by Aiden Gumaer
Exchange at Roskilde University is best thing I have ever done for my education, full stop. I’ve learned a hell of a lot of things that simply aren’t taught at Evergreen, met people from all across the world, and enjoyed myself tremendously. I have never once regretted my decision to come on exchange nor to extend my exchange another semester Here’s why you should, probably, come to Denmark too.
Cost of Living
You may have heard that Denmark is a very expensive country. This is true for most things, but has some significant exceptions. Dormitory rent is a lot cheaper at RUC than at Evergreen. I pay 3800 Danish Kroner (about $550) for an apartment about as good as the Evergreen dormitories, and much better located. Most staple foods cost about the same as they do in Washington, though meat is quite a bit more expensive. A train ticket to downtown Copenhagen will cost about $7, but you won’t need to go to Copenhagen all that often unless you love clubbing. Instead of buying, insuring and maintaining a car, I paid about $100 for a used bike from Facebook Marketplace a year ago, and I’ve had to pay maybe $200 more on repairs since then. You can also get substantial financial aid just to go here. It isn’t guaranteed, but the Evergreen Foundation offers a scholarship of up to $2,500, and one in two Evergreen applicants receive a Gillman Scholarship of up to $5,000. And yes, most medical care is free even to exchange students. But you will have to pay a lot more if you like going out especially in Copenhagen. A cheap draft beer will cost you about $9 at a typical Copenhagen pub. You can definitely find cheaper places than that, but the cheap places are all full of chain-smoking pensioners.
Study Life
I was in the political science program, so your academic experience may be quite different, but I found the study life at RUC to be quite good. RUC has mandatory group projects – every semester, you and 2-5 other students work together with an assigned supervisor to write a paper answering a research question which you are at liberty to formulate. I’ve learned some very valuable group work and independent paper-writing skills, which I really wish Evergreen put effort into teaching. The professors here hold you to a much higher academic standard, and that high academic standard pays off. Skills which Evergreen, unfortunately, did not do enough to teach me.
University Life
The university itself doesn’t offer very much – there’s no bookstore, writing center, and the canteen is only open for lunch. Life as a student here feels less coddled, and a lot more free. There’s an entire building (Studenterhuset, or The Student House) devoted to student clubs with a full kitchen and a student-run Cafe/Bar. It even hosts an (admittedly rather generic) party every Thursday, and students organize lots and lots of parties through the various clubs. I myself was an active member of the homebrewing club, where we made our own drinks and sold them at school events. For the culinary folks, there’s a cooking club that caters many events. Wave goodbye to the cursed Aramark competition contract! During the last orientation course for international students, we sold homemade beer, cider and sandwiches to the incoming students. Danish urban planning is phenomenal; the dormitories are located in a suburb with two grocery stores, a bike shop, pharmacy, clinic and train station all within walking distance, and I’m no more than five minutes away from anyplace I need to go on campus. Seriously, get a bike. It opens everything up for you. I’m 10-20 minutes by bike from the larger shops in Roskilde, which has pretty much anything a typical student will need to live, along with a beautiful downtown, museums, pubs, and a stunningly beautiful cathedral. Again, an apartment in this location costs about $550 a month. You’ll also get to meet people from all over the place at RUC. Really, all over. I had roommates from France, Czechia, Germany, and Morocco. I’ve made friends with folks from more countries than I can fit into the CPJ article word limit. You’re going to get a hell of a lot of incredible cultural exchange. It’s something that just can’t be taught.
Reasons You Shouldn’t Go
Here’s a few reasons you might not want to come study at Roskilde University. But I really, really think you should think long and hard about if any of these are a deal-breaker. To reiterate, coming to Roskilde University was the best thing I have ever done with my education. I am astounded that so few people are applying for this exchange program.
Cost: Even though a year in Denmark costs about the same as studying at Evergreen, will still need to pay for several significant up-front expenses. There’s a fee to the Danish government to apply for a residency permit, and you’ll need to cover transit to and from the application center in San Francisco and a flight to Copenhagen. You’ll need to make sure you have a good amount of nest egg built up to cover these before the financial aid and scholarships come rolling in.
Vices: Marijuana is totally illegal here, so if you use it medically you’re SOL. If you’re a tobacco smoker, get ready for some of the most expensive cigarettes in Europe. If you’re not a smoker, then get ready for the smell of cigarette smoke in most public places. They don’t really do smoke-free campuses here, so folks will light up anywhere that isn’t inside of a school building. If you drink, get ready for some quite pricey alcohol. It’s manageable if you just like beer, but going out for cocktails is very expensive. And, like with cigarettes, drinking in public is totally legal here. So if you’re out at night on a weekend, you’ll probably encounter drunken throngs of Danes who will enthusiastically ask you which president you voted for and quiz you on your Danish pronounciation.
Loneliness. Danes are really, really hard to make friends with. They’re very helpful, and will happily give you directions are help translate signs, but they’re rarely very interested in being friends. Unless you live on campus or have a way to meet lots of other internationals, you’re going to have a hard time making friends. That being said, it is pretty easy to get to know other internationals if you do live on campus or at least attended the Foundation Course for international students (if you do, please give Mirko and Marcell my regards).
I hope I’ve done a good job at convincing you. If you want to learn more, and apply yourself, the first thing to do is get in touch with Brynn Smith. She can guide you through the whole process of applying and getting those excellent scholarships. Her email is Brynn.smith@evergreen.edu. She told me to emphasize that planning early is very important. I will be far less helpful with the bureaucracy of it all, but feel free to reach out to me at aiden.kvokvug@evergreen.edu for more practical questions.
