Erasmus Experience in Leuven, Belgium by Jessica

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Why did you choose to go to Leuven, Belgium?

I choose to spend my exchange semester in Leuven because I wanted to go to a place from where it is easy to travel. As Belgium is located in the heart of Europe and Leuven is so close to Brussels, Leuven was the perfect place for me. Nevertheless, KU Leuvens faculty of law is a highly ranked faculty, which made the decision even easier for me.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I stay in Leuven from 15. 9. 14 - 31. 1. 15. The scholarship i got from Erasmus through my home university was 900 euros for the whole semester.

What is the student lifestyle like in Leuven?

As a hugh university town, students can pretty much choose themselves what kind of student lifestyle they want to live. Leuven offers a lot of parties almost every day, but the city as also good language schools and other evening activities.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Leuven to other students?

Leuven is a small cosy town and the University is OK. I would though not recommend Leuven for people who look for living the big city life, as Leuven then easy can get quite boring.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Leuven?

No, I found my studio from a private landlady through the Universitys site kotwijs.be

How much does it cost to live in Leuven?

My rent is 475€/month.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

When reading the dutch language is quite understandable when having swedish as mother tongue and speaking english. But spoken dutch is really hard to understand. The University offers free dutch courses. The CLT language school offers language courses in other languages than dutch, I attended a French course that cost me 90€ for one semester.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Leuven from your city?

Flying to Brussels, and then train from Brussels airport to Leuven.

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