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If
you are evaluating the possibility to take a erasmus grant
in Thessaloniki and you have got "multiple choices" between
this and other destination then I have to suggest you
strongly to come here: The city is good, criminality levels
are really low, the people is extremely kind to foreigners,
student life is at its best and once you met the other
erasmus students you will never feel alone. It is a pity
that Erasmus grants for Greece are generally considered the
last choice. Life is great here!!!
When
you consider the possibility to get a erasmus grant for
Thessaloniki you might have to face a choice between one of
the three universities. Look here for a brief description of
advantages and disadvantages.
The Aristotelio
The
Aristotelio university is definitively BIG (the biggest
campus of Greece). But being big is not always a good thing.
As a matter of fact the university of Aristotelio is so big
that, despite the efforts of many professors and assistants,
the services provided to the students are of lower quality
than those offered by the other universities of
Thessaloniki. The Aristotelio has almost all of the
faculties in every field (Social sciences, natural sciences,
culture etc.) so it is more feasible for getting a erasmus
grant. On the other hand not all of the professor in the
Aristotelio will agree erasmus students to take examinations
in other languages but Greek. The university has some
computer available to the students for e-mail check but
there is a time restriction of about 30' per day. So many
students, in order to check their e-mail, have to go to
internet cafes (anyway cheap - from 1,2 € per hour).
I
suggest you that before taking
a Erasmus grant for the Aristotelio university you make sure
that you can pass the exams of your learning agreement (make
sure you can pass them in English or any other language you
know) by contacting the erasmus responsible of your faculty.
Another severe restriction applied by the Aristotelio
university is that if you take a six months grant (not
annual) you will not be allowed to take all the exams but
just the ones that are actually held during the semester you
spend in Greece. Make sure also that the lessons you want to
take are held in your semester.
The
Aristotelio has a Erasmus office in the administrative
building. There you could find help for academic and,
sometimes, for housing and other problems. Other structures
inside the university include a free restaurant and several
bars.
Take
also a glance at "where
to live" section
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The Macedonia
The
newer university of Macedonia is really small but, in this
case, it is good to be small. All the administrative
personal is young and most of its teachers speak fluently
English (either by having masters in UK and USA or for
having worked abroad) and they have no problem in letting
Erasmus students pass their examinations with English work
and/or tests. The erasmus responsible and administrative
clerks devote great effort to helping the erasmus students
in the first days of their permanence (to find teachers and
refine the learning agreement).
Being
new, the university is completely network cabled. It offers
a very nice (big) computer room open all the day for its
students and each of the four departments offers smaller
computer rooms. Definitively erasmus here do not have
problems keeping contact with friends by e-mail. Also they
provide a Unix account and a personal email to every
student. The university has one bar, one Restaurant (at 1.2
€ per day) and has a sport office that organizes sport and
travels for the students.
The
only drawback of the university of Macedonia is that
currently only four departments are activated: Business
administration, Economics, International Relation and
Informatics, so if you attend another faculty you will not
have any erasmus grant for the Macedonia.
The
Business Administration Department offers a guide to
download by the incoming Erasmus students. The page of the
department is HERE.
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The
TEITH
The Teith (technological
Institute of Thessaloniki) is not really a university but a
"post-hi-school thing", they call it a "technical school".
It is something like the commercial schools of France with a
three years diploma and practice on the field.
In
the erasmus frame the TEITH is considered just like other
universities and if you have the possibility this is also a
excellent choice. Here are present courses in Marketing,
Informatics and Engineering. One of the drawbacks of the
school is that it is located far from the city (something
like 20 Km south-ovest) near the small industrial village of
Sindos. Also the university restaurant is there
while (for clubbing reasons?) the students are lodged
in Thessaloniki (see
where to live).
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The
Greek Language course
When you arrive to the
university you're invited to follow a Greek language course.
Things are different university from university. I
personally know for the Makedonias and for the Aristotelio.
Don't even think that Greek is comparable to English in
terms of friendliness and grammar. Greek is difficult.
In
the case of the Aristotelio the course is offered free of
charge to the erasmus students. It is a small intensive, one
month, course in Greek Language. I don't know if you ever
listened or tried to read Greek... a month is completely
useless. I don't know of any erasmus student talking Greek
after the course. And I mean actually they were helpless to
order at the restaurant...
For
the Makedonias the things are even worse. As erasmus in
Makedonias I was supposed to go into the Aristotelio as the
others, pay around 60.000 Drx, get a full medical analysis
(Blood, X-Rays, "Shit" sampling!) and attend a test.
I made just the test and they told me that I had to go into
level B3 (Intermediate) but they never contact me for
telling when such a class would start. Apart the shit stuff,
I though it was unfair to make me pay for such a low quality
teaching when it was free for all the others Erasmus of the
Aristotelio.
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