With the first suggestions that I received from my circle of friends, I dealt with the topic of wanting to study abroad for the first time. After I made the decision to study in another country for a semester, I found out what options I have on the Internet. Since it was clear to me from the start that I wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country and I had excluded Spain pretty quickly, as it was too close to Germany in my opinion, the choice was pretty easy for me. My main source of information was the website www.college-contact.com. So I found out which university in which country could fit the curriculum and which country in South America is the safest. In short, I quickly made up my mind that I want to apply to the Universidad de Chile- Facultad de Economia y Negocios. I contacted an employee of MicroEDU by email and they immediately provided me with all the important information regarding the application process and my personal interests.
After I decided to spend my semester abroad in Chile, a colleague from MicroEDU sent me the application forms and the associated explanations. The declaration deals with every single point of the registration and explains or helps with the completion of the application. The application was more time-consuming than expected, as the university needs a lot of information, for which I had to collect information such as insurance data etc. The university also gives the option of adding a lot of data afterwards. Finally, after completing the application forms as far as possible, I sent them back to MicroEDU for review. They then passed them on to the university.
Study organization
The courses at the Universidad de Chile are not assessed with the ECTS known in Europe, but with a workload called UD, which, like the ECTS, includes the teaching time, preparation and follow-up time. The courses are divided into specialist courses which are divided into 10 UD (corresponds to 6 ECTS), 5 UD (corresponds to 3 ECTS) and 3-4 UD (corresponds to 2 ECTS). The tuition fees are based on this amount of work. The courses with a lower workload, however, are mostly sports or art courses that can be taken but are not taken into account by my university.
Course offer and course selection at the foreign university
The Universidad de Chile offers two areas. On the one hand courses in the field of economics and on the other hand courses in the field of business administration. Courses in Spanish and English are offered at this faculty. I only chose English courses because I did not consider my language skills to be sufficient beforehand. However, my fellow students were able to confirm that courses in Spanish can also be mastered. The courses at the Universidad de Chile are very similar to those offered by a German university, so you have a very wide range of options. I chose International Management, International Business and Advanced Accounting, which are highly recommended.
Arrival / mobility
You should book a flight two months before starting your studies abroad at the latest, otherwise the prices will rise a lot. There are both flights via Madrid to Santiago, which are a bit more expensive, and flights via the USA, where you only have to apply for a visa to change trains. I decided to fly via the USA and it took me about 18 hours to get there.
In Santiago, the subway network is very clear in contrast to the bus network. A ride on the subway costs around one euro with transfer options. In Chile I also often used long-distance buses and was really amazed at how cheap and reliable it was. However, you can always weigh up between bus and plane, as long distances can also be covered by bus, but take a very long time.
Living
In Germany, MicroEDU staff warned me in advance to rent an apartment before seeing it, as they had seen some disappointments from other students. So I reserved a bed in advance in a hostel that was close to the university and cost about 12 euros a night with breakfast. The university also helped the foreign students and made lists of hostels recommended by previous foreign students. When I arrived in Santiago, I looked for apartments on the Internet with the help of a friend. There are websites on site that offer shared apartments.
Financing / costs and funding opportunities
There are many ways to get financial support, but you need to take care of them in good time. In addition, one should note that there is the possibility that, despite refusal of the domestic BAföG, you will receive approval from the foreign BAföG and thus also the right to the reimbursement of tuition fees.
In terms of price levels, Chile is similar to Germany. Some everyday products are more expensive than those in Germany, but you can save a lot of money by buying fruit and vegetables at local markets.
The rent in Santiago was around 280 euros per month (depending on the course). However, this price range is relatively high for Santiago, as I lived in the middle of the center and could also walk to the university. The advantage, however, was that I didn’t have to spend any money on public transport. The cost of food per month was around 150 euros, although it depends a lot on what habits you have. You should therefore assume around 450 euros per month. In addition, there are the travel costs, which are higher or lower depending on the urge to discover. The semester abroad totaled 10,000 euros, including tuition fees of 2,100 euros.
Cultural experiences
The South American openness is also to be found in the Chileans, although it is not without reason that they are called “the Prussians of South America”. Social contacts are made quickly and if you are blonde (for South Americans everything that is not black) anyway. As expected, the people are very helpful and always interested in something new. If you have an open manner in Chile, you will definitely not be alone and have a lot of fun.
Learn more about Chile and South America, please check a2zgov.
Technical and linguistic development
The professional development is profitable in that the Chilean teaching system allows the students to work more practically, so that the perception and analysis of problems are given as daily tasks. In my opinion, however, the theory falls a little short, but thanks to the German theoretical system I was able to understand many backgrounds of the practice better than other Chilean. In summary, I was able to learn the application of solutions that will help me in my life. My language skills have improved significantly compared to the beginning of the semester abroad, thanks to constant contact with locals. However, you can also take language courses in order to gain access to the language even faster, as the Chileans really speak very quickly and indistinctly.
Since I cannot summarize half a year in a few lines, I am happy to answer questions about my semester abroad.
Greetings and have fun in Chile!
