BU Review
Planning / International Office
“Take your time” seems to be one of the most important tips here. For weeks I compared universities in the country and picked out advantages and disadvantages until I was quite sure: “I want to go there”. Now I can say: Brock University in St. Catharines was a great decision. With the help of MicroEDU , I finally applied to Brock’s International Office and after a few weeks I received the acceptance in a very nice email.
Immediately I was by the friendliness of all contact persons at Brock (Koreen & Megan) very pleased. Over time, this impression has been clearly confirmed. Since I needed courses that did not come about at short notice or were already too full (the Canadians have the right to attend the course), I was particularly happy to have been accompanied so well by my contacts. Do not be put off if you cannot enroll in a course from home due to overcrowding, there are still some things you can do on site. Arrived immediately, I contacted the relevant lecturer and asked him to take me on. After a week this worked and I was finally able to do all of them to credit my desired courses in Germany. Please keep in mind that courses from different faculties can cost differently and you have to take at least three courses. I’m studying business administration with a focus on communication and marketing so I visited COMM 1P97 and MKGT 3P96. The numbers in front of the “P” show you the year. So my communications course for the first year of the university and marketing was one for the third year students, from which you can also see the level of difficulty at the same time. So if you prefer difficult topics based on German course content, you should take courses from the 2nd or 3rd year. In general: Prepare for weekly essays, assignments, group projects and in-class tests. It is school-based and participation is partially assessed. The division into mid-terms and final exams gives everyone the opportunity to acquire all of the content in peace and quiet and to get good grades.
Campus life
According to liuxers, the BU or Brock University offers everything your heart desires. A fairly large library that we often use for studying, various options for lunch (Isaacs; Market Hall, Hungry Badgers), a fairly extensive sports area with a gym; Pool and tennis courts, for example, and much more. As a result I could never get bored personally. The free hours can also be spent very well with Tim Hortens on campus, a “must” for every Canadian student. If you have a cold, there is also a pharmacy and the Brock University doctor in the immediate vicinity, so there is no need for parents to worry.
The lecture rooms are different in terms of their equipment, some are chic and new, but some are very bare and hardly cozy, but don’t let that put you off.
On Thursdays there is always a university party at Isaac’s and these evenings are legendary. Just let yourself be carried away by the Canadians’ vibes and enjoy Canadian college life.
Accommodation and surroundings
After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to start looking for a suitable house online. It worked very well for me, so I can only advise you to do so. This saves you a lot of nerves, valuable time and a lot of money on site. I had met many landlords through Skype and had rooms shown to me. I finally got a room in Thorold on Tupper Drive for $ 500. All rents range approximately between $ 350 and $ 550. I can only recommend the streets around. Barbican Trail, Sullivan Ave and Collier Road are also very close to Brock and are well served by bus services. Most of our international students lived in Thorold or on-campus. If you need good meat and fresh vegetables and don’t feel like going to big supermarkets, take a look around the Big Red Market or the Foodland. The “Moose and Goose” in Thorold is a cool place to spend a fun hour or two on Wednesday evenings. A taxi to downtown costs around $ 15-20 (always makes a fixed price beforehand). In downtown, however, there is not much going on, apart from the “Peppers” and the “L3”, the attractions for all students. But one is for sure: We spent awesome evenings there at the weekend. For us girls this is PenCentre is always worth a shopping trip, the shops there are small but nice. Very easy to reach in 10 minutes from Thorold.
Travel
One of the main reasons I chose the Brock is its location in Canada, the perfect starting point for all excursions and road trips. Thanks to the study effort, which I found pleasant, I was able to travel enough and spend my free time. You can be in Toronto by car or megabus in around 1 hour, according to the Canadians “Little New York” or “City where you want to live”. Wonderful for weekend stays. The backpacker hostel is a great place to stay. Buses there cost you $ 13 pp one way, so no obstacle. At the beginning of October there is the “Readingweek”that we all used to travel. My roommate and I started a trip from Montreal to Quebec City via Tadoussac (whale watching) and back to Ottawa. An ingenious route and easily manageable in one week. Make the most of the Indian Summer time to visit Algonquin Park, about 3 hours north of Toronto. We rented a cottage there with 10 people on the lake and were able to experience a great Canadian nature experience. The Niagara Falls are just 20 minutes away by car and believe me, it excites, always wanted to go back. Shortly before the final exams, I made a trip to New York City. Totally awesome, especially if you book a Megabus early enough and are lucky enough to get there and back for $ 60 pp.
Conclusion
It was a great experience and I would like to be on the plane again tomorrow for the semester abroad. Without hesitation I can tell you “take the chance to get to know the country, the people and the Brock University”.
