The 4 Most Underrated Exchange Locations

Don't get down if you don't get your top choice.

The exchange application process can be super stressful! The placements are pretty well entirely out of our control. But you know what isn't out of your control? YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Why is it that everyone loves exchange, and yet the same five places are always the top of second year list? The most competitive schools offer a large number of spots, and tend to be in country capitals... so what's up here, what about the little guys?

You never get to hear about them! That's the issue right there!

To solve the problem, our team at Undergrad Overseas interviewed students who went on exchange to what we feel are the five most UNDERRATED exchange destinations. Check out the five reasons they feel like their exchange was actually the best (...take that Bocconi!).

Lund University, Sweden

Kristin Tom, Class of 2019

Reason 1: I LOVE Swedish people they are all so nice and because they all learn English it's really easy to communicate with them

Reason 2: They are very community-based. I lived in a nation which is the Swedish equivalent to a sorority/fraternity but its co-ed and I got to help work in their restaurant and bar in exchange for a dinner/party for free

Reason 3: I traveled north of Sweden and saw the Northern Lights which are beautiful

Reason 4: Dog sledding/snowmobiling in Sweden was really fun (also up North)

Reason 5: Lund Uni was like Queen's where it's a student town and there was a lot of activities to do while there

BONUS REASON: I lived with 15 other Swedish people and became a family. We had room crawls, cooked dinners together, celebrated birthdays and hiked outdoors as a group it was so nice

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Tilburg University - Netherlands

Megan Latham, Class of 2019

Reason 1: I became more independent and learned how to navigate in very different environments Reason 2: I became a pro at problem solving and looking at situations through a “glass half full Lens”Things went wrong ALL the time (delayed flights, wrong trains, incorrect food orders because I couldn’t speak the language) but learning to bucket things into what I could control and what I couldn’t has been hugely valuable to me Reason 3: Travelling - I had never been outside of North America before 2017. Reason 4: The FOOD and wine and beer

Reason 5: The community at Tilburg University! I got to meet incredible people from all over the world!

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Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay

Alana Johnson, Class of 2019

Reason 1: Hands down the people. Students and non-students alike. It felt like everyone I met was pleasant and enthusiastic to help, even going so far as to take my hand and show me where to go when I asked for help. Also a lot of fun and want to show you a good time

Reason 2: The location. Montevideo is the capital city, with about 10 beaches in city all connected by a world-class boardwalk call "La Rambla". It is so easy to spend a whole day outside biking, running, walking or sitting with friends watching the sunset and drinking a "mate".

Reason 3: Strong community of exchange students. They have a group for all the unis in the city called the Montevideo International Students that organizes activities, trips and nights out. A nice support while you're trying to orient yourself

Reason 4: The university itself is very small. I was in classes of around 25 people which was a welcome change from the classes at Queen's. Made it easy to get to know the people in you class and allowed for better activities including countless field trips and good class discussions.

Reason 5: The language. I went in speaking Spanish which would be helpful but is by no means a necessity! The school offers many english courses as well as Spanish language classes to help you learn. Many exchange students I knew came speaking no Spanish and by the end were able to get by quite well and were having fun doing it.

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Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Belgium

Matt Lee, Class of 2019

Reason 1: The Greatest Intermediary Destination

My goal on exchange was to travel as much as possible and immerse myself in a diverse variety of cultures across the entire EU. Brussels was the ultimate location for extremely inexpensive plane and train rides - to put this into perspective, I was able to fly from Brussels International to Warsaw for the equivalent of about $8 CAD. Reason 2: Proximity

Similar to Queen’s, everything in Brussels is very easily commutable by metro or bus. Also, in terms of how close everything is, the student housing district by the university closely resembles that of the Kingston student ghetto! Reason 3: Group Work

I really enjoyed the class structure that Solvay offered. All of our classes were mostly made up of exchange students from a bunch of different cool places - it was awesome to gain their contrasting insights in group projects!

Reason 4: A New Sense of Independence

the transition from living with your parents in high school to living on your own in university is certainly a big jump; however, living in a new country on your own with completely different cultural norms is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be grateful for.

Reason 5: Improving my Budgeting and Planning Skills

Through coordinating my trips and travel plans, trying to save my money for groceries in Brussels, and still having room to spend on souvenirs and gifts for friends/family back home, I learned how to effectively budget my money and use my time wisely - I learned this the hard way after spending waaaay too much on my first trip to Barcelona!