Anne pursued her Erasmus Mundus Master's degree in Public Policy. She found this programme after researching various degrees via Studyportals. We asked Anne about her experience of searching and applying to a university abroad.
Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your name? How old are you? Where are you from?
I’m Anne, 25, from Cologne in Germany.
Where are you studying now? What university and programme are you enrolled in? What degree are you pursuing and how long is your programme?
I first started studying classical singing in Maastricht in the Netherlands for 2 years. After one year, I decided that I wanted to deepen my knowledge in the area of Political Science and thus started another study, simultaneously, at the Open University in Hagen, Germany.
However, after a year, I decided to completely focus on political sciences. As studying at an open university doesn’t necessarily involve meeting people, I started a Bachelor’s in Social Sciences at the University of Cologne and finished it after 2 years.
Since September 2015 I am now part of the Erasmus Mundus Master in Public Policy. During my first year, I am studying Public Policy at Central European University in Budapest before going to Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals for another year in 2016.
Why did you want to study abroad?
I have always been very keen to learn more about different cultures and always tried to spend as much time as possible abroad. When I heard about this programme, that would combine going abroad for 2 years and studying at 2 prestigious European universities, my decision was settled.
How did Studyportals help you?
Studyportals helped me a lot with finding alternatives to my programme. Even though I didn’t find my first choice through the portal, I got an overview about other possibilities which helped me defining what I really want.
What were your main priorities when choosing your university and your programme (e.g. academics, accommodation, university services & facilities, personal & professional development, city & culture, cost & funding, practicalities, social life)?
After looking up the Erasmus Mundus Master’s programmes, I quickly took the decision to study public policy. When applying for this programme, I could choose between 4 universities (CEU, IBEI, ISS and University of York) with different specifications.
As I wanted to do Global Public Policy I “had” to go to Budapest and Barcelona. However, these were also my favourite cities in the programme.
Was this your first study choice? What other universities did you consider? What was the main reason of your final choice?
This programme was my first choice and also the first application I sent. However, I also got accepted for a Master’s programme at SciencePo and started applications for some other double degrees at SciencePo, Lazarski University in Poland and Kent in the UK.
As I wanted to do a double degree and as the universities I could go to with this programme were internationally approved, this programme seemed like a perfect choice.
Did you take a language test (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS) when applying for the programme? If yes, which one did you choose, why and how was your experience with it?
I had to take a language test and chose for IELTS as you will get your results after 13 days. Compared to the horror stories I heard about TOEFL, IELTS was really fine. I had the impression, that is was very much as the exercises we did at school or for Cambridge exams and on the day before the exam I also found out that there are a lot of webpages supposed to help you getting ready for the test.
Nevertheless, it went very well and the supervisors were nice. The only negative thing was that we didn’t have a break between the different parts, meaning that we had to stay focused for 3 or 4 hours and couldn’t go to the toilet as that would have meant less time for the exam.
What would be your advice for students from your country that consider to study abroad?
Get informed at an early stage of your studies! The deadline for my programme for applying for scholar- and fellowships already was in January!
How did you finance your stay abroad and what financial advice would you give to future students?
I still don’t know how I will finance my studies abroad as the tuition is quite high. Maybe I’ll get a student loan or apply for some scholarships if I don’t get Bafoeg, the German governmental student loan.
Why would you (not) recommend this particular city / university? How would you rate your experience on a scale from zero to ten (0 – It was a total disaster, 10 – I had the time of my life)?
As I just started in Budapest I can’t really rate the university. Until now people seem very committed to making this stay a great experience for the students and everybody is very nice. The programme seems very “schoolish” and the university is like a bubble in beautiful Budapest.
There’s a lot of reading that we have to do, but the topics are mostly interesting and an incredible amount of policy briefs or other papers that we have to produce during the trimester. The city definitely deserves a 10, I can really, really recommend coming here!
Is there anything that you would do differently if you could do it over again?
I would settle earlier for one programme and also start thinking about a Master’s even earlier, as the deadlines for many scholarships, like the DAAD were in November (so, before I even started my application for the programme).
What was the biggest surprise in your study abroad adventure?
Until now, the biggest surprise was that my fellow students are incredibly nice. The programme was described as extremely competitive, so such nice and helpful people around me were a pleasant surprise.
Were you inspired by Anne‘s story?
