University: Saint Mary’s University

Country: Canada

Continent: North America

Field of study: business administration

Study type:

Preparation

It has always been a big dream of mine to do a semester abroad in an English-speaking country. I only applied to Saint Mary’s University in September, but everything went smoothly. Two weeks after sending off the application documents, I received my acceptance and was able to take care of everything else. Check iamaccepted.com to see GRE at home vs GMAT online.

You should book the flight as early as possible, since flights to Canada are relatively expensive and direct flights are only possible from Frankfurt. Nevertheless, I still found a good offer. I booked through STA Travel, with whom MicroEdu has a cooperation, and I got another 4% discount on my flight.

Accomodation:

I decided against living on campus from the start because I wanted to experience real Canadian life. The dorm prices are also quite expensive and the rooms are really small.

Before I flew to Canada, I looked on various sites for shared rooms and I can recommend kijiji.com. There you will find many offers from students who would like to sublet their rooms. Still, I found it rather difficult to find something because most people wanted you to come by in person. But in the end I found a great apartment and got the room after a Skype interview with my roommate. The apartment was very central and only a 15-minute walk from the university.

University

With around 8,000 students, the university was already larger than my home university. Nevertheless, you don’t get lost on campus and you always meet familiar faces. Overall, the university is well equipped. It has a large library where books for the courses can also be borrowed. There are also many cafes and a Tim Hortons. The student club is also on the premises and you can eat well and party there.

Studies

Since I’m doing a master’s degree in international management in Germany, I also attended master’s courses at the SMU. These goods:

Managerial Accounting

This course is demanding if you don’t focus on this area during your studies. Nevertheless, the professor was always open to questions and if you sit down and learn, the course is also easy to do. I was lucky that I formed a study group with my fellow students and that way I was helped when I had problems. In the course you write a total of 3 exams and still have a few small assignments and group work.

Business Finance

I found this course the hardest, but I didn’t have much previous knowledge in this area. Nevertheless I learned a lot. In general, many financial mathematical formulas are used in the exams (with a formula sheet) but knowledge about financing is also queried in this way. There is also group work with several assignments that take a lot of time.

Leadership & Behavioral Process

This course is relatively easy. There is a lot of talk about leadership. In this course there will also be a big debate on different topics. So if you don’t like speaking in front of fellow students, you might want to take a different course.

Marketing Management: An Overview

This course is also relatively easy. Various case studies with proposals for marketing concepts must be submitted. There is also a team project about a product. The course was interesting but not comparable to German marketing courses.

Leisure

Halifax has a lot to offer and there is a lot to do here, especially in summer, but it’s also nice in winter. Besides various clubs in the city, there is also the student club on campus, where there are always different parties.

If you like shopping, you should go to the Mic Mac Mall in Darthmouth, as there is a larger selection. The boardwalk in Halifax on the waterfront is also very nice. There are many small cafes. You should definitely rent a car and travel around at the weekend or during the holidays. Peggy’s Cove or Cape Split are very nice.

In the winter, the university always offered trips to various nearby ski areas. The slopes are not comparable to Germany, but the ski pass is still a lot cheaper. You can also skate for free in Halifax in the winter. Simply hand in your ID as a deposit. Of course, you can also watch the national sport of ice hockey. If the varsity team is playing, you can even get in for free or watch a Halifax Mooseheads game. This then takes place directly in the big stadium.

The university also offers various sports courses. Everything from Zumba to spinning is included. You can also register for volleyball, badminton or other sports. I played volleyball and it was really cool because you get to meet other people.

Conclusion

I can only recommend a stay abroad and Halifax is super beautiful. I met a lot of cool people here and also improved my English. It is also a good experience to have studied at a foreign university, as the courses and learning content are different. The university offers a lot of activities and you never get bored. Travel as often as possible in your free time. Canada really has a lot to offer.