University of Victoria, B.C.

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1 University of Victoria, B.C preparation exchange/placement application process The application for my exchange to Victoria went without trouble. The International office of Utrecht gives clear explanation and information, so you ll know exactly what to do and when the deadlines are. In about two months they let you know if you are allowed to go on exchange. counselling/support at home university Contact with Utrecht was always good, nothing to complain about. academic preparation I did no specific academic preparation for my exchange. language preparation I passed all the Cambridge exams when I was in high school, so I didn t have to do any preparation right before I left. It is required to have a certain English level which you need to prove by a certificate. Cambridge is one of those certificates. finances I saved around for my trip (which included 6 weeks of travel after my semester). This is definitely necessary! Victoria is a very expensive place to live and North America is a very expensive place to travel through. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) The law program of Uvic is very challenging! Courses go fast and require a lot of preparation, so if you are looking for a party-every-day kind of exchange, Uvic Law School should not be on the top of your list. I have spent most of my weekdays in the library from 9 till 5 to keep up. academic quality of education/placement activities The courses are very interesting and the LSS (their law society) is amazing. Everybody is very close at uvic law, so in two weeks you know almost everybody there. They organize social events too, which go a little further than just having beers together (which they do too). For example, I ve attended a curling tournament and a talent show. counselling/support at host institution/organisation The contact with Uvic was great! Everybody is so nice and helpful, if you have any questions you can always them and they will reply in around two days. transfer of credits

2 Haven t done this yet. student life welcome/orientation programme Almost non-existent if you go in the second semester. accommodation Great, but very expensive! I would definitely recommend a cluster and not a dorm room if you want to live on campus, because a dorm room has a mandatory meal-plan. This means that you pay a lot of money for a card that gives you discount on all the campus food facilities, but this food is not the best and you get bored of it easily. leisure/culture Uvic has a lot of clubs where you can become a member of. They have a club week in the beginning of the semester, definitely check this out. They also have a super new and luxurious gym with swimming pool, rock climbing wall etc, which is cool. suggestions/tips Explore the island as much as possible! Vancouver Island is insanely beautiful and has a lot of amazing national parks. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes, if you want to experience the real American college experience and also want to see a lot of beautiful nature. For the Law school, only if you are prepared to work hard to keep up. do you have any additional advice or comments? -

3 University of Victoria, B.C preparation exchange/placement application process The application process for the University of Victoria was not too complicated: both the website of the UU and the website of Uvic are very informative, and you can always ask international office if you have questions. Just make sure you start early with sorting everything out, to avoid stress and missed deadlines. For example, if you want to live on campus in Victoria, it s important you hand in your application early: the earlier you hand it in, the earlier you receive the information you need to apply for housing, the higher the chance you ll get a room. counselling/support at home university The international office is very supportive in the whole process of applying for exchange. However, due to all the different processes at the different foreign universities, things can get a little confusing. So don t be reluctant to visit, call or the international office: they are more than willing to answer all your questions. academic preparation There are no specific requirements in regard to academic preparation from the University of Victoria. In my case it was helpful that I did some background research on the law system in Canada in general and BC law in in specific, but this didn t cost a lot of time and you ll figure out everything once you ll start classes anyhow. language preparation I attended the legal English course offered by Tilia, Utrecht Law College (but several student groups offer legal English courses). This was helpful to get a little more comfortable in speaking and writing in English on an academic level, and recognizing the used jargon. Also, the European Law course in the last period of year 2 is taught in English, which offered a good preparation of studying in English. finances I highly recommend saving up money if you re desiring to study in Canada. Things like groceries, drinks in bars and housing are quite expensive, and if you want to explore the area and go on trips it is nice to have some extra money saved up. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) Studying in Canada is similar to studying in Utrecht, but there are some differences. For instance, there are no small working groups, only lectures. Also, you ll follow more courses at once, and they last for the whole semester, so good planning is required (I recommend to take 3 or 4 courses to be able to enjoy your time in Candada). I followed the courses Indigenous Lands and Rights, Global Corruption law and Alternative Dispute Resolutions. I really enjoyed these courses, especially the first one: professor John Borrows is exceptional, and the course really gives you a great understanding of Canada as a country: both her history and the contemporary issues.

4 academic quality of education/placement activities The academic quality of Uvic law school is very good. The quality of the courses is high, the students are very eager and the professors knowledgeable. This is not very surprising since law school is a masters program in Canada. Students are expected to invest quite some time in their studies, and attend the lectures seriously and prepared. I think the workload may be higher than in Utrecht (you simply have more readings to do), but in the end the examination and academic level is pretty similar. counselling/support at host institution/organisation The support at Uvic law school is very good. Everyone is extremely welcoming, nice and willing to help you in any possible way (and they always you back super fast!). transfer of credits As soon as I got my results back, the assistant to the associate dean had ed my transcript to Utrecht. Now I just have to wait for the approval of the examencommissie. student life welcome/orientation programme If you study at lawschool at Uvic, you are very lucky, because you can attend both the general orientation program for the new incoming students and the orientation program for the new first year students of law school. You can expect a lot of free food, free goodies, events of every kind, and simply a great time. For some events you need to register online, but don t worry about that: you will receive s with all the information, and if you re not sure what to do just walk around on campus and a lot of fun will come right at you. accommodation I must say I had some trouble finding an accommodation in Victoria. I came to Victoria 2 weeks before University started to give myself some time to look for housing. I stayed at the Ocean Island Backpackers Suite, which I can highly recommend: I met a lot of other exchange students looking for housing there, and actually already made some of my best friends on exchange there. Finding a house for a short period in Victoria can be quite difficult, since a lot of landlords require you to sign a one-year lease. However, I know a lot of people who did find very nice places, so don t worry too much. I managed to get a cluster room on campus in the end (a spot became available last minute), which was perfect for me. However, living on campus has it s pro s and con s, and it is really personal whether you prefer to live on campus or not. (pro s: close to your classes, all the activities on campus, a lot of your friends and not to forget the campus pub) Con s: further from downtown, quite expensive, average age is a bit young) leisure/culture

5 Victoria is a really nice city, with lots of nice little cafes, bars, restaurants and other great spots. It s small, so you ll feel at home soon, but that doesn t mean there isn t much to do. There are always nice events, live music, you can visit the museum etc. Beautiful beaches like James bay, Ogden point and Cadboro bay are just a few minutes away (depending on where you live), and are really great for a fresh breath of salty ocean air. In summer there are lots of great activities you can go on, especially if you like the outdoors. Kayaking, surfing, biking, whale-watching; you name it. Also, you ll always find a group of people going on hikes in the weekend to explore the island and its beautiful nature. You can keep on exploring in winter, as it doesn t get Canadian cold in Victoria (pretty much the same weather as in Holland). It s also possible to ski on the island if you re into that (on Mount Washington, 3/4 hour drive). In sum: there is no way you ll get bored if you choose to go to Victoria. suggestions/tips In Victoria, make sure you have a beer at Darcy s, dinner at Pagliacci s and a dance at Canoe bar. On campus: get your coffee at Munchee bar in the SUB-building and your beer+nacho s at Felicita s. As for traveling the rest of the island: Make sure you visit Tofino (a really cool and beautiful surfer town on the pacific side of the island), the Goldstream provincial park (a provincial park just outside Victoria with great hiking trails), and the beaches of the Juan de Fuca trail (china beach, sombrio beach: it s paradise out there). If you have the time and money, there s a lot to explore on the mainland too. Especially if you like the mountains, skiparadises such as Whistler are worth paying a visit. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain I could definitely recommend going to Victoria on exchange. Uvic is a really well organised and great university, in a beautiful place with incredible surroundings and the nicest people. You ll be on the other side of the world, but feel at home right away. do you have any additional advice or comments?

6 University of Victoria, B.C preparation exchange/placement application process I had to write a motivation letter. I focused mainly on explaining why I wanted to go to this university in particular and looked into the courses they had available. I made my motivation very specifically about the country Canada too. counselling/support at home university The international office was very helpful whenever I had questions. I could either walk in or them. academic preparation None, not necessary. language preparation Not mandatory, but I would definitely recommend it if you re having trouble with English. finances If you want to live on campus, you ll have to pay the four months of rent at once, which you should be prepared for. Groceries are more expensive than in the Netherlands. You ll probably want to make a lot of trips to around the area or even further away, to see some of the country, so put some money aside for that. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) I did 3 courses, which I would say is enough if you also want to have time to see some of the country. academic quality of education/placement activities Good quality of education. Difficult in the beginning for courses that involve a lot of Canadian law, but for me after some time I came into it. Professors are very helpful. counselling/support at host institution/organisation Very good and helpful. You could go to the office anytime with questions. transfer of credits Easy, university sent it straight away. student life welcome/orientation programme None, because it was only me and another exchange student in law. accommodation

7 On campus, living with 4 people in a cluster. leisure/culture Very western. Friendly, open. Sugestions/tips - conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain Yes. Amazing country, nice people, beautiful nature. If you love hiking/surfing/skiing you will especially love this. do you have any additional advice or comments? -

8 University of Victoria, B.C preparation exchange/placement application process Applying for an exchange requires a lot of steps and the deadline always comes sooner than you think. Make sure you start thinking about your destination, studyplan and finances on time so you don't have to stress out last minute. Also a recommendation letter can take some time to write so make sure you ask this on time. counselling/support at home university The support from the international office is good. They can give you a lot of helpful information and always respond to s very quickly. academic preparation I didn't do any academic preparation for my courses. It could be useful to read a little bit about common law and the Canadian political system if you are planning on taking courses in that field. language preparation For language preparation it is possible to do a Legal English course. I didn't do this but looking back I think it would have been smart to do it because even when your English is good, speaking and writing academic English is harder than it seems. I managed without the Legal English course but it just takes a little bit more time to get used to the academic English. finances Living and studying in Canada is expensive! You can buy some books second hand but they are still more expensive than in Utrecht. Also groceries and going out costs a lot more money. Make sure you save enough money. In Victoria and Vancouver Island there are so many things to do and see, so also be prepared to spend money on travelling. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) I studied at Uvic in the second semester which starts in January. This means I could not do courses in the second period in Utrecht because I would miss the finals. Think about this when choosing where you want to go. Non-European universities often have different semesters so there can be overlap with the semesters in Utrecht. A full course load at Uvic Law means taking five courses (6 ECTS per course). As I was already extending my bachelor to 3,5 years I only did 3 courses. I would recommend people to take 3 or 4 courses so you have enough time to enjoy your time in Victoria. academic quality of education/placement activities

9 Uvic Law is known as a pretty good school and the students are very motivated. The professors expect everyone to come prepared and to speak up in class. Most classes are small and people know each other well. I mostly took international law related courses and these were not very hard. There is a lot of reading and writing but the academic level is not higher as Canadians are not very used to the idea of international law and we are. One of my courses included common law which made it quite hard for me. However the professors are really helpful and always asked me if I was able to keep up and understood everything. counselling/support at host institution/organisation The international office at Uvic is great. You get all your information on time and they are always willing to answer your questions. Their office is in the law building so you can just walk in there if you have any problems or questions. transfer of credits I just received my transfer of credits. Uvic was very quick in this. I didn't have to do anything except send course summaries to the examencommissie in the beginning of the semester. student life welcome/orientation programme The orientation program in the second semester is not as extensive as the first semester. Just make sure you go to the activities that are organized, you will meet a lot of exchange students there. accommodation As I went to Uvic in the second semester, there was a lot more place on campus than in the first semester. I got a room in cluster housing on campus which I can recommend to everyone. It can get a little noisy but it is a good way to meet other exchange students. If you want to live on campus make sure you apply on time. If you are to late you can find a room using craigslist or facebook groups. leisure/culture Canadian culture is quite western so you will not experience a great culture shock. It is true that Canadians are very friendly (always say thank you to the bus driver!) so during your first weeks you will find that when you are lost everyone is willing to help you. People in Victoria go out to dinner a lot and it is relatively cheap. Make sure you try out some of the many restaurants in Victoria. The nightlife in Victoria is a bit small compared to Utrecht and it is more focussed on the weekends. The nights start earlier and end around 02:00/03:00. Also the Canadian girls dress up more when they go out. suggestions/tips Travel a lot! On Vanoucver Island you can go to Tofino, Mount Washington or Salt spring island. Also visiting Vancouver and Seattle is worth it. During my reading break I went to Hawaii for a week which was great. Flying to Hawai is relatively cheap and it is a normal holiday for North-Americans. I would also recommend you to do travelling after the semester ends. British Columbia and Alberta have a lot of beautiful places like Banff and Jasper national park but you can also travel the US westcoast.

10 conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain I would recommend Victoria to everyone. Victoria is a fun city and Vancouver Island is very beautiful. You will meet people there from all over the world and have an amazing time! do you have any additional advice or comments? Get a creditcard before going to Canada because you can only use your debitcard at the ATM and not in stores. Also print out your Uvic acceptance letter. This will make it easier to get through customs when you arrive in Canada.

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13 University of Victoria, B.C Preparation There are a lot of steps involved when you want to study abroad, but if you just make sure you keep track of your application status and think about the deadlines, you ll be okay. Start on time! Councelling/support home university If you need help, you can have all the help you need. Still, again, make sure you start early with your preparations so you won t have to ask for help right before a deadline. I found that the staff from UU were very supportive, whenever I needed something they did whatever they could to help me. It is very helpful to go to the early meetings as well, where you can ask everything you want. Academic preparation To prepare myself for the English lessons in Law I did a Legal English for Academic Purposes (LEAP) course. It was mainly focused on the United Kingdom, not where I was going, but still it was good to practise writing essays in English and to get used to speaking English in class. Language Preparation As I just said, I took a course in English language related to my study. Especially when you are not sure if you can handle the lessons being in English I would recommend taking some form of English language course, but even if you have no doubts I would say it is good to practice reading, writing and thinking in English. Finances Prepare for a plan b. Make sure you safe up to avoid being in need of money when you have to spend more than you expected. Study programme/work plan At Uvic you will have two lectures for each course. You won t have meetings where you discuss assignments, as you are used to at the University of Utrecht. However, it is not just the teacher talking. There are small groups, about 25 people, and active participation is expected. In my experience the Canadian students really are a lot more eager to participate and discuss the materials with the teacher than I was used to in my bachelor; there seems to be more of a master s mentality. Next to attending lectures you will need to do a lot of reading, not particularly more than at the UU, but you do need to keep up since you won t have to practice through assignments. There will be a test moment halfway and a final test. The midterm test will probably be a paper or a presentation. The final tests are open questions and multiple choice questions combined, or, as I had with the subject Family Law, a take home exam. You can take this exam home and you will have a lot of time to work on it, probably weeks, and you can use any book or web page you want, but don t let that fool you: you will need the time since they make it more difficult than a normal test. Furthermore, you can also enrol in a smaller course, and here you will get just one lecture a week and only a final test. I actually found that more difficult, bacause you will only have a 100% test.

14 Academic quality of education The teachers at Uvic all seem to be very motivated, and so are the students. This really improves the academic quality, depending on your own attitude you will be able to learn a lot and have a very useful experience. In my opinion the courses where easier than the courses in the Netherlands. If you have no problems with the English language it will be fairly easy for you to get good grades. From what I noticed in my classes, they won t let a student fail a test unless they really have to. The average grades are definitely much higher here, not particularly because the students are better, but because they seem to work with the idea that higher grades motivate students more. Personally, I really liked the course Environmental law and I thought it was of excellent quality. I was less excited about the Family Law course because I had slightly other expectations and I wasn t a big fan of the teacher s approach, so I would say this course was of less quality. However, in general, I think the academic quality of education is very good! Counselling/support host university You won t find any problems here. There is a lot of support for exchange students at Uvic. There s an international office where you can find help with anything you want to know, but every other information desk at the university will do their best to help you too. I found the staff at Uvic very friendly and supportive and they helped me with everything I needed, whether it was before, during or after my exchange. Transfer of credits The transfer of credits seems to be successful in my case. The University of Victoria was really quick with sending the necessary transcript of records, so everything went smoothly. The staff at Uvic are very helpful! Welcome/orientation programme The welcome programme was well organised and very useful. They will definitely get you excited to study at Uvic! There were multiple orientation programmes you could attend, including one especially meant for exchange students. I would surely recommend going to some of the events Accommodation If you are lucky, you can get a room on campus. However, if you want a place on campus, you should really start applying as soon as possible because they will run out of places soon. I didn t get a room on campus, but no worries; the website of the University of Victoria has a page where you can seek accommodation outside of campus. Through this webpage I got in touch with a teacher from Uvic who had her basement suite available for renting. Transforming the basement in a bachelor suite is something a lot of Canadians do, because the rent for a family house is very high there. You can also try and get into a house that you share with other exchange students; pay attention to the Facebook page especially for Uvic Exchange students. You will have to decide for yourself if you prefer living alone or with others. Even if you end up alone while you wanted to live with others, there are so many social activities you can go. Leisure/culture In my opinion what they say is definitely true: Canadians are very friendly people. Expect a lot of genuine interest and help from strangers. Apart from this outstanding phenomenon you will only find minor differences. Compared to another western country as the Netherlands you won t experience that much of a culture shock.

15 Suggestions/tips Something really pleasant at Uvic is your Uvic student pass: with this pass all busses in the area of Victoria are free. Make sure you get this pass first thing after you arrive! Also, I would recommend buying a Canadian prepaid sim card for your phone. Using your Dutch one will get you huge costs. Would you recommend this university? I would definitely recommend this destination. Uvic is an excellent university, with very interesting courses, highly motivated staff and good quality education. There s a lot to learn and you will find a lot of eager students at Uvic. The campus is a great learning environment, but it also has restaurants, pubs, a cinema, a supermarket, a hairdresser and more. Also, you can be sure everybody speaks English so language won t be a problem. Above all Canada has amazingly beautiful nature and the people are very friendly. Victoria has the best climate in all of Canada as well: the summers are great and the winter is warmer than in the Netherlands as well. If you like to go out of Europe and experience another country and (academic) culture, but would still like to avoid a big culture shock, Canada is the perfect destination! Additional Advice/comments You can t pay by debit card (at least not your Dutch one). You could get a Canadian debit card, but make sure to do some research on this option beforehand. Easier and also a good option is to just make sure you have enough cash (your Dutch card will work with almost all ATM s), but having a credit card is sometimes necessary, for example when you have to pay for hotels or trips.

16 University of Victoria, B.C Preparation Pre-departure For the pre-departure I had a very good communication with the University of Victoria (Uvic). The dean for exchange students sends loads of s every week about important things you need to arrange. You can send her s regarding everything and she replies most of the time the same hour. One thing I didn t understand was how you could register for the courses. I ve send an about which courses I wanted to be registered for and everything was arranged for me. Study/academics Since I only had 3 courses, the study load was not really heavy, so I could enjoy the exchange the most I can. The most students have a 5 course load. I think that is really busy, since you have more lectures than at home. Contacts During the exchange the contact with the university was excellent. Also during the exchange the dean for exchange students keeps you up to date about everything what is going on at the university. You could mail her with every question you have, she helps you literally with everything. Language As a preparation for my exchange to Canada I took the course Legal English for Academic Purposes (LEAP). It was very useful, since you get a better understanding of the common law system, which is used in Canada. Finances I saved a lot of money for the exchange and I needed it. The expenses here are more expensive than in the Netherlands. Daily groceries are more expensive and even is going out. Study abroad Programme/courses I had 3 courses, Health Law, Alternative Dispute Resolutions and Labour Law. The course load was good. Of course there are some peak moments where it is busy, but that s also because it is hard to concentrate while you re on exchange. I experienced the peak moments not as hard as I did at home. Quality of education In the beginning I needed to get used to the teaching methodology here. For me it was a little bit as if you go back in time. The professors have a lot of authority here about how they teach you the course since they are most of the time the only ones who teach their course. At home I was always used to Powerpoint lectures and for which you could bring the Powerpoint sheets. At Uvic the profs rarely used Powerpoint. In the lectures for Labour Law I only had to listen to the prof s story and make notes. One time we had a guest lecture, but for the rest the lectures where always the same. For Health Law the focus was more on activity in class, which was really nice, You were placed into small groups to discuss a certain topic. Another time there

17 where presentations of your classmates or the professor gave a lecture. With Alternative Dispute Resolutions the focus was on attending class and in the class most of the time you only had to listen. A couple of times we practiced with a case in groups. Contact with lecturers/students The contact with the profs is really informal, some profs tell you you can call them by their first names. Also when you them, you get a response the same day. Counseling/support I didn t make use of this, but I bet Uvic has plenty of opportunities for students who need counseling or support. I think there is almost too much to choose. Transfer of credits I don t have my grades returned yet, so I m waiting for the transfer of the credits. Student life Welcome/orientation During the welcome/ orientation days you get to know people who you will see for the whole of your exchange. These days are the most important days at the beginning of the exchange. You meet people from all over the world and you can share your experiences and ask questions to your peers. The friendships for the whole exchange are set during these days. Uvic pays a lot of attention to the orientation and I remember these days as the best introductions you can get. They have a lot of volunteers, they arranged food for the whole day and everything was well organized. Accommodation I had no troubles with finding accommodation at all, because I did a house swap with a Canadian girl who went to Utrecht. So that worked out well. Leisure/culture Victoria is a beautiful city to spend your leisure time. There a plenty of things to do, there are festivals in September (the dean keeps you up to date of these), there are big malls for shopping, there is a lot to explore outdoors (hiking, sailing, bicycling, camping). I also recommend attending a few of the many clubs Uvic offers. I attended the sailing club, the outdoors club, the salsa club and I did some sports. It is nice to engage in a sport class with other students. The campus also offers good running trails around campus. Many sport facilities are also for free on campus, like swimming, tennis, salsa dancing, soccer. We had a team of exchange students who played a soccer game every Wednesday night. On Thursdays a group of exchange students went ice skating almost every week. Suggestions/tips If you re course load allows you, sign up for many clubs, especially clubs you will not join on the first sight at home. It could be that you never have the opportunity to join such a club again in the Netherlands. Conclusions Recommendable destination? I totally recommend to go on exchange to Uvic, I had such a good experience with everything here. Uvic is a really nice university. The campus is beautiful and offers you so much (the sport activities, social activities like coffee bars, restaurants, a cinema, shops, clubs).

18 Virctoria on Vancover Island also gives you plenty of opportunities to check out the environment, the free public bus transportation is a good outcome. Vancouver Island has good places to go to like Tofino (for surfing), Mt. Washington (for skiing) and Saltspring Island. From Victoria you could also easily access cities as Vancouver and Seattle. Any advice or tips? If you re thinking about Canada as a destination, but you are not sure, I can highly recommend Canada as a destination. Canada is a country where you get around easy. It is the Canadians nature to help you if you have any problems. I really liked it to be close to the sea and the outdoors.

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21 University of Victoria, B.C preparation exchange/placement application process For the pre-departure I had a very good communication with the University of Victoria (Uvic). The dean for exchange students sends loads of s every week about important things you need to arrange. You can send her s regarding everything and she replies most of the time the same hour. One thing I didn t understand was how you could register for the courses. I ve send an about which courses I wanted to be registered for and everything was arranged for me. counselling/support at home university Be on time if you need official signatures/stamps from the International Office, because the opening hours are limited. For the rest the support provided everything I needed. academic preparation I took one course: Legal English for Academic Purposes (LEAP), which was very useful. Here I learned some academic skills which I used in Canada. language preparation The course LEAP gave me a sufficient preparation for the use of academic English. finances I saved a lot of money for the exchange and I needed it. The expenses here are more expensive than in the Netherlands. Daily groceries are more expensive and even is going out. study/placement abroad period study programme/work plan (concerning content and organisational issues) Since I only had 3 courses, the study load was not really heavy, so I could enjoy the exchange the most I can. The most students have a 5 course load. I think that is really busy, since you have more lectures than at home. academic quality of education/placement activities In the beginning I needed to get used to the teaching methodology here. For me it was a little bit as if you go back in time. The professors have a lot of authority here about how they teach you the course since they are most of the time the only ones who teach their course. At home I was always used to PowerPoint lectures and for which you could bring the PowerPoint sheets. At Uvic the profs rarely used PowerPoint. In the lectures for Labour Law I only had to listen to the prof s story and make notes. One time we had a guest lecture, but for the rest the lectures where always the same. For Health Law the focus was more on activity in class, which was really nice, You where placed into small groups to discuss a certain topic. Another time there where presentations of your classmates or the professor gave a lecture. With Alternative Dispute Resolutions the focus was on attending class and in the class most of the time you only had to listen. A couple of times we practiced with a case in groups. counselling/support at host institution/organisation Uvic has plenty of opportunities for students who need counselling or support. I think there is almost too much to choose. There is a writing centre where they help you with writing papers. There is also a counselling service offered.

22 transfer of credits I don t have my grades returned yet, so I m waiting for the transfer of the credits. student life welcome/orientation programme During the welcome/ orientation days you get to know people who you will see for the rest of your exchange. These days are the most important days at the beginning of the exchange. You meet people from all over the world and you can share your experiences and ask questions to your peers. The friendships for the whole exchange are set during these days. Uvic pays a lot of attention to the orientation and I remember these days as the best introductions you can get. They have a lot of volunteers, they arranged food for the whole day and everything was well organized. accommodation I had no troubles with finding accommodation at all, because I did a house swap with a Canadian girl who went to Utrecht. So that worked out well. leisure/culture Victoria is a beautiful city to spend your leisure time. There a plenty of things to do, there are festivals in September (the dean keeps you up to date of these), there are big malls for shopping, there is a lot to explore outdoors (hiking, sailing, bicycling, camping). I also recommend attending a few of the many clubs Uvic offers. I attended the sailing club, the outdoors club, the salsa club and I did some sports. It is nice to engage in a sport class with other students. The campus also offers good running trails around campus. Many sport facilities are also for free on campus, like swimming, tennis, salsa dancing, soccer. We had a team of exchange students who played a soccer game every Wednesday night. On Thursdays a group of exchange students went ice skating almost every week. suggestions/tips If you re course load allows you, sign up for many clubs, especially clubs you will not join on the first sight at home. It could be that you never have the opportunity to join such a club again in the Netherlands. conclusions would you recommend this host organisation/destination to others? please explain I totally recommend to go on exchange to Uvic, I had such a good experience with everything here. Uvic is a really nice university. The campus is beautiful and offers you so much (the sport activities, social activities like coffee bars, restaurants, a cinema, shops, clubs). Victoria on Vancouver Island also gives you plenty of opportunities to check out the environment, the free public bus transportation is a good outcome. Vancouver Island has good places to go to like Tofino (for surfing), Mt. Washington (for skiing) and Saltspring Island. From Victoria you could also easily access cities as Vancouver and Seattle. do you have any additional advice or comments? If you re thinking about Canada as a destination, but you are not sure, I can highly recommend Canada as a destination. Canada is a country where you get around easy. It is the Canadians nature to help you if you have any problems. I really liked it to be close to the sea and the outdoors.