Hi CC,
I’ve been accepted to KU Leuven and am very optimistic on my TU Munich application. Assuming I get in, which one would be the best for my field, financial and actuarial mathematics? Both seem like fantastic, even world-class universities, but beyond that I need to consider other factors. Relevant research, ability to get a job as a student, possibilities of studying abroad, campus and city atmospheres, teaching, support to get a job after graduation both from the university and the country (I know Germany offers an 18-month job seeker visa which is immensely helpful for a non-EEA student like me) and other things.
When I consider all of these I’m pretty split on both universities, as each one gets more or less an equal number of points. What are your thoughts on this, and which would you advise me to pick?
I don’t know much about your field, but I do know that the housing market in Munich sucks. It’s one of those cities where college students have to postpone their studies because they can’t find a place to live at all.
If you mentioned “ability to get a job as a student” because you’d rely on a part-time job to make ends meet, I’d avoid Munich for the cost of living alone.
TU Munich’s advise about the housing search: https://www.tum.de/fileadmin/w00bfo/www/Unileben/Wohnen/Accommodation_in_Munich.pdf
One department’s advise about housing: http://www.theorie.physik.uni-muenchen.de/17ls_th_solidstate_en/contact/apartment_munich/index.html
True, but Munich also allows me to take an internship as part of the course, and I can stay in Germany for 18 months while being able to look for jobs (whereas in Belgium it’s ‘pack your bags and go’)
In Belgium, isn’t it ‘if you find a job you can stay?’
Do you have family in either town? Do you speak either country’s language?