Heimathochschule:
DHBW Stuttgart
Gasthochschule:
Bogazici University Istanbul
Studienfach:
Business Administration
(Dienstleistungsmanagement NPO)
4. Semester
Zeitpunkt:
Spring 2012
One thing had always been clear in my mind. I wanted to study in Istanbul once!
Despite being a child to Turkish parents, I identify myself as German, as I was
born and raised in Germany. Nevertheless, I can say that I grew up between two
cultural backgrounds, which affected my education in a positive way. It made me
open-minded and tolerant in respect to others, which would enable me to live in
Turkey without any problems regarding culture or language, I was convinced.
Preparations
The widely renowned Bogazici University is by far the qualitatively best Turkish
university in the fields of economics with the most beautiful campuses. Only the
top thousand students of Turkey are able to study there, which altogether makes
it really attractive for exchange students. Unfortunately, my home university
does not have a learning agreement with Bogazici, which was why I had to apply
on my own. It took me quite a long time to get all the relevant information about
formal requirements and administrative obstacles. If there is no learning agreement existent, you can only apply at Bogazici University through a “special student” status, which means a financial burden of $3000 in tuition fees for one semester. An additional requirement is the TOEFL test, which can be taken in many
German cities. The registration is managed online on the homepage of ETS
(www.ets.org) and the test amounts to $240. Further required documents are a
letter of recommendation, a statement of academic objectives, an application
and a transcript of notes. After I compiled all of the above, it was sent to Bogazic
by the International Office of my home university. Then, one month before the
semester starts, I finally got the long-awaited acceptance letter.
The university is offering students to stay in a dorm, called “Super Dorm”, which
is indeed clean but compared to other accommodation opportunities very expensive. I applied for flat share through Craigslist and found an apartment with two
other Erasmus students from Germany and the US for a monthly rent of 500 TL
per person, which is around 220 €. In general, rent is priced between 500 and
900 TL. As far as location is concerned, I would advise to look for a flat near university, either in the districts Hisarüstü or Etiler. Those are very central places,
where a lot of Erasmus students are living. It is also close to Taksim, the center
of nightlife in Istanbul. A cab, which takes you there, costs around 17 TL or ca. 6
€. I strongly advise you to be careful, if you are not familiar to the route, because the costs can easily increase to 50 TL. Another opportunity to go to Taksim
is taking the bus, which is in service until 1 o’clock a.m. Non-Turkish speakers do
not have to worry about language barriers, as almost everybody can speak at
least a little English, so that it is not a problem to get along. Moreover, the university is offering a Turkish course for beginners, which is chosen by nearly all
Erasmus students.
Studying abroad
The Bogazici Üniversitesi, literally Bosporus University, in Istanbul is a university
located on the European side of the city. It was established in 1971 on the foundation of the US-American Robert College and is growing to be one of the leading
state universities in Turkey. This cultural background is reflected not only in architecture but also in the academic system of the university. Professors and academic staff are consistently speaking perfect English and often even have a
European or American background. The staff of the International Office is extremely helpful and will give you a hand with study-related or personal problems
and issues.
The university is located right next to the Bosporus and spread over four campuses, which are Hisar, Güney, Kuzey and Ucaksavar. All courses other than language courses are only given in English. One week after the information session
each student gets the information about the course registrations, which take
place at a specified date and time for everybody. If you are late, it could be that
the seats in your required courses are already fully taken. Still, you have the
chance to ask the professors for their consent to visit their lectures. A rejection is
very seldom. I can say that the courses and exams were intelligible to all and
even if not, there is a withdrawal period, which allows you to drop one or more
courses shortly after the midterms.
The following is list of courses I visited.
AD 232.01
Business Law II
This course treats the judicial rules of marketing. In addition to the Turkish
law, the professor also provided a lot of marketing knowledge. I
recommend this course.
AD 320.01
Human Resources Management
Technically, there is no compulsory attendance, but in order to pass the
exam, attendance is highly recommended. For the most part, the exam
relates to topics the professor talked about during lectures. The content is
too theoretical and I would not take it again.
AD 480.01
Special Topics in Management
Behind this spacious term, you can find a different course each semester.
In my case it was Intellectual Property. It is a very popular lecture, especially amongst Erasmus students. I recommend this course to every student studying management.
EC 208.01
Macroeconomics II
This is a very popular course amongst students belonging to the economics department, as it includes money-related topics and issues and allows
an interesting insight into the global mechanism of the monetary system.
The demanded effort is above average and the evaluation stricter as well,
which results in failure rates of around 30% each semester. Nevertheless,
this course can be recommended.
PSY 101.01
Introduction to Psychology I
I only took this course out of curiosity. Due to the extensive and complicated material, I dropped it after midterms. Yet, this course is popular
amongst students from all departments and Erasmus students, which
leads to an average class size of 300 people per semester. The discussed
content does not exceed the basics of psychology.
In general, midterms count 30%, finals 70% of the total grade.
With coffee shops like Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts and club activities like
dancing, singing, theater and sports, the university campus offers many leisure
activities, so that students generally spend almost all of their time on campus.
During summer, the pool on campus and the own beach in Kilyos is very popular.
The ESN Bogazici is a group of Turkish students, who take care of exchange students. They have a Facebook site, which you will be invited to, where information
about meetings, trips and parties are being posted. During my stay, a trip to
three different Greek cities, as well as weekend trips to e.g. Canakkale or Pamukkale had been organized.
The host country Turkey
Istanbul is a city, which literally never sleeps.
It will never leave you lonesome, but at the
same time never leave you alone. Official
numbers state 13 million inhabitants,
whereas unofficially 15 million are counted
and actually 20 million are an appropriate
number - it is always busy. Except for the cab
drivers that are constantly complaining about
traffic, everybody is happy. May it be shopping in one of the many shopping malls, cultural impressions at the Galata Tower, the Topkapi Sarayi, the Kapali Carsi or the
Blue Mosque or partying in one of the popular clubs in Taksim, Istanbul offers
something for everybody. Public transportation takes you everywhere until 1
a.m. The student ID, which you will receive from university, allows you to buy a
favorable IETT transportation card. The card can be charged and will be stamped
each time you ride the metro. Thereby, each ride only costs ca. 0.50€. Although
cabs are inexpensive as well, the drivers often try to extend the route. After receipt of the student ID, you can get yourself a museum card as well, which allows free visits to all museums in Istanbu. I recommend stopping by the Ayasofia
right next to the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace.
Taksim is ranking among the most important districts. It is the center with the
main shopping promenade and good traffic connections. Cihangir is a very beautiful residential area with view onto the Bosporus, where many artists and musicians are living. Also worth visiting is Besiktas, a centrally located calm residential area. It has a small harbor with a ferry that runs to the Asian side and a bazar every Saturday. The reverse side of Istanbul can be found in Tarlabasi, where
prostitution and a high crime rate are prevailing.
Conclusion
Everybody that has the chance should definitely study abroad. You will not only
come back with suitcases full of new clothes, but melancholy, life experience and
insight into human nature. People that want to experience a lot, should choose
Istanbul’s Bogazici University. I met many people that have stayed longer than
initially planned – Erasmus students, globetrotters and returnees.
Do start looking for a place to stay as soon as possible. Many students are temporarily living in a hotel and then decide for an apartment. Take a look at the
apartments and your potential housemates as not everybody does get along
well. Also do take part in the first get-togethers for Erasmus students in order to
get to know the city best possible and keep pace with the others.
Lastly, do not miss any party because it is always worth going.
Finally, my personal must-dos in Istanbul:
-
Fish sandwich at Galata Bridge
Waffle at Abbas in Bebek
Breakfast at Kale Café in Bebek (towards 2nd bridge) on Sunday
Shopping and partying in Taksim
Party in either club Reina or Sortie in Kurucesme at least once
Have a walk at the riverside of Kadiköy/Moda
Watch a Turkish soccer game, preferably Galatasaray or Fenerbahce
Visit the university festivals in summer
Visit Kiz Tower, Galata Tower, Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and Topkapi Palace
Aquarium in Florya