London
As expected, London is an exciting city. I lived in the West-Hampstead district myself, which was pretty central. In the beginning it was a bit of a culture shock. But I actually got used to the British very quickly. Compared to a German, the Londoner is usually more liberal and open, if you can do a generalization at all. Even the officials seemed to me a little more cordial and less strictly conservative than in Germany.
The things that immediately strike you are the facts that the city is not as clean as the German average and that the traffic is more chaotic. Pedestrians are not really impressed by red traffic lights and march as long as no cars are racing towards them. And left-hand traffic then adds to the total confusion. To be honest, after 4 months I caught myself looking the wrong way before crossing the street. Fortunately, nothing ever happened.
Another problem with London is the astronomical rents. Anyone who has ever lived in major German cities can imagine what I’m talking about. But London surpasses it by far. I paid around 900 euros for a very small, modest 1-room apartment. Of course, students from richer families have less of a problem with this. However, you have no problem at all to find accommodation. Both on your own via the Internet and through estate agents, who are a dime a dozen in London.
It has to be said at this point, however, that in my opinion the advantages of London far outweigh the disadvantages. On the one hand, there is the diversity of cultures, languages and worldviews. In London there is everything the globe has to offer.
On the other hand, the city is very lively. Even at night and on Sundays there is always something going on. There are not those times when everything is dead on Sunday. There is always an open eatery, restaurant and shop in every corner. I’ve been an absolute fan of shops that are open on Sundays since London.
There is so much to see in London that you just can’t cover it all. The imposing financial district in Canary Wharf, the imperial historic buildings that are all over London and much more. What impressed me most personally is the moment you emerge from the underground in Piccadilly Circus. The place is incredibly dynamic. On the one hand you have these huge electronic billboards (similar to Times Square in New York) and on the other hand there are centuries-old imperial buildings everywhere, then restaurants, shops, busy intersections, office buildings and an incredible number of people. Often you walk along there and pass a German group, a Polish couple, a French school class, etc.
What I absolutely loved is the public transport network. Buses and underground run so often and in all directions that you have no problem getting anywhere. A monthly student pass costs around £ 70 and is definitely worth it.
Much is said about the European Business School London. If you google the reputation of the EBSL on the Internet, you practically only discover gossip in various threads. But hardly any of them were really there. They only spread hearsay rumors.
To everyone who is interested in the university: Folks, don’t be impressed by this bullshit. The comments are very one-sided and mostly just wrong! And the perceived reputation / quality of the university with (even top-class) employers is better than the blasphemers claim!
It is often said that at EBS many students come to the university in luxury cars, that the university is only for the rich and that the quality is still not that good. It is true that some students come to university with the Lamborghini or Audi R8. Lots of girls walk around with Gucci bags, sunglasses and well-styled. However, these people are not the majority, and most of them are not performing well. But they don’t do you anything and you can safely ignore them if you are not into that kind of thing. This showing off is a problem for the younger generation and has something to do with immaturity. However, I would like to say again at this point: They are not in the majority and at no point did I have the feeling that I was at a “rich university”. The LSE, the university, which has the highest reputation in the UK for business and is a state university, is much more expensive than the private EBSL. So the argument of the rich doesn’t really work.
Protzen is very rarely or not at all to be found in the master’s degree programs, because everyone has a more adult / professional attitude. But it is also clear that you will hardly find anyone at this university who is left-wing.
90% of the students at EBSL are non-British. You quickly notice that most of them speak at least 3 languages. Languages are massively promoted and trained at the university. Most of the students, however, come from German and Russian speaking countries.
Some claim that the EBSL has a FH status. Let me make one thing clear here: The EBSL does not have a FH OR university status according to the German understanding! This typical German distinction simply does not exist in the UK and is not practiced by anyone. When accepting students, the EBSL makes no difference whether they come from a German university or a university of applied sciences. On the other hand, a German employer who does not live behind the moon does not care whether he should classify an applicant from EBSL as a college or university graduate. The classification makes no sense.
The EBSL does not appear in rankings. And you already have an abundance of “experts” who believe that this has something to do with the quality of the university. I spoke to those responsible. I’ll make it very brief: EBSL has only been around for less than 30 years and is private. She is currently going through a restructuring process in connection with Regent’s College, the umbrella organization of the EBSL. There are actually a couple of legal and formal procedures that are ongoing at the moment and the EBSL should also appear in rankings in the future.
I myself did my bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Münster, at a university that is highly regarded in this field. I am now doing my Masters in Global Banking & Finance at EBSL. I say quite honestly: The EBSL and the professors don’t need to hide from anyone. I learned a lot there in one semester and I think the quality of the teaching is great. But I’ll go into that in more detail below.
The field of expertise
In the Master of Science course called Global Banking & Finance, a lot is asked of you, but also taught a lot if you are motivated. You have to be motivated because a large part of the learning process is transferred to you. You get a lot to read and a lecture (almost 3 hours) a week in each subject. If you leave out self-reading, you could possibly have problems with coming along and shortly before the exam you won’t be able to read everything. Overall, if you want to get good grades, I assume a weekly workload of around 50-60 hours. Read more experience for studying abroad on Microedu.
In each subject you have to give a presentation (30 min) on a specific topic in the group. A group report (2500-5000 words) must then be submitted on the same topic. The report and presentation each make up 25% of the grade and the final exam makes up the other 50%. You can choose the groups or topics. I’ve never learned so much about teamwork and now I understand how important the chemistry between members can be. I hardly had that at all at the University of Münster. But this team training is infinitely important for professional life, regardless of whether you later end up in marketing, M&A or consulting.
The fact that these team appearances are possible and evaluated is due to the small “classes”. You are usually in a group of 20-25 people in one room in each subject. It is really as clear as in the school class. And the groups are 2-3 people. Everyone knows each other. You’re not as anonymous as at large universities. But this also means that you can’t hide and questions are clarified much faster.
The UK grading system is different. I cannot describe everything here. You shouldn’t even try to translate this 1: 1 into German. There are relatively good descriptions on the internet. The best grade is when you have> 70%. However, you hardly ever get over 73-74%. That’s really good. I myself have only had these top marks so far. So: it is doable. In any case, it is cool that the professors tell you relatively clearly what will happen before the exam. As far as I know, it is often the same at other universities in Great Britain.
Some claim that it is better to go to the LSE or LSB in London to do a master’s degree, because these are so beautifully theoretical at these universities. I wonder though, where is the argument here? Theoretically = good? Let me now compare the theoretical burden of the University of Münster and the EBSL. In Münster I had to endure quite a bit of theory. At the EBSL there is actually no less theory, but really only the relevant theories are dealt with and / or they are not sucked out as much as at some other universities. The EBSL (at least in my master’s course) is more about teaching the student what principles banks and other financial institutions work on. This of course also includes theories such as CAPM and the extent to which they are useful at all.
