Dear readers,
I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying their return to work and/or school/university after the summer break. This will be my last blog on studying in Sweden as an exchange student. I've really enjoyed writing these blogs and hope that you, my readers, have found my blogs
1. Informative
2. Clarifying
3. to have opened your mind to studying in Sweden (either at SLU or at another Swedish higher educational institution).
4. Inspiring (I hope that some of my readers have felt inspired to go study abroad)
5. Fun to read
So after ten months of blogging for SLU I would like to ask the questions: where does this blog leave us (both myself as a writer and you as readers)? What do you as a reader and potential (exchange) student here in Sweden get from my blogs? What is my overall conclusion to studying at SLU in Uppsala, Sweden to complete my Master's?
Over the past ten months I have written about my experiences in Sweden, pro's and con's about studying here and have suggested things to do during your exchange year here in Sweden. I have really enjoyed blogging and communicating with people from all over the world. Blogging has been very fulfilling for me, and I actually realised that I really enjoy writing and conveying my thoughts to you, my readers. I hope that you have found my blogs similarly inspiring and enlightening.
What do you get from my blogs?
Well, that's a question for each of you to answer individually, but I think that my blogs provide a good general idea and overview of what it's like to study in Sweden. If you have any questions about studying here, simply read through my blog articles.
What is my overall conclusion to studying in Sweden?
Overall, I think studying at SLU as an Erasmus exchange student has been rewarding (completing my studies), enriching and fun. As with all international experiences, I think I grew the most by immersing myself in a culture and foreign country that I was previously not acquainted with or had ever visited. I got to know some really good, interesting and annoying people during my stay. That's part of life though, but I still think meeting new people from other cultures and living in another country (and climate) is always interesting.
I've had some great times in Sweden and some not so great times. I've had some excellent professors and impeccable and professional guidance from my professors. The hardest part about Sweden was the winter and the weather (for me at least). In my personal opinion, the weather really sucks in Uppsala. On the other hand, bad weather just makes the good days seem so much better!
Overall conclusion: do a study abroad year, whether it's in Sweden or somewhere else on this planet! I think it's a really great experience that you will not forget. I can only recommend SLU if you're a person that get easily distracted by all the various impulses and happenings that you'll commonly find in a (large) city environment. Uppsala is a small place (in my opinion) and I think it provides for a really good and pleasant study environment. There are not as many distractions as in other places I've been to (e.g. events, parties, places to go, etc.). Yes, Uppsala is very small, but I've really gotten alot of work done here, mainly because of just that reason. What did I ultimately come to Uppsala for? For studying, not partying!
SLU has some really friendly and supportive professors, and I urge you to sieze the opportunity to collaborate with one of SLU's professors! If you're looking for a good research opportunity, I definitely recommend SLU and Uppsala (especially if you don't mind the subarctic climate and a relatively laid back and in my opinion a little monotonous environment).
Well, that's it. There's my take on Sweden and SLU. I wish everyone the best of luck and success for their future endeavors, and who knows, you may read my materials again someday!
Best wishes to all!
Julian
P.S.: On the right hand side of my blog you will find "Blog Archive". Please click on the dates in order to find older blogs. Happy reading! :-)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Warm Summer Greetings to Everyone and Answer to a Study-Related Question
Dear readers,
I've been quite busy with moving these past two weeks. However, I am enjoying the summer weather that we've had. The past few days have been quite pleasant with temps around +23°C.
Recently, another blogger interested in Swedish Study-Abroad opportunites in the Uppsala area asked my the fellowing question:
[...] I recently graduated with a BS in History from a college outside of Chicago. I am considering studying abroad for my MA or perhaps PHD. I would love to read about the step you took leading up to attending SLU including expenses and the like.
-Another blogger (keeping the username private...)
This is a really great question to ask! Really relevant and really interesting question! I'm going to answer it!
LEADING STEPS...
Long story short I was in the United States working for the Forest Service as a Wildland Firefighter. I wanted to come back to Europe to study and live (I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, so I'm also a German and with that an EU citizen), so I applied to the EnvEuro European Master of Environmental Science programme. It's an EU program with universities in Denmark, Germany, Austria and Sweden. One year you have to study at one location and for your second year and during your thesis writing you have to study at another location. I chose to begin my studies at Uni Copenhagen and then for my second year I decided on SLU in Uppsala, Sweden. That's how I got to Sweden. For further information, here's the website of my program.
www.enveuro.eu
The leading steps again in short.
1. Wanted to come back to Europe, so I applied to the EnvEuro Programme
2. Got accepted into my academic programme and began studying in Copenhagen
3. Moved to Sweden for my second year of studies (at SLU, Uppsala)
You're probably interested in why I came back to study in Europe. In short I'm a European citizen. As a European citizen I did not have to pay any tuition. In addition, I received a European Erasmus Study Abroad Grant, so that help finance part of my second year in Sweden.
EXPENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS
Bottom line, as a European (EU) citizen I didn't have to pay tuition to attend uni. I had to pay rent. I had some money saved from work in the USA. That payed for the first half of the year in Copenhagen. Then, I found a job in Copenhagen to help pay for the rest of the time here in Denmark. In Sweden, my rent was around €380 per month and my Erasmus International Grant money payed for some of that. For the latter part of the academic year at SLU my parents helped with costs, I took out a small student loan and found a job.
Expenses in short again:
1. No tuition
2. €420 monthly rent in Copenhagen
3. €380 monthly rent living in SLU on-campus housing
4. (Sweden) food: approx. €200 monthly
5. Approx. €150 for moving from Denmark to Sweden
So there you have it. Steps leading up to attending SLU plus expenses and the like. Bottom line, I would keep in mind that as a NON-EU citizen you have to pay tuition if you attend SLU or many other European universities. Please keep that in mind and check out the tuition fees on the university webpage.
I really recommend coming to Sweden to study for your Master's or PhD. Sweden provides a good learning environment (at least at SLU Ultuna, I don't know about other Swedish universities), great professors (I've dealt with) and a pretty good/easy living environment. Once in the EU you have the opportunity to participate in a variety of European-wide study and exchange programs. More often than not these study abroad programs are supported by a variety of scholarships. Remember though, you don't get all of the perks if you're not an EU citizen or within the Schengen Economic area (countries within the EU economic zone).
I hope this blog has answered your questions and please feel free to ask other questions in the form of comments. Should there be anything else you're interested in, please just write the question in a comment to one of my blog posts! That would be great.
Fellow readers, have a pleasant day and look for my next blog sometime early next week!
Take care!
Julian
I've been quite busy with moving these past two weeks. However, I am enjoying the summer weather that we've had. The past few days have been quite pleasant with temps around +23°C.
Recently, another blogger interested in Swedish Study-Abroad opportunites in the Uppsala area asked my the fellowing question:
[...] I recently graduated with a BS in History from a college outside of Chicago. I am considering studying abroad for my MA or perhaps PHD. I would love to read about the step you took leading up to attending SLU including expenses and the like.
-Another blogger (keeping the username private...)
This is a really great question to ask! Really relevant and really interesting question! I'm going to answer it!
LEADING STEPS...
Long story short I was in the United States working for the Forest Service as a Wildland Firefighter. I wanted to come back to Europe to study and live (I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, so I'm also a German and with that an EU citizen), so I applied to the EnvEuro European Master of Environmental Science programme. It's an EU program with universities in Denmark, Germany, Austria and Sweden. One year you have to study at one location and for your second year and during your thesis writing you have to study at another location. I chose to begin my studies at Uni Copenhagen and then for my second year I decided on SLU in Uppsala, Sweden. That's how I got to Sweden. For further information, here's the website of my program.
www.enveuro.eu
The leading steps again in short.
1. Wanted to come back to Europe, so I applied to the EnvEuro Programme
2. Got accepted into my academic programme and began studying in Copenhagen
3. Moved to Sweden for my second year of studies (at SLU, Uppsala)
You're probably interested in why I came back to study in Europe. In short I'm a European citizen. As a European citizen I did not have to pay any tuition. In addition, I received a European Erasmus Study Abroad Grant, so that help finance part of my second year in Sweden.
EXPENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS
Bottom line, as a European (EU) citizen I didn't have to pay tuition to attend uni. I had to pay rent. I had some money saved from work in the USA. That payed for the first half of the year in Copenhagen. Then, I found a job in Copenhagen to help pay for the rest of the time here in Denmark. In Sweden, my rent was around €380 per month and my Erasmus International Grant money payed for some of that. For the latter part of the academic year at SLU my parents helped with costs, I took out a small student loan and found a job.
Expenses in short again:
1. No tuition
2. €420 monthly rent in Copenhagen
3. €380 monthly rent living in SLU on-campus housing
4. (Sweden) food: approx. €200 monthly
5. Approx. €150 for moving from Denmark to Sweden
So there you have it. Steps leading up to attending SLU plus expenses and the like. Bottom line, I would keep in mind that as a NON-EU citizen you have to pay tuition if you attend SLU or many other European universities. Please keep that in mind and check out the tuition fees on the university webpage.
I really recommend coming to Sweden to study for your Master's or PhD. Sweden provides a good learning environment (at least at SLU Ultuna, I don't know about other Swedish universities), great professors (I've dealt with) and a pretty good/easy living environment. Once in the EU you have the opportunity to participate in a variety of European-wide study and exchange programs. More often than not these study abroad programs are supported by a variety of scholarships. Remember though, you don't get all of the perks if you're not an EU citizen or within the Schengen Economic area (countries within the EU economic zone).
I hope this blog has answered your questions and please feel free to ask other questions in the form of comments. Should there be anything else you're interested in, please just write the question in a comment to one of my blog posts! That would be great.
Fellow readers, have a pleasant day and look for my next blog sometime early next week!
Take care!
Julian
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