Luiss Guido Carli University (Rome)

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1 exchange application process PREPARATION I decided to go to LUISS, Rome. So you have to start with writing a motivation letter, upgrade you CV, make a studyplan and a financial plan. Then your own university will select you/nominate you. After that It's easy to apply for LUISS. They give you a lot of instructions how to register and apply. They sent you an with all the steps. They even give you a reminder. So after the nomination from Utrecht University just follow the instructions in the s LUISS sent you. counselling & support at Utrecht University Make sure you go to all the information nights/presentations of the International Office. They prepare you for everything what will happen before, during and after your exchange. If you have a deadline, be early! Go to the International Office, that is faster than an . academic preparation For Italy you don't really need preparation. Just take a look at all the courses and choose already your courses. You can choose every course you like. If you just pay attention in the lessons you will be fine. No preperation needed. language preparation Its really hard to learn Italian. They offer you an language course at LUISS, but that one is very chaotic, there are a lot of students and you don't have that much lessons. At least not enough to learn the language. Probably all your courses are in English and the people at LUISS speak quite good English, so at the University you don't have to use Italian. So It's a good idea to have Italian lessons before you go to Rome. Otherwise is really hard to learn the language. finances You don't have finances with your preperations. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD If you want to go to LUISS and follow just law courses that's not possible. The law courses which you can apply for in English will have overlap with your courses which you have done in Utrecht. The University in Utrecht is really strict in that. So it's such a shame that Utrecht University offer you a study abroad and you can't take enough law courses. LUISS has also great courses in Political Science and Business Economics, so if you want to expand your knolledge you will be fine at LUISS. academic quality of education activities LUISS is a private school and that shows. You get a lot of opportunity's to meat eminent persons who are active in poltics, law or in the business world. The level of business economics is quite high. I think the same in the Netherlands, the level in Law courses is really low and Political Science in the middle. The level of education in Itlaly is lower than in the Netherlands. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The International office of LUISS is great and they are really helpfull. If you send them an they will respond the same day.

2 transfer of credits It's now 18 februari 2016 and the semester ends officially 13 februari 2016, so I haven't received my transcript of credits yet. They will send it to your home university, so Utrecht University. It's nice to know that LUISS also has the ECTS-system. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE There is a LUISS Welcome Week. You get to know all the exchange students and they show you around at LUISS. Go to the Welcome Week! It's a fun opportunity to get to know other students, to get to know the traditional Italian places and to get to know the university a little bit better. accommodation Rome is more expensive than Utrecht. If you want to rent a room you will pay euros. If you are on a really good location maybe 800. It's hard to get a room for less than 500 euro. leisure & culture With your LUISS student card you get a discount for museums and other cultural places like the cinema etc. Also every first sunday of the month a lot of museums are for free. suggestions/tips Public transport is cheaper if you pay 35 euro for a card. You can travel the whole month with it. It's also really cheap to eat at LUISS. You get really good meals and a lot (pasta, meat or fish and a side dish). It's only 3 euro. Don't buy your studybooks at a bookstore. There are a lot of printshops around LUISS. They offer you the book for less. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes, I will recommend. LUISS is a beautiful university in the middle of Rome. They have amazing facility's and they support you well. Only if you want to go to LUISS and follow only law courses then I wouldn't recommend you LUISS, because the courses will overlap your law courses at Utrecht University. do you have any additional advice or comments? The first semester at LUISS is from 10 september till 13 februari, so you would think that you have to be there till the 13 th of februari. This is not the case, because LUISS has three examination periods. The first starts already in the middle of december. So if you pass all your exams in december you're already done. Keep that in mind! It's the same for the second semester exchange application process PREPARATION It was really easy to prepare and applicate for the exchange. When you re sure about at which university you want to study abroad then you can arrange everything really quickly. counselling & support at Utrecht University The responses at the International Office at Utrecht were really slow or sometimes they did not respond at all so I had to send another . That cost me so much time and because of that I was not able to be on time for some deadlines. Probably it was because some people went away and other people just start to work there but

3 it was pretty annoying. After all they helped me and they gave me antoher deadline so it was okay in the end but at first I was a bit stressed about it. academic preparation I had to pass for some courses at Utrecht University before my departure and that was a bit stressy because of some problems I had at home but without that it would be fine. The only thing is that you need to pass for all your first year courses so that is ok. language preparation I passed a legal English course before my departure. It was pretty cool and for some courses in Italy it worked out great that I did that. finances The Erasmus grant really helped me but it is not enough because the rent is really expensive in Rome. But my father also helped and I worked hard before my departure to make it all possible. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD In Italy people are never on time so it was weird to be 5 minutes late and still be on time. Even the proffessors were always late and even when you had to make an exam. I could choose between a lot different courses so that was pretty cool and even master courses. They were much harder than the bachelor courses but they used less Italian. During the bachelor courses the students and even the teachers were using Italian now and then so it was harder to understand but I could always mail the teachers in English with questions and then they would respond in English. academic quality of education activities The courses at the Economic faculty were much harder than the law courses but maybe that was because I study law. The lectures were clear but sometimes the teachers started to speak in Italian and then it was really hard to understand and their Engelish was so bad that they could only read it from the slides. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The International Office people were really nice and they helped me with everyting! If I had a question about something that they did not know about then they would still help me. Also the teachers were really helpful and nice. transfer of credits The credits were uploaded on the portal at the same day that the grade was shown. So that was good. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE It was clear and made easy but there was only one thing that went wrong with me and that was the important thing that they did not let me know at what time I had to be at the University on the arrival date. But I went early in the morning so I could ask at the University and everything went fine from then but that was funny. accommodation I had a great accomodation at Piazza Bologna with three Italian roommates and they were the best! It was above a metro station (Bologna) so I stept out of the 'palazzo' and I went down the metro stairs. It was a really nice neighbourhood with many students and great public transport connections. Also a bus (62) that stops at Piazza Bologna brings you to the middle of the centre so I was very lucky with the appartment. It cost 600 pm all inclusive and I had really the best of everything!

4 leisure & culture Rome is the most beautiful and cultural city I have ever seen (and I have been in many cities). It is the oldest city of Europe as you can see on every corner of the street. Within every 20 meters there are really beautifyl ancient buildings or leftovers so Rome is like one huge museum. People are really nice but there are of course a lot of tourists so you have to know how to pick out the nice Italian people. suggestions/tips For public trasport you can buy a monthly card for only 35 euros at every tabacchi. You can use bus, metro, tram and even some trains with this one card. I went to the beach by metro and train by only using this one card so it is really cheap. A car is no option because there is no parking space or it is really expensive and a bike is really dangerous in Rome. I would also recommend to just walk around because you will the the most if you go walking and Rome is full of ancient surprises. Another tip is if you want to drink coffee then just stand at the bar because that costs only around 1 euro but if you go and sit on a terras then it could cost you like 5 euro. For exchange students you can order an ISIC card. With that card you can have discount at several museums, for example the Vatican museum. The normal price for a ticket is 16 euro but with that card it is only 8 euro. Also for printing or other things you can always show your student card because some things are free or you can get a discount with your student card. For clubs you have to meet some 'special people' and they will give you free entrance at some clubs like 'shari vari' on Wednesdays and 'art café' on Fridays. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Definitely! I had a really great time and the best experience so far in my life! I really would recommend Rome. There are two univeristies that you can go to as an exchange student in Rome, LUISS and Sapienza but I would recommend LUISS because Sapienza has no English courses so if your Italian is not that good then it would be really hard to study there. do you have any additional advice or comments? As I said under 'suggestions/tips' exchange application process PREPARATION The application process within LUISS is very clear and useful. You will get s from the international office of LUISS with a clear procedure of how to apply and the international office is very responsive and eager to help. When you arrive at LUISS on the set date, for me it was september third, you will get a huge welcome package with helpful information and clear instructions for, for instance, your luiss , wifi codes, how to enroll in courses, how to sign in for your finals etc. Besides the international office, the students of LUISS are also more than eager to help you out when you are lost. My general opinion about the application process is that at first it all seems very scary and overwhelming but when you actually get into it, it is not that hard after all. Just save all your s and important documents and read them carefully and your application will be a piece of cake! counselling & support at Utrecht University The international office is always on time with information s, but keep in mind that it will take some time before you get an answer. Also keep in mind that the international office often doesn't has the answer to your question concerning the erasmus scholarship and making your courses abroad part of your bachelor. Furthermore it is very important to read your mails and information carefully. Going abroad is your own

5 responsibility and you have to take action yourself. academic preparation For my period abroad I choose courses that are rather different than my Bachelors. I am a law student, however I chose courses that are even in completely different departments. LUISS offers international students a lot of English courses and the level of English is a bit lower than in the Netherlands, so it is not hard to keep up with. However because I chose courses that I had completely no knowledge of, I needed to work harder. I even did one Master course political science, but after my midterms I decided to quit, because I didn't had the knowlegde to keep up with and missed some kind of basics in politcal science. I didn't really prepare myself academically for my stay abroad, I did legal English at the university of Utrecht before I left, but that wasn't really helpfull because I only chose one Legal course. language preparation Since LUISS offers a wide selection of English courses there is actually no need to study Italian before you go. I, however, did ten lessons of Italian over the summer, but it was more helpfull for everyday situations such as doing groceries or asking for directions. LUISS offers a great language course, and also a crash course when you are staying for only a semester. I took both courses and really know my way around the Italian language. finances Because you are staying in Europe it is very helpfull that you will be granted an Erasmus scholarship. I just made overview of my income and expenses. You have to keep in mind that groceries will be a bit more expensive, but for instance, having dinner at a restaurant isn't expensive at all. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD The courses which I enrolled in were:italian (crash course + course throughout the semester), politcal science, european labour law, contemporary history and international public policies. The organization for courses are very clear at LUISS, you will get the right amount of information when you arrive at LUISS how to enroll at courses and the syllabus is also very clear. Besides that, international students also get a certain period of time to choose their courses, so they can attend some lectures and decide later if they want to take the course or not. I found that quite helpfull. All the courses i enrolled in were interesting and challenging. However i made one mistake by enrolling into a political science master class: International public policy. Without any knowledge or background in political sciences this course was way over my head and I decided to sign out for this class because I simply just couldn't keep up. The other courses were very nice, the professors are kind and the study programme consist of lectures which are sometimes interactive, depending on the professor. Also Italian universities like to give oral exams, which is kind of getting used too, since we don't have those in Utrecht. academic quality of education activities LUISS university is a private university and a very good one. The accomodation is marvelous and the professors are really kind and understanding to Erasmus students. I got sick once for an exam and the professor was so kind enough to offer me a resit. The academic quality really depends on the professor and his/hers way of teaching. I had some professors who were excellent in English and I had professors whose English was rather poorly. The education mostly consists of lectures and then a period of exams where you can choose yourself on which date you can take the exam (you get offered 3 dates). I wanted to do all my exams in december and planned one in january so that I could come back to Rome. But you can decide to do all your exams in December and be done with your exchange. LUISS is very supportive of international students and offers also a wide selection of other activities such as conferences and lectures, all optional. counselling & support at receiving university abroad

6 the LUISS international office is very clear, supporting and understanding of international students. The have a special office at campus and are open every day to help you. You can always swing by for help. Also they are very responsive with their s, if you have a question you can send it by mail and you will get your answer quickly. At arrival you will get a big welcome package with all the information that you need, I honestly found the welcome package really helpfull for my entire stay! transfer of credits I had no problems, I send my to the examencommissie quite early and had an early response. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE The welcome and orientation programme was very exciting and easy. LUISS has an ESN organization which organizes different activities. Almost every international student joined the ESN welcome week and it is a great way to get to know each other and the city. The ESN member are very kind and help you out with all kins of stuff such as public transportation, the best coffee place, the fastest way to get to school and so on. Besides the welcome week ESN also organizes parties, city trips, trips in Roma, sport events, dinners and so on. The orientation programme of the University was also very clear and informative as stated previously you will be handed a big package of information and everything you need is inside it. ESN also offers a buddy programe, when you apply you will be assigned to a Italian student at LUISS and he will explain and show you the ropes. I didn't apply for the program but some of my friends did and it is nice to meet Italian students and they can show you arround the Italian style. For instance we could arrange AS Roma Champion league tickets, because an ESN buddy sold tickets. accommodation I got my appartment by a friend of mine who stayed in Rome the semester before I arrived. LUISS also offers an accomodation service but I didn't hear any postive stories about that. I think the best way is to arrive in Rome with some options and visit the appartments. Overall my friends and I didn't had any trouble with finding appartments. The best way is by a friend or people you know who stayed in Rome. leisure & culture Rome is the eternal city and even after living here for five months I still haven't seen it all! The city is like an open air museum and the tourist hotspots are endless! Roman people also love to show you around so when you meet Italians students or become friends with them they will show you the best places in Rome! The Italian culture is very laidback and easy going. If you can do something tomorrow, then why do it now? Things like showing up on time aren't really Italian things. Having a nice (and late!) dinner and a good time with your friends is one of the top priorities of the Romans. ESN offers you a wide varierty of activities but you could also do it on your own, whatever you prefer. suggestions/tips Really enjoy your time abroad, because time flies when you are having fun! Just go with the Italian flow and you will be more relaxt than ever! CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain I would definitely recommend LUISS and a stay abroad in Roma to others. It is a wonderfull city, lovely weather, lovely people, good food, so much to see and the best time ever! Luiss is a very good university with a wide varierty of English courses and an excellent supporting system. At LUISS they will always help you out with questions. The city is wonderfull and never sleeps, and even after 5 months I still disovered new things. I definitely fell in love with Rome and this exchange is one of my best memories ever and I will always cherish it.

7 do you have any additional advice or comments? Enjoy your time in the eternal city, because as far as I am concerned your stay there won't be eternal and that is truly a shame. One advice is that you should buy a monthly metro card. It will only costs 35 euros a month and it will get you anywhere! exchange application process PREPARATION I have gone through the application proces without any problems. However, start in time, there's a lot you have to fill in and you need stamps and signs of the international office which is not open every day of the week. Start a month or three weeks in advance AT LAST to be sure to get everything fixed. counselling & support at Utrecht University Utrecht's international office is very helpful with everything. They try to make things as easy as possible for you and help you with all the bureaucratic stuff for the Erasmus grant etc. Sometimes they don't respond to their s when they have a busy period but since their office is so centrally located I suggest you just pass by and everything is fixed in a few minutes. academic preparation I did no specific academic preparation for this exchange. language preparation I took two language courses at Utrecht University, taalverwerving I and taalverwerving II. In the summer I practiced a lot by myself, online, through duolingo.com for example. In september, when I arrived in Italy, I searched for friends with the same passion for the Italian language and for a house with Italian roommates. finances Rome is a relatively expensive city, compared to the other cities in Italy but also compared to the Netherlands. In the supermarkets I pay more than I do in Utrecht and for a room you pay around 500. The Erasmus grant helps a lot and a flight ticket isn't very expensive. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I am a law student but I focussed on politics during this exchange. Part of my courses I followe in English and the other half in Italian. Plus I did a language course in Italian. All professors of my Italian courses were very enthusiastic to have a foreigner in their class and I could always ask them anything if I had some troubles because of the language. In the first two weeks everyone is allowed to follow as many courses as they want just to try and look around and only after this period a definite choise had to be made. academic quality of education activities The quality of the course depends heavily on the professor. Some of them just read literally what is written on their slides but others are born academics. I chose my courses based on the quality of the professor and I have never regretted this choise. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The international office helps you out very decently with all your questions but keep in mind that in Italy in general you have to ask people the same thing a couple of times before it's done. Keep an eye on everything yourself and don't leave important things to others alone.

8 transfer of credits A few weeks after the end of the semester LUISS sends all the grades to the home university. However, I wanted to start my master in february so I needed to have my grades present in Utrecht before the end of january. In Italy everything is possible, but sometimes it just costs some more. To get my grades earlier I had to pay 32 euros to get an official stamp (long story) and after that another 6 euros to send the official document to the Netherlands (with track& trace). Luckily everything arrived, after a week, just in time. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE The welcome programe was organised by ESN Roma Luiss and the international office on the first two days. All of them spoke perfect English. After this we could buy a welcome pack for 70 euros which included a few trips, dinners and parties and of course the opportunity to meet all the other Erasmus students. I made friends very quickly because everyone is very social and open because they have to start a new (temporary) life. accommodation I arraged my room by myself on the internet because I heard some bad stories about the accomodation organised by the University. It took me quite some time and you need to know people or to be able to correspond (call! doesn't really work) in Italian. However, I met quite a lot of people here that were very happy with their rooms from the Luiss housing service, although all of them paid relatively more than I did because together with an Italian friend I managed negotiate about the price of my room and thus save some money. leisure & culture One semester was not enough for me to explore all the culture in Rome. I have visited many museums, have been to concerts and to the cinema but there is just too much. Especially when it comes to food there are many places you can go to. suggestions/tips Do as many ESN events as possible, because that is how you meet new people. In Rome many people do speak (some sort of) English but it's much more fun to be able to ask for a bread in the national language so learn some Italian in advance ;) For taxi's: always make an agreement about the price before you get in. Once they notice you are not a local they shamelessly double the price. By night 15 to 20 should be enough to go anywhere, during daytime that's max. 10 euros. Better even, is to live close to the stop of a nightbus. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain I would definetely recommend this University because it's well organised, there are many facilities and professors from all over the world that teach here, not only Italian teachers. There are a lot of courses in English but if you want to learn Italian there's a free language course throughout the semester (although me and my classmates weren't very satisfied about the teacher). About Rome itself I can only say that it is amazing, I have enjoyed my time enormously. Rome's nightlife is diverse, the city is close to the sea and being the heart of Italy there's always something going on. Be aware though that Romans can be a little bit rude, that it is a very lively (read: noisy) city always full of tourists and that the public transport let's not talk about that. do you have any additional advice or comments?

9 exchange/placement application process preparation This was organised spot- on! Surprisingly also the University in Rome cooperated really well and I received all my documents and information on time. When I had to send the international office of LUISS an (Scambi Internazionale) they always responded on the day itself or the day after! The only down side was that I couldn't choose all the courses when I arrived at LUISS, that I had seen on the provisional list whilst still being in Utrecht. counselling/support at home university I'm really pleased with the way my coordinator of the International Office (Hester van der Ven) guided me through the whole process of applying for studying abroad. The partnership between Utrecht University and LUISS University was completely new, offered for the first time in So for her and for me it was a new experience, since I was the first Law student going to LUISS. Whether I had a question about doing master courses as a bachelor student, a question about a semester course Italian or I just wanted to share my experiences with her, she would always respond and help me out! academic preparation No specific preparation. I didn't need to pass certain courses at my home University to start courses in Italy. It was even possible for me as a bachelor student to apply for master courses there. language preparation I've made a fairly small beginning with an Italian Course during the summer that was provided by the LOI (Leidse Onderwijs Instellingen). I was really enthousiastic for learning Italian in the beginning, after a while my summer plans got in the way and I didn't finish the course. It was perfect though that when I arrived in Rome, I could do an Italian Crash Course for a few ECTS to see whether I had actually learned something from the course of the LOI and to step up my game in learning Italian. It was a lot of fun, since I met so many Erasmus students in this course and I made my first friendships here. finances I was obliged to make a financial plan before I could complete my application for studying abroad. Looking back on this plan, it roughly corresponds with my expenses in Italy. However, my general advice is that you need to save up to be able to live the Italian way of life. This implies going out to dinner twice or even three times a week, partying in bars and clubs where a drink could cost you up to 10 Euro's and going on weekendtrips and ESN trips which is about Euro's for a weekend. Consequently, you need to save up to be able to make the most of your Erasmus experience. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) Before I went on exchange to Rome, I decided on doing 4 courses and the Italian Crash Course. Judging from the provisional list that I had received, I chose: European Labour Law, Politicial Science, IO & Competition theory and one other course of economics. However, when I arrived in Rome it wasn't possible for me to follow all these courses, since it simply wouldn't fit in my time table.

10 So I decided to change this almost ''360 degrees'' around. My priority laid with achieving the best schedule possible with interesting courses that were different from Law. So I decided to go for 4 Master Courses: European Labour Law, Luxury Management, History of the Americas (North and Latin- America), Islam History and Politics and an Italian Semester Course. In the end I had to go to the Uni way more than I would in Utrecht, but this was no problem, since all of my friends were there a lot too. I had to follow lectures for about hours a week and I had fun with my friends during lunch breaks and coffee breaks. academic quality of education/placement activities In my opinion the quality of the lectures really differed from subject to subject. For example, the lectures that were given by professors in Luxury Management were really good! I could definitely compare this with the standard that we have here in Utrecht. My professors were managers of Bulgari in Rome and New York and they had a lot of expertise and practical knowlegde of the field they were working in. On the other hand, the quality of the lectures for History of Latin- America was really poor. My professor's English was fairly basic and his pronounciation was really off He would only read out the slides and this was just a story from a study book that he typed out on the slides. Furthermore, if you studied well right before exams, you could achieve high grades. The system of grading in Italy is from 1-30 and I got a 28 three times, a 24 and a 25. counselling/support at host institution/organisation This was fine. I didn't need the international office that much, only for some signatures. transfer of credits It's really convenient that the ECTS system in Italy is so comparable to the system in the Netherlands. The professors didn't have to adjust my grades on any point. welcome/orientation programme student life The first day of orientation was on Wednesday the 4 th of September for the Italian Crash Course and a welcome speech of the board of ESN. This was where you could meet your Italian Buddy who would guide you through the first weeks of studying at LUISS. Unfortunately, my Buddy didn't show up and I have never really met her After this the lessons of the Crash Course started and that went well. Although, we all weren't prepared on going to the Uni 5 to 6 hours a day for a language course It was a bit too much if you ask me. The welcome week of ESN was amazing! They organised a broad range of activities, such as sports, an Italian aperitivo on a boat, a kick off party, a day trip to two beautiful villages, a movie night and a typical Italian dinner with lots of wine in Ariccia. The board members were really spontaneous and out- going, but the organisation was really ''Italian''. So we weren't surprised that we had to wait for drinks at the bar for at least 20 minutes and that the chefs ran out of food so quickly at the Italian Aperitivo. All in all though, I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for the world! accommodation I was extremely lucky. I didn't look for an apartment before I came to Rome, so I stayed in a hostel close to the Colosseum for the first 7 days of my stay in Italy.

11 Halfway through the week I met two Danish girls who had just confirmed with a land lord that they would rent his new furnished apartment. They asked me if I would like to live with them. They showed me the apartment and it was perfect! Really new, spacious and clean! Furthermore, the location was amazing. We lived really near Piazza Bologna, which is a popular safe student area and really close to the metro and several bus lines. It was such a coincidence that a lot of good friends of ours also lived in the area of Piazza Bologna, so we could meet for dinner! It was really convenient as well when we went out, because we could take taxi's home together and no one had to feel unsafe when walking through the streets at night time. leisure/culture I came to Rome for a reason. That was to live the Italian, relaxed, Mediterranean life style and to explore the culture of ancient Rome and its surroundings. This city amazes you and surprises you every single day while you are there. The atmosphere is so friendly, laid- back and the buildings and statues and churches are beautiful. I could have showed someone around in the city every day if I had the time and if the occasion would have been present! It's just great that people are outside on the streets and in restaurants throughout the whole year! I've been on three trips during these five months in Italy and these were the most memorable experiences. The first one was in October to the Amalfi Coast and Napels. The second one was in November to Sicily (in short my best experience while abroad). This island is breathtaking and I was there with my closest friends which made it even more special. The third one was in January to Venice, Verona and Florence. suggestions/tips A tip that I can give anyone is to be open- minded when you go on exchange and do everything that comes to your mind and that you would love to do when you are away. The worst part would be if you have any regrets!! Another tip is to try not to be too home- bound. That is to your home city, but also to the place where you live now in the host country. My last tip is to make as much pictures as possible and to keep some sort of diary while you are away to write down all your amazing experiences. Myself, I wrote down short notes in my agenda and I'm trying to make a diary in a word document at the moment. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain I would definitely recommend LUISS University, since the University is fairly new, well- equiped with computers, printers, beamers in the class rooms and all that sort of things. The University has a good mensa and a really nice bar, where you can chill with a cup of coffee or have a sandwich. Besides this, you can easily reach it by tram, bus or with the shuttle from the Law Department to the General Department and back. I think the level of education is well in general and the University offers loads of really interesting courses which you can easily, without the need of prerequisites, apply for! Furthermore, I couldn't have imagined a better city than Rome to go on Erasmus. The Italian way of life is amazing, the weather is good, the food is sooo delicious and it's charming that you have to learn a bit of Italian to make yourself heard. Moreover, it's wonderful that you can travel around the country, since flight tickets are not that expensive and

12 you can hire a car or do a lot by train. Lastly, the ESN team was great and the people that I have met were amazing! I have my own Roman Family now that I will visit soon and hopefully often in the future! do you have any additional advice or comments? exchange/placement application process preparation make sure to update your check list at all times. don't hestitate to contact your own exchange coordinator, but also the coordinator of the host institution. counselling/support at home university very helpful! quick response and clear answers. academic preparation was fine, but some of the courses at LUISS were quite specific compared to the more general law courses i had at Utrecht University. language preparation a lot of courses are taught in English and you can take an Italian language course at LUISS (which is very nice to do) finances save up money because the Roman lifestyle will cost a lot: more expensive apartments (around 500) and social activities. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) if you take 3-5 courses you still have plenty of time to enjoy yourself. however, if you take master courses you may have a lot of work load. academic quality of education/placement activities not amazing. even though the teachers are educated at universities like yale and harvard, the italian approach on teaching is not very academic. it does not challenge you to be critical on the study material, but you just have to learn facts. counselling/support at host institution/organisation the host institution will help you, but you have to ask for it. transfer of credits just ask the international office. welcome/orientation programme student life i really recommend participating in the welcome programme (especially of ESN) since this is the perfect opportunity to meet a lot of new people in the beginning. accommodation great! i lived together with 2 other erasmus girls and we lived in a very safe and quiet neighbourhood that was close to university. a lot of students lived there as well. leisure/culture i was already in love with the italian culture, but now even more! having dinner, parties and just do as the locals

13 do. suggestions/tips make sure to go on several trips while your staying in Rome. You can go to Napoli, Firenze, Amalfi etc. That will really make your stay extra special! conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain yes, Rome is an amazing city to live in and LUISS is a very pleasant university with all its facilities. do you have any additional advice or comments? preparation exchange/placement application process All lot of paperwork has to be filled in before departure, this made me sometimes a bit stressed with coming deadlines etcetera. But at the end it worked out and I was accepted at the University of La Sapienza, in Rome. counselling/support at home university The International Office is open for you to answer your questions and most of the times they give you a good advice, but still you have to figure out a lot for yourself so don't underestimate the paperwork. academic preparation At La Sapienza all the courses were taught in Italian, so I had to prepare my Italian language. 1 year before departure I started taking language courses and this helped me in the beginning. language preparation All together I took 2 courses in Italian, level B1 at the end. I took courses at the 'Volksuniversiteit Utrecht', they were really usefull. finances I received a state grant(studiefinanciering) and of course the Erasmus grant and this really helped me out. My room was very expensive, more than 500 euro per month, but really worth it because it was in the centre, imagine that the Colosseum was 5 minutes walking. I think you can also find cheaper rooms but Rome has a lot of 'bad' neighbourhoods in which I really didn't want to live so I had to choose for spending more money but I think living more save. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) The content of the courses were totally unsure and unclear. I just had to attend some courses to figure out what they were about. And so i figured out which 3 courses I wanted to take, the teachers gave me the programme about the courses in the lessons. I would have been better and also more logical if these programmes where just online so that you could figure it out already before coming to Rome. A problem was, that these programmes were used to explain the content of the courses and they were only in Italian. So I had to translate them all to send them back to Utrecht, to explain where my courses were about. academic quality of education/placement activities I think the teachers and the books we used were very professional. They know what they are talking about. The courses were clear and interesting and I can really say that I learned a lot. All the exams I took were oral AND in Italian. This was so though for me to do, the teachers were so strict and at the moments of the exams I really hated them. But when I think about it now, these orals really learned how to fight for a good grade and for the

14 points. counselling/support at host institution/organisation l really big thing they have to work on is organising, having structures and clear procedures. Ofcourse La Sapienza is a huge university that make organising difficult but it really goes in the Italian way, which means that there are a lot of unclear procedures who, I think especially for Dutch people, seem really unusefull. transfer of credits The credits they use in Italy are comparable with ECTS so that was no problem. student life welcome/orientation programme La Sapienza organised a Welcome day, they explained a lot about the university, life in Rome etc etc. This really helped and already in this Welcome day I came to know people so that was cool. accommodation Via Facebook I came to know someone who was searching for 2 other roommates for the period that I was coming to Rome. so I send her a message, we stayed in touch and I got the room. So for me finding a room was not a diffulty. I really felt happy in this house and my other roommates were 2 girls, one from Argentina and 1 from Paris, France. So we had a real international house which I really liked. leisure/culture Before departure I was stressed and Rome and the people who are living there made me see that life can be easier if you really take it easier. It made me sometimes frustrated, this behaviour of domani, domani (tomorrow, tomorrow) but at the end they were right, you can stress about all the things you have to do or just do them, or tomorrow, but it will be fine. And if I didn't know something and asked my Italian colleges they directly helped me, I wanted to thank them but then they say 'No, di nulla', like no no thanks come on it's nothing. So open and kind. suggestions/tips Be prepared for the language if it's clear that the courses are in Italian for example. I was prepared but when I arrived I almost forgot everything I learned at home, so in Rome I learned the most I think. Watching movies helped me a lot. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes, if you really want to be 'Italian' for a moment. You will really meet the culture, the real Italians. You can not compare it with a weekendtrip to Rome. Rome is so much more. I really feel proud that I've been at La Sapienza. Maybe because I 'survived' it, while I really had to study a lot and do my best and fight for my points. But also because that I was one of them, one of the cool Italian students. I learned to look different on subjects in Law but also on subjects in life. do you have any additional advice or comments? Yes, that you really have to go if you're in to a total new way of studying and living!