For many years it has been my wish to spend a semester abroad. However, the goal was unclear to me at the beginning because there were too many countries and too many universities to choose from. At first I was overwhelmed by the mass of possibilities, but MicroEDU made it possible for me to get an overview and to compare different universities. After a short time my goal was clear: I want to go to Capilano University in Vancouver ! A few brief information about myself: During my semester abroad, I was in my fifth bachelor’s semester in the degree course in economics with a focus on business education at the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg.
Organization
The documents for the application were thanks to the clear checklist, we got together quickly and any questions were always answered quickly and in a super friendly manner by the MicroEDU Team. Thanks a lot for this! Quick tip: If you need a course outline in advance for your home university, get in touch with MicroEDU. These already have a small collection from previous semesters and your desired course may also be there! Unfortunately, nothing happened for a long time after MicroEDU sent the documents to Capilano University. But then the long-awaited letter of offer finally came in mid-June. This offer was then accepted by transferring a tuition deposit of 5,000 CAD to Capilano University (so be aware that this amount is due as a deposit before the start of the semester). Visit iamaccepted.com to get information about Brazil higher education.
University
I found the campus of Capilano University to be beautiful. The university is located in the north of Vancouver on the edge of a forest. Both inside and outside there are plenty of seats that allow you to either study in peace (there are, for example, special silent rooms in the library) or to meet up with friends. The equipment in the rooms was also great for all of my courses. There is a kind of cafeteria in which you can buy sushi, pizza, Asian dishes, fresh smoothies etc. and also a subway and Tim Hortons. If you live in the residence, you will also receive CAD 500 loaded onto your student card, which you can then use for meals at the university.
Courses
In general, it can be said about the courses that the effort is much higher compared to Germany. The final grade of a course is made up of many individual achievements (yes, there are also achievements that only count 1 percent of the final mark), which can sometimes be very frustrating and exhausting. However, in my experience, the general level of difficulty is lower.
BADM 302 Human Resource Management at Kathryn Taft:
HRM was the most demanding of my modules because Kathryn has high expectations of her students and can be a bit confusing at times. At first I was very skeptical, but in the end I got along really well with her. Kathryn discusses questions in the textbook during the semester. Write down all the information that she says or that you have collected in the group, as these questions will then also be addressed in the exam!
BFIN 233 Managerial Accounting at Jane Raycraft:
Managerial accounting was really easy compared to Germany. Jane is a very, very, very, very lively person. She jumps across the room, tosses candy, distributes chocolate when tasks have been completed correctly – I won’t forget that anytime soon.
BADM 218 Leadership in Teams with Bettina Boyle:
My absolute hate course, which was also very much due to my group. You work with the same group for the entire semester and all grades in this course are group grades (the midterm is also written in the group!) Unfortunately, I had a lot of bad luck with my group and therefore this course was pure agony and a lot of work for me.
Dorm
I lived in the dormitory during my stay and didn’t regret this decision overall.
The dormitory consists of three residential buildings. There is also a cafeteria, a sports hall and a football field. I was in a room with double occupancy on a purely girls’ hallway. There was a shower and toilet room for common use and a common room on each corridor. The rooms are simply furnished. Each room has two beds, two desks and two wardrobes. You shouldn’t expect a culinary experience in the cafeteria, but it increased in the course of our semester and the selection became more diverse (at the beginning there was really rice with a different side dish every day). But for me the dorm was great because of the people I met there.You got into conversation with others very quickly and you always had someone to do something with.
Vancouver and excursion and travel destinations
Vancouver is a wonderful city to live in and definitely enchanted me with its charm. Downtown there are so many corners to discover that I had things on my to-do list until the end that I could no longer see. The people in Vancouver are very nice, warm and helpful. A must see while in Vancouver are the Rocky Mountains. We spent a long weekend in this beautiful nature and I can only recommend it to everyone. I also used Vancouver’s location to go on a road trip to the USA through Washington and Oregon with a friend over the reading break. A day trip to the Joffre Lakes or the Garibaldi Lake. If you still have time after your semester, I can also recommend a trip to Hawaii because the flights from Vancouver are very cheap and if you come to Vancouver a few days / weeks before the start of the semester, a trip to Vancouver Island is a great idea. As you can see, there are countless ways to travel.
Finances
Travel is of course one of the things that should be booked on your individual financial account. However, the cost of living in Vancouver, in addition to the tuition fees, is really not to be underestimated. I have the stay through a foreign student loan, a scholarship and savings financed. Regarding Bafög abroad, it should be mentioned that the processing takes a long time, the application itself should be submitted 6 months before the start of the program and the missing documents will be submitted as soon as you are at the university. However, even then it took me until the end of October for the money to be transferred. So plan that you have to bridge a few more weeks / months before you will receive ongoing payments. As a guideline for you: I paid around 10,000 CAD for the tuition fees, dormitory with meal plan and other compulsory costs of Capilano University (e.g. compulsory health insurance, student union amounts).
Conclusion
My time in Vancouver was wonderful and I don’t regret taking this step. But no matter whether you choose this university or another: Do it! It is a time you will not soon forget!
