Field of study in Wageningen: MSc Nutrition and Health
Study period exchange: 07/02/2024 – 09/06/2024
Country (exchange): Turkey
City (exchange): Istanbul
University (exchange): Sabanci University
Faculty (exchange): Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
2. Motivation for exchange
Why did you choose to go on study exchange?
During my bachelor at the VU in Amsterdam I was already planning to go on an Erasmus Exchange, I was already accepted at the University of Padova (Italy). Unfortunately, it was the year 2020 and my exchange got cancelled. Therefore, I was determined to go on an Erasmus Exchange during my master’s. I am so happy that I decided to study one semester longer in order to have this experience 😊.
What is the reason you chose for this country?
As I mentioned, Türkiye was not my first choice, but I would recommend Sabanci University to everyone. It is a huge campus but small-scale, so approximately 5,000 students. It is far from the city and since Istanbul is huge, there is a big chance that you have to travel 2 hours to reach university. But it is worth it, the location is beautiful, the university lays on top of hills and has big parks. Moreover, the university has an American system, meaning that it is a gated private university, all professors studied in the United States, and participation in class is taken into consideration when you receive your final grade.
What is the reason you chose for this university?
As I mentioned, Türkiye was not my first choice, but I would recommend Sabanci University to everyone. It is a huge campus but small-scale, so approximately 5,000 students. It is far from the city and since Istanbul is huge, there is a big chance that you have to travel 2 hours to reach university. But it is worth it, the location is beautiful, the university lays on top of hills and has big parks. Moreover, the university has an American system, meaning that it is a gated private university, all professors studied in the United States, and participation in class is taken into consideration when you receive your final grade.
3. Accessibility to reach destination
Istanbul has two airports (Istanbul International Airport / Istanbul Havalimani and Sabiha Gökcen. If you will study at Sabanci University and either live at the dorms or in the Asian (Anatolian) side of Istanbul, I would recommend you to take a flight to Sabiha Gökcen, it has a direct metro-connection to the entire Asian side and it is very close to Sabanci.
4. University and studying
Could you provide some general information about the followed courses?
What is it like to study there?
Studying at Sabanci is not much different from studying at the WUR, the work load might be the same or a bit less, the academic level is similar in my opinion. Examination was a bit different, since most professors prefer papers and presentations over exams, and in cases of an exam, it will only consist of a few open questions in which you have to write essays. The less material was very easy accessible, the university won’t ask you to buy books, they will offer pdfs of everything on SUCourse (the platform of the university).
What is the culture of the university?
The lecturers are as approachable, maybe even more, as the lecturers at the WUR. It is of course, not appropriate to call the professors by their first name, although two of my professors already told us soon that they wouldn’t mind if we did, but I think in general, it is more polite to not do it in Türkiye.
What does the university offer the student additionally?
It is a private university, so they provide a free gym, free football field, free pilates studios, free spinning halls. And moreover, there is a big library, open 24/7. The dorms are also part of the gated university, I didn’t live there. Moreover, university has a big (cheap) supermarket, multiple restaurants, Starbucks, Coffee places etc.
5. Housing-travelling-living
What are the possibilities for housing?
I decided to live in the city and I would strongly recommend exchange students to do so because the University is far from the city life. I think it is quite easy to find a student house in the city, since a lot is offered. Moreover, a few weeks before the start of the semester, you can sign up for a dormitory room and this is also guaranteed. The dorms are very cheap, I think max 100-150 euros per month and a room/house in the city might be between 250-450 euros per month.
What is the culture of the country like?
The Turkish culture is wonderful. It might be hard for me to describe everything here, but regarding a Turkish home: it is very unpolite to keep your shoes on within the house, most houses are designed like ours, sometimes there can be trouble with the water (we had a lot of cold showers here), and it will get very warm during the summer (almost 40 degrees in our house). The local cuisine is really affordable, you either do groceries for 10 euro or you eat out for 3-5 euros, cheap dishes are; pilav, durum, doner, gozleme, manti, pide etc. The biggest culture shock might be the language since most Turkish people don’t speak English, so some basics in Turkish might come in handy. Moreover, the Turkish people still use a lot of cash, sometimes, paying in cash is even cheaper than paying by card. I would recommend you to take a revolut account or a Turkish bank account because going to the ATM with your Dutch bank card, will cost you a lot of commission money.
Could you give some information about public transport infrastructure?
Infrastructure in Istanbul is easy, there is a special student card which you can get once you have your student certificate. The student card is 250 Turkish lira for 200 rides with all forms of public transport. Moreover, for visitors (and for yourself before you have the student card), an Istanbul transportation card might be good. You can put some money on it and most rides will cost 17 TL per ride (less than 50 cents). And as many people as you want can travel with 1 Istanbul card. The student card can only be used by 1 person. All busses, metros and ferries were easy for me and also the taxi (use bitaksi app!) is affordable. University offers its own shuttles, which will pick you up from the metro station (one shuttle per hour usually).
6. Expenses
Can you give an indication of your expenses for/during your exchange?
How were the price levels in general in comparison to the Netherlands?
A lot lower 😊.
Additional remarks regarding expenses?
All museums are very cheap because you can get a student museum card for 30 TL (1 euro) and with this card, you can visit a lot of museums for free. However, for international visitors, visiting museums here is very expensive (easily 40 euros).
7. Free time
What are must-sees in the area?
Istanbul is so big, it is impossible to see everything within 1 semester. However, I would also suggest to travel outside of Istanbul, f.e. go to the Black sea region (Sile for a day trip, Trabzon or Rize for a weekend trip). And of course the south of Türkiye; Bodrum, Fetihye, Kas, Antalya, Marmaris etc. It is so wonderful. And my biggest tip: visit Cappadocia outside of the tourist season, it will be quit and very impressive. Since I don’t want to travel by plane a lot, I travelled a lot with night busses (sometimes even 14+ hours). The busses are cheap and are like flixbus. However, for some destinations the airplane might be better and cheaper, in that case, I used Pegasus. If you plan your visit a few weeks in advance, both the plane/bus and accommodation will be cheap.
What does not appear in the travel guide, but is worth seeing/doing?
Trabzon and Rize (Black Sea region) are wonderful, the cities are a bit boring but the nature is impressive. We were there in April and it was still snowing there, while it was 20+ degrees in Istanbul. It felt authentic Turkish to me.
7. Challenges & best moment abroad
Any challenges? How did you deal with them?
I think the biggest challenge might be being homesick. However, you will meet so many new people during your exchange, so it is very easy to connect. Try to be spontaneous, say ‘yes’ to experiences that would be out-of-your-comfort-zone at home and open yourself up 😊.
Best memory?
Traveling around with my friends that I met here. Traveling in Türkiye is so wonderful 😊.
8. Contact Details
Would you like to ask Adinda more questions about her exchange?
Send her a mail: adindacroughs@live.nl