Hello Internet!
I just wanted to do a quick introduction just in case you thought my profile just wasn't personal enough. My name is Magdalena, but everyone calls me Maggie. It makes life a bit simpler.
I am currently studying in Germany at the University of Mannheim, a wonderful business school. I went on exchange through the OBW program and I really like that I chose it because they help you out a lot during the whole exchange process. Oh, and you get a lot of free stuff from them, including a $2,500 scholarship to help you out through the year!
Sometimes the amount of orientations can be a bit overwhelming. I remember in April and May I had to go to three or four orientation sessions because they were hosted by different programs. I believe it is possible to be too oriented. But after all those sessions you really knew what was important because you heard it several times. For example, coming to Germany you need to buy German health insurance in order to register for courses.
For the most part there's a lot of overlap in the sessions, but sometimes there are key differences which can cause major confusion. This year it dealt with the Visas. Basically a visa just allows you to enter and exit a country. The OBW program claimed that as a student coming from Canada with a Canadian passport you did not need a visa to enter Germany. Carleton said to check with the German Embassy in Ottawa. The Embassy said that you needed one. So you do, but you don't. After coming here I've realized that it's much easier if you do get one that lasts the duration of your stay and that gives you unlimited amounts of re-entry (super important if you want to travel!). If you have a visa, then you don't need to get a permanent citizen's card here in Germany and that is a long a bureaucratic hassle that lasts a few weeks.
That being said, Mannheim University offers many services to incoming international students to make sure that you get settled in as quickly and painlessly as possible. They offer:
The International Summer Academy runs in August and is an amazing way to meet many of the International students that will be studying with you for the year, as well as improving your language and exploring the nearby cities. The language course offers five ECTS credits which are transferable to Carleton credits (yay!) so you already get some credit before real school even starts! Also VISUM, which is a student club, offers many excursions to Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Heidelberg and more during the month so everyday there is something fun to do.
German Language courses are offered throughout the semester and you can gain credit for those as well. They have from the most detailed grammar courses to the more fun oral communication courses offered in all levels of instruction.
Many of the business courses taught in Mannheim are offered in English but there are still plenty that are instructed in German. Be careful which courses you choose because you still need 1.0 credits taught in German (only if you're BIB).
The Buddy Program is another wonderful VISUM tool for international students. This program pairs exchange students with Mannheim students and in theory they are here to answer questions, help out in any way and even pick you up from the train station. I think it's wonderful just because my Buddy is amazing and has helped me out a ton since I got here. Others don't really like this program because their Buddies were never around so this program can be a hit or miss depending on your Buddy.
Lastly, VISUM: the international student's best friend. They organize amazing excursions to nearby cities, have Stammtisch every Monday night (will explain about this more later), offer support for any questions or problems you might have and create events so that everyday there is something happening somewhere. They basically offer you the chance of being so busy that you don't have the time to be homesick!
Thank you for reading my first post. There will be many more to come with as much information about school as excursions!
Keep on travelling!