Readjusting to student life

Readjusting to student life

Students are all returning to the humdrum of regular life, discovering the value of a home cooked meal and their mothers. What do you think the hardest part of (re)adjusting to student life is?

Khyatesh Chavan (25), India, International Business Administration

“The hardest part about returning to university is realizing that the curriculum and study methods here are quite different from what I’m used to in India. Adjusting to different eating habits is the big the challenge but also adjusting to all the peripheral things around the studying can be pretty hard. I mean studying is the central thing but there are still small things that you have to manage on your own. In your own country, you are used to being taken care but here, there is no one to look out for you. I guess that’s the scary part. I am certainly happy to be here but I really miss homemade food.”

Denise Stalenberg (21), The Netherlands , ESE

“Well, I’ve already studied for about three years and I just transferred to Erasmus school of economics so it’s not really a big transition for me. I guess it’s a little bit difficult to readjust from the summer when I had no responsibility to now, having responsibility.  That means I just have no free time anymore- I miss that. I’m really glad to be back at school again but to be quite honest, I live with my parents so it’s really not that different from any other part of my life. I still live in the same place and I still eat the same food and see a lot of the same people. I suppose you could say I have it easier than most students.”

Rong Gu (19), China, Economics and Business Economics

“The self-starting is something I really had to get used to. The Professors on my course teach too much information in one class for me to remember so I have to study a lot in my free time. I am from China, so naturally, English is not my native tongue, so when it comes to reading the course material for myself, it’s a long time for me to understand everything. I spend as much time as possible in the library looking everything up in the dictionary in order to understand it all. The academic atmosphere here is really great- everyone is so focused and academically competitive. I think the thing I miss most about home is maybe the Chinese food.” DB