My son is studying with www.aifsabroad.com in Salzburg (just got there yesterday). When we were researching programs I had come across this one in southern Germany that might be of interest to you.
http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroa...sustainability

They also have a program in Berlin. http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroa...olitan-studies

Study abroad should really be called experience abroad, because most programs do not immerse the students in the regular curriculum. Unless you do, or unless you live with a local family, it is unlikely you'll get really proficient at the language. In addition, home universities will normally only accept class credits as electives. I know many students delay their electives in anticipation of studying abroad their junior year.

When my kids were deciding where to do their study abroad, they were like you, mattocs in that they hadn't a particular draw to any one country. My only suggestion was to choose a place where it would be difficult to live later on your own. On that basis, my oldest chose India over Italy, and the younger chose Singapore (for its proximity to other SE Asian countries).

Both had great a marvelous time, and figured that was going to be the whole extent of the program. They were later surprised at how they remain connected to the experience; the oldest (an engineer) was later asked by professors at her home univ to present a paper in India. As Singapore had a very large exchange program, my youngest has friends all over the world.

So, choose the one that you think will be the most interesting to you. Don't try and make it into a something to go on a future resume.

Your's is a tough choice, as they are, in many ways, quite similar.

mattocs,

something else you should be aware of is the attitude in Berlin about "hipsters" and foreigners:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...-tourism-abuse

But I still think the question for you is not entirely about the offerings of the destination, but also how you generally interact with your surroundings. You mentioned that you have a friend in Prague. If you know from past experience that having that kind of companionship -- or not -- will play a big part in how you get on, your attitude every day -- don't ignore that.
Anything else about your personality that maybe wouldn't bother somebody else, but could bother you a lot. (I once had a very hard time enjoying living in London just because of the rainy weather.)

Prague is a smaller place than Berlin. For some people, Berlin would be too busy and big, the way LA is too big for some people and San Francisco is delightful. Other people get bored in smaller places, and like the 24 hour feel of a big modern metropolis.

Hard to see how any country could be Germany for a "green" outlook. Might be nice to feel you have plenty of people who understand what you're interested in. Maybe Prague offers you that too (I don't know) or maybe you aren't looking for that, but instead would like something that really does feel "foreign" -- Prague is going to feel more exotic than Germany. Some people might find that irritating after a while and prefer the easier feel of German culture.

Touch choice for sure!

Another typo: Meant to say

"Hard to see how any country could beat Germany for a "green" outlook"

Can anyone that has been to Berlin recently touch on the article that goldenautumn posted and whether or not you could sense that? I don't want to feel outcasted.

That article is fully blown out of proportion.
Since re-unification in 1990, Berlin always had that problem of gentrification of specific boroughs by a somewhat intra-city migration of more affluent "foreigners", i.e. people from other boroughs or other parts of the country. If you want to compare it to something it would be like Brooklyn becoming the "new Manhattan" or such.
Neukölln, The borough in question, always had been a somewhat rough neighborhood. Actually it has been nicknamed the "Berlin Bronx" for a reason. Yet anyone familiar with some inner city problems in the US will probably laugh at the level of "danger" in those Berlin "hoods".
There are tons of other neighborhoods, though, where you will feel or see nothing of the anectodal incidents in that borough.

Hi!

If you want more information on Germany or other European countries, I advise you to check this website http://globaliseme.com/Globalise_Me.html There are a lot of practical information for students and above all videos, this way you can really imagine how will be your future student life ;)

hope you will find it helpful

good luck anyway to make your choice!

I have recently declared a minor in Business and my university offers a 5 week study abroad program in Italy in which you complete 1/2 of your required courses for your minor. Therefore, I have decided to do that and then travel around Europe for the remainder of that summer. This is the most practical study abroad program and still allows me to travel (which is one of the biggest reasons I even want to study abroad). Thank you all for the help, and if you want to comment on my other post concerning my post study travels that would be cool too ;)

Good luck in Italy!



I was going to address your original post and say Prague though. I love Berlin but for a student abroad Prague is fun, fun, fun. Tons of you guys here.

hi mattocs,

thanks for coming back to us with the update - so often people start a thread then disappear never to be heard of [at least in fodorsland] again.

your 5 weeks in Italy sound great and the travelling after that perhaps even better.

Can i suggest learning a bit of italian before you go? it'll bear dividends I'm sure.

Good luck!

My daughter just turned 21 and is studying in Budapest. She had been to Prague before - but a while ago. She had never been to Berlin.

She just had a trip to each. she was not a fan of Prague (nor and I, so it could be hereditary)...she loved Berlin. And as a city, she said it was huge and full of things to occupy a substantial amount of time.

Take it for what it's worth. At the end of the day, you will have a blast (and you are young, you should have a blast).

prague is nice, there are many good universities. berlin is quite similar tho, maybe more hipster. take a look on http://www.unyp.cz - it's good university to study in english in prague (NY Univ.)

am presently in prague. language should not be a problem at all. every young person seems to speak english. all merchants seem to also.
spent last evening with a cousin who is here on a semester program and loves it. lots of availabe travel she has gone to krakow austria and germany. my sense is prague is a much smaller city to walk around. it is also a beautful city with gorgeous architecture.
also there was no language course she ws required to take. hope this helps

just saw that it is italy!
cant go wrong there!

you can also try to study in Slovakia similar to prague, but cheaper and closer to vienna and budapest - there is this website http://www.studylivework.com and they help to find a school.

Although I have never been to Prague, everything I hear about Berlin is how vibrant, livable and dynamic a city it is, and for young people, the night life and the cutting edge arts community would make it a huge draw. I have been to Berlin and found it interesting on many levels. Not a city one goes to because of the charm and beautiful buildings, at least IMO, but one can do plenty of excursions for that.

Berlin..in my opinion..i feel the idea of student exchange programs is to enable the student to broaden his outlook by mixing with other people.. To meet with people of different backgrounds.. The more we meet and observe, the more we learn and mature.. Berlin offer more oppurtunities in this respect. Since course is more or less similar in both cases then it cannot be the deciding factor..night life and enjoyable pursuits are bonus but cannot clinch the deal..things going in favor of berlin are more cosmopolitan society, chance to learn german, being in a more historical and deep rooted city, being in an economic powerhouse..

well, I can agree about a lot of those things, but cannot agree that Prague is not an equally historical and "deep-rooted" city (not sure what that means, but it certainly has a long important history and identify for its residents). Coincidentally, right now I'm reading "Prague Winter" by Madeleine ALbright, which covers a lot of the history there, especially around WWII, of course. I think most of it is really ghost-written by Bob Woodward. It's pretty good. But I've read a lot about Prague because I am very fond of the Czech Republic and Prague, in fact I donate regularly to a charity to help keep up Czech history and cultural treasures.

So I can't agree that Berlin is more historical than Prague. Prague was the seat of Czech rulers since the middle ages. In fact, Prague is about 300 years older than Berlin as a city. Familiar with that Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslas?

Sorry Christina.. I accept that I am wrong in selecting improper words and also on facts.. My ignorance.. But from the student's perspective I think that time spent in Berlin would be more beneficial..