In the summer of 2009, I had the opportunity to do a short semester abroad during my bachelor’s degree at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich. During my online research I came across topschoolsoflaw.com and I was very happy with the support. The employees were of great help to me and were always available as contact persons.
The decision to go to Canada was made very quickly because I wanted to go further afield. And so I came to Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The application went extremely smoothly. And then I was quickly assigned, so that I still had enough time to calmly prepare for my stay abroad.
A North American university straight out of the book: its own huge football stadium, cheerleaders, basketball and volleyball teams, and of course all very successful!
In addition to the classrooms, the library, the tower (a fitness center), some accommodation options and, of course, administrative facilities are located on the fairly manageable and therefore very pleasant campus.
On site, too, I almost always met polite people who were happy to help.
If you are looking for a residence, I recommend the Rice Residence, because you also have the option of self-catering, whereas in Loyola Residence (I lived there) only has a microwave and a refrigerator – but it is often stolen from. since it is in the common room. I reported the incidents, but no results came out. In addition, my room, with a very nice view of the entire city from the 21st floor, was unfortunately only very small. Visitors are actually not allowed. But if you do well, you can do it. Almost everyone does it there anyway.
Everyone has internet access in their room, I had problems at first, but then I contacted the responsible office and they helped me directly.
I recommend Tim Horton’s, a coffee shop that is extremely good value for money, but you should get in line early in the morning if you want to have a coffee-to-go before the course – peak times! You will meet very friendly staff and delicious delicacies!
Now to the course: I had taken Quantitative Methods II. That sounds difficult, but the content corresponds a lot with business mathematics. I loved the challenge of doing everything in English. My teacher, Miss Milica Saagh, was excellent in my eyes. She gave 3 hours of lessons twice a week. Usually we were even allowed to leave a little earlier. She also took a break in between.
I liked the principle of assignments, which means that homework had to be handed in almost every week, which was also graded later. In total, 20% of these are received. I think this principle is excellent, as it encourages every student to stay on the ball and not just learn once for the final exam, as is very often the case at German universities.
In Halifax there was an intermediate and a final exam.
Fortunately, I was able to earn some extra money as a tutor (an average of $ 15- $ 20 per hour). Since the course fees are very high, especially for external students (courses are twice as expensive for foreigners compared to domestic students!).
Please also note that these so-called fees do not include the cost of any teaching material. My book was quite expensive at $ 150, but I bought it at an online book market (link from the Uni-Bookstore) for $ 60.
Sufficient printing facilities and computers are available. At the beginning you will receive an additional student ID in addition to your matriculation number with which you can then log in.
Finally we come to the leisure activities:
Halifax is a city where there is always something going on. From the jazz festival to the popular Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning to the Tall Ship Festival. There are numerous restaurants, shopping centers (the well-known Mic Mac Mall, only accessible by bus, as it is located in Dartmouth, I found it not that impressive), clubs and bars. The waterfront is beautiful and a sunset is worth it.
What is certain is that once you have explored Halifax a little, the surroundings, Nova Scotia, especially Cape Breton, should not be missed. We saw whales and the so-called mosses (Canadian moose) in the national park. We were also on Prince Edward Island. A nice piece of earth, but it is very calm and we saw it during a big storm. Speaking of which, during my two-month stay I also had the pleasure of witnessing a hurricane live. Fortunately, there was hardly any damage this time, but the residents were also very well prepared as a similar storm destroyed half the port a few years ago.
To conclude, I can only recommend this university and I think two courses are feasible during a summer school. During the regular semester times, there is sure to be a lot more going on!
AIESEC is a very active local community that you are welcome to participate in.
