I was able to spend my semester abroad at York St John University in the beautiful north of England. After a long decision-making process, I decided for myself to complete the semester in another European country and so I looked for suitable universities through MicroEDU. I liked YSJ from the start and so the decision was made very quickly.
Thanks to MicroEDU, the application process was also quite easy. The acceptance came very quickly and the choice of course was also very straightforward. There is a module catalog on the university’s homepage and as a business student I was able to choose from the full range of modules at the business school. Even when I made a change of course at short notice because my home university wanted a change, everything went really well.
Since the student residences are recommended in the experience reports, I also applied for a place in Limes Court and was lucky enough to live with four British people. I would also like to recommend this experience to others, even if it has to be taken into account that you usually have “freshmen”, i.e. quite young roommates. The way from the dormitory to the university is 15-20 minutes, depending on the walking pace, and about 25 minutes to the city center. I bought a cheap bike and sold it on at the end of the semester. This significantly reduces the distance to the university and into the city.
I can only say positive things about the university itself. I took three 3rd year courses and was very happy with them. In general, one can say that each course is structured in such a way that there are only 1-2 hours of lectures and there is usually a seminar in this subject on the same day in which the material from the lecture is discussed and deepened. I heard from other exchange students who took courses from the first and second year that they were already very basic. The courses I chose varied in difficulty, and I can particularly recommend International Business Economics at Greig Mill. The lectures were very complex, but he understood in his competent way how to present the complicated interrelationships of the international economy.
What course I cannot 100% recommend is Management Accounting and Management Control at Susan Webster. That wasn’t necessarily due to Susan, who put in a lot of effort, nor was it due to the course content, which was quite interesting. The problem was that there were 25 exchange students on this course, 22 of whom were Chinese. Unfortunately, this did not result in any real discussion in the seminars, and there was no contact with British fellow students here.
But what I can say about all courses is that the professors’ supervision is much more intensive than in Germany. You can definitely always go to the lecturers and ask questions about seminar papers or lecture content. If you need more intensive help, there is the possibility of booking individual tutorials with the professors. So if you are diligent and open your mouth when you have problems, you shouldn’t have to worry about your academic performance.
The university campus is also great. Located with a view of the historic city walls, it is a nice mix of old buildings that have been very nicely preserved and the very modern library and business school. In addition, it is not that big and spacious, which I also really liked.
According to Toppharmacyschools, York itself is a real pearl in the industrial north of England. The city center is full of history and interesting sights, and a walk on the city walls is also not to be missed. Countless cafes and small shops are really fun when you are not at university, and you can meet up with friends or write on your seminar paper in a cozy café.
The north of England also has a lot to offer in other ways. York is ideal for traveling to all of England and also Wales and Scotland by train. You can get to the coastal towns of Whitby and Scarborough very quickly and it is also super fast and easy in Scotland. To save money, you should definitely apply for the Railwaycard 16-25. It costs £ 30 and saves a third of the cost of your ticket on every train journey. That pays for itself quickly and is definitely worth it.
In conclusion, I can only say that I had a great time at YSJ and that I definitely don’t want to miss that time. I will definitely visit this city more than once and will always look back on this time with joy.
