your second term? 2.
What would you recommend as an appropriate course load for other UVic students visiting your partner university? I took the max amount of courses you can per term (2 each). There are 2 terms in one semester. I think this is a reasonable amount of work to do.
What specific courses would you recommend to visiting UVic students? I really enjoyed Attention & Consciousness.
Why? During the course, it was very difficult. But when studying for the final, all the pieces fell into place and I realized how well put together the course topics were. It was very interesting and combined neuroscience and philosophy.
If you studied in a non-English speaking country, what was the availability of courses offered in English? There were enough courses offered in English to fulfill requirements. However the multiple choice exams kind of suck because the questions are first written in Dutch and then translated into English, so there are occasionally typos and bizarre wordings which can be a bit overwhelming during the exam.
What advice would you give UVic students about succeeding academically at yourpartner university? Do a good amount of readings. Don’t kill yourself by trying to read EVERYTHING, but do more than the bare minimum. You really wont get anything out of group discussion if you are not prepared.
What was your impression of the computer facilities, library, andinternet access at your partneruniversity? The library was good. I used mainly the psych library at the Randwyck campus, but later discovered the main UM library downtown. It has better everything and looks like Hogwarts, and is next the to the old roman city wall and river.
What electronic devices would you recommend a UVic student bring(laptop, PDA, etc.)? Obviously bring a laptop, and an iPod. I never thought I would want an iPad for anything, but I was jealous of people who had them there. They are just so perfect for taking backpacking and on weekend travels because they are so light. So I would recommend a tablet.
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COSTS
Please indicate currency: Euro
Books - per term: I spent about 75 Euro in photocopy and printing charges. Didn’t buy any books. Accommodation - per month: 350
Meals - per month: 150 (Could be cheaper for you. I am Vegan and had an obsession with this amazing soy yogurt that was super expensive but I was addicted to it anyways. Actual dairy products there are ridiculously cheap. Fruits are really expensive though. Save money and go to the Market on Wednesday and Friday(?) mornings).
Local transportation - per month: Buy a bike. I paid 60 Euro at Jules & You. I never rode the bus. Buy the most intense bike lock you can find. I’m Serious. And don’t leave your bike parked outside at night if you can avoid it. I’m even more serious about that.
Health insurance - per term: Mine was included in whatever plan I already have.
Personal spending - per term: Um. I can’t really put a price on this. Including Tuition, housing, weekend travels, and everything, my four months in Maas cost me about 8 grand. I know others who paid way more. I know others who paid way less. Make sure you do plan on having some contingency funds though, Whatever you budget you probably will end up needing more.
Communications (phone, etc.) - per term: I brought my blackberry and paid 11 euro a month for data, and about 25-30 for call credit. I was with Lebara at first and the phone calls to Landlines in North America were cheap, but I ended up switching to Vodafone.
Other university related fees - per term:
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EXTRA-CURRICULAR/SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
How satisfied were you with the out-of-class opportunities at your exchange site? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 3
Comments: I should forewarn that I am not an athletic person, so any and all sport clubs were off my radar. My roommate joined a badminton team and they had a great time together.
What organized activities (clubs, sports, etc.) were available to students? There is the MAC (Maastricht Athletic Club) gym that had drop in classes and organized sport teams, none of which I joined. I don’t believe their were any artsy related clubs (music, theatre, etc) that would have been more up my alley.
What extra-curricular activities would you recommend to future exchange students? Essentially the extracurricular social club that every exchange student belonged to was Erasmus. ESN is an organization committed to providing parties and social events for exchange students. Way2Go is another social group that plans cool weekend trips.
What do you recommend other visiting students see or do on their weekendsor holidays? Its up to your budget! I’d recommend riding your bike out of the city into the countryside. Most students leave Maastricht on the weekends. I only had to be at school one or two days a week max, so you have a lot of weekend time.
What opportunities were there for students to work on-campus? None that I’m aware of.
Off-campus? If you get the Working Holiday Program, you are legally allowed to work in the Netherlands. It will be hard to get a job though if you don’t speak Dutch.
What volunteer or internship opportunities were there for students? Not sure.
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SAFETY AND HEALTH
How safe did you feel at your exchange site? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is the best rating):
Rating: 5
Comments I think Maastricht itself is a much safer city than Victoria.
What are the biggest safety concerns for future exchange studentsgoing to your exchange site? For females: It is more acceptable for men to harass women there. I was followed a few times by men and offered money and heard many lewd remarks. If you need help and you ask for it, people are much less likely to come to your aid then they would be here in Canada. You are expected to take care of yourself. I don’t recommend for women to walk alone at night.
For guys AND girls: Everyone rides bikes, nobody wears helmets. Everyone drinks and bike rides as well. Personally I thought this was all a little bit weird. If you have been drinking maybe consider walking your bike home instead of riding it, I have seen a few crashes that weren’t pretty.