Kristin Temple Anderson, Bremen UAS

University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA


Pros:

• Professors were very helpful. They know the US system well and were really able to help us understand which classes were best to take and how the differences would play out. Whenever we had questions they went out of their way to help us.
• The summer fremdsprachen course and the staff were excellent. Without that we would have been completely lost in everything and felt very uncomfortable. That was the best thing that happened to us.
• My classes were good.



Cons:

• I felt very confused before getting to Bremen about how things were going to play out. We were not very well informed as to what we needed, where we needed to be, how the year would be.
• Determining which classes to take and which we could take was very difficult and we were very confused. We often felt like we had no guidance.
• Internships: We needed more guidance and help earlier on as to where to find an internship.
• Visas: There was a lot of confusion about what documents we would need for our internships. This should be discussed before the students even get to Germany or immediately after.
• Housing. I would have much rather lived in a situation where I could speak German. Maybe a host family would have been a good opportunity.
• Making friends with German students. It was very hard to make contact with Germans at the school. We did not receive a buddy like the Erasmus students did. This would have been very helpful.



Suggestions:

• Supply more information to the students before they arrive.
• Assign buddies at the beginning of the semester or before the students even arrive.


Contact Kristin via UAS Bremen's International Office: sgonina@verw.hs-bremen.de