Discovering Scandinavia through AARHUS

THE ACADEMICS:

The difficulty of the courses are real, you must make a strong attempt to pass them and be sure to pick courses you are actually familiar and interested with. Some professors have lenient attendance policies so you can skip that Monday morning class to travel Europe, but don't forget to hand in your final assignments.

STUDENT SOCIAL LIFE:

The buildings you study in are architectually pleasing, as the Danes take care with aesthetics. The student life is lively, every Friday night the classrooms of the school are turned into studentbars, serving the cheapest beer you'll ever see in Denmark. Each faculty has its own studentbar run by students, but you might spot your professor there some night ;). So let me give you some advice, the medicine bar is extremely crowded and you will lose your coat... But I suppose thats most bars anyway. When it isn't a Friday night or you want to head out of the student bars and into the city center, there are plenty of bars for you to visit. Kushtal, a student hotspot is a great place to start and has nights of unlimited beers for a certain duration. There's some Irish bar with quiz nights, so round up your smartest buddies and ace that quiz, if you win you'll get a bottle of liquor and some shot glasses! For the Scandinavian cigarette cool aesthetic vibes (to put it bluntly) check out Vinstuen. GBar is lgbt friendly and actually played some of the best music. 

For international students, you will have no problem meeting fellow internationals to befriend. Befriending the Danes, however? You'll have to make a strong effort, and don't be intimidated by their serious nature. After you get to cracking some jokes, or if they've had a couple drinks, they're as friendly as can be. (Their words, not mine). There are Danish language lessons offered but they are not free. You won't need to know any Danish to get around, the Danes will smile and switch to English. Unless you're sat next to an elderly Danish women on a Flixbus, you won't really encounter anyone who won't speak English there.

COSTS?:

Living in Aarhus is no cheap task. Rent on the lower end is about 400 USD. My apartment was arranged through the university, as I was an exchange student for a semester. I avoided eating out because of the high prices. Even their McDonalds are expensive, and you'll see it packed on late nights full of students. But don't be too shy of the food. So, from Sunshine Sandwich Bar on Nørregade you can get a hearty sandwich for under $7, an overlooked GEM! Also, you should get the Danish pastries. From the bakeries anywhere, everywhere, even the packaged ones from the food store- You will not want to miss out on their delicacies. So yeah the foods great, but expensive. 

TRAVELING EUROPE?:

If you plan on jetsetting around Europe during your time in Aarhus, it's certainly possible, but you'll be facing a longer journey than you might elsewhere. You'll have to take a train or bus to Copenhagen's airport, which can add hours onto your journey. There are other airports too though, in Aarhus and Billund, and you can take public transport easily to and from there. Did I mention the public transport is a bit expensive? Also, consider that other study destinations have cheaper flights around Europe than you'll get out of Copenhagen. But I did spot some 5 euro flights to London...

OVERALL CITY VIBES AND EXPERIENCE:

The city of Aarhus is a beautiful Scandinavian town, smaller than Copenhagen but maybe more closeknit and homey. There are so many places to have a picnic and wind down- at the gardens, the beach, the forest, the surrounding parks... There are museums in Aarhus and across Denmark that are reachable by bus for a day trip. The locals are so friendly, especially when you make an attempt at Danish, such as simple "thank yous" and mispronouncing their pastries. If you want to party a lot and be plastered on the weeknights, you can do it here easily. If you want to meet new people and make academic connections, you'll find that Aarhus attracts a broad spectrum of scholars who are really quite brilliant and have high aspirations. There are so many clubs to join and events for the international students. I could go on and on about Aarhus. I loved it there. If you can come to Aarhus, you really should.