Study abroad in Europe for BANGING

Exchange options in Paris suburbs (Essec), Milan (Bocconi) vs. Barcelona (Esade)
Considering: traveling, nightlife, parties, girls & (culture)

Here to ask all you folks who have gone mad in Europe to share your stories 

From a university in APAC and Locked a SA in HK. Have worked really hard in college so the only purpose for exchange is to have fun and enjoy a big time.

Asked a lot of friends but basically they don’t get how strong is my desire to go CRAZY in the exchange before becoming slaves in investment banking.

Really into French culture, but the location of ESSEC sucks (1hr to central Paris), really afraid of having a bunch of nerds in the exchange class rather than hot girls. But I’ve heard in ESSEC students party a lot like crazy (having a bar in teaching halls), so if ESSEC is workable, really still wanna choose here (French girls really are my type while Italian and Spanish seem too much and not that good-looking)

Bocconi and Esade have great locations. I can pick up some basic Italian or Spanish quickly but also concerned of language barrier.

Already deleted English schools and HEC Paris (even worse location than ESSEC), maybe RSM in Rotterdam is also a decent option but I assume the fun there is way less. With all that said, wouldn’t hate the chance to do intern abroad tho, understanding it’s kinda impossible cuz I never heard of that.

 

Barcelona 

I studied abroad for 6 months in Valencia, a city just south of Barcelona on the coast.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Valencia I assume would be better than Barcelona since there are much fewer tourists right? Sadly my school doesn’t have the exchange offer there

 

Yeah there aren’t as many tourists, so it forces you to learn Spanish. I was hoping for full immersion and had an amazing time there.

I went through UVA.

https://valencia.virginia.edu

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Pan European Monkey

ESADE>Bocconi>ESSEC to maximize fun. 

2 votes for Barcelona 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I thought culture-wise Milan or Italy is so rich. I learned all the time back in the school about the Renaissance while Spain is less shiny.

 

I studied abroad at ESADE during MBA, highly recommend it for undergrad. School is in English and people in Barcelona all speak English for the most part (they prefer catalan to Spanish so they don't really give af if you can't speak good Spanish). Also you can take hella cheap flights from Barcelona and metro connects to airport easily.

Only thing to note is esade is not in Barcelona but if you live in a place like Gracia you can easily get to school via public transit.

 

Thanks. I feel reputation-wise, ESADE is relatively weaker compared with the other 2 (from FT rankings), is that right? I understand exchange school is nothing on my resume, but would really love to know some friends there who are more likely to work in banking or PE (Bocconi has a lot of exchange students from Wharton, Berkeley, and other M7). Actually, I don't really know the landscape in Europe. Thanks in advance anyways for your advice!

 

Keep in mind that in Bocconi you would have to sweat a bit to maintain a good gpa.

Overall, nightlife in Milan is very good and there are a ton of international students.

Hook up culture is decent but probably smaller than other countries like Spain

 

Bocconi course in fashion has models in it or wannabe fashion influencers. 

Other than that, the city is not top 10 in Italy. Known for the grey sky 6 months a year, it doesn't stand a chance against Barcelona. 

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 

Barcelona to study. Weekend travels: Berlin, Krakow, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Zagreb, Belgrade. Greece if you can find a good flight

Anything west of Berlin will be pricier. If you're young, go east. Make some friends in your on-campus groups and hit up hostels. 

Definitely hit up the rest of Spain: Valencia, Sevilla, Mallorca/Ibiza, etc. And Portugal: Algarves (beware of UK-folks), Porto, Lisbon. Awesome surfing in Portugal if you're into that

Skyscanner will be your best bet for flights

 

There is also good surfing on the Basque Coast as well in Spain (Mundaka) and France (Hossegor). 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
KClubs

Krakow, Warsaw

+1. +2 actually

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Barcelona. I lived there for 6 years. Once Spring hits, all the girls go in shorts and looking for parties to go so easy to hit them.

Milano is also easy to get girls, studied there for a semester but generally the city is more sophisticated so girls. 

To compare, in Spain girls may look at you if you go with more relaxed rich vibes (chinos, opened shirt, some NB for example) meanwhile in Milano they will look for more "flex" (more accesories, stylish haircut, good brands, etc.).

Tip: Get your rent so you can bring chicks to your place but also befriend people who live in dorms so you can pass from time to time there and meet people.

Although with Covid rules the fun may be more restricted than what it was years ago.

 

Do Semester at Sea. Travel the world and the ship is 80% girls and most of the time it’s bathing suit weather on the pool deck.

I think I did this right
 

ESADE is really good fun! 

Plus, it is a target school in Europe. So you still get the benefit of having blackstone / JPM / GS / PJT / BoA / Citi / GHL / etc on the campus for some events.

I did ESADE and honestly dont regret at all. It was a lovely experience - read it as a lot of party / decent professors / great career opps. 

If you decide to go, please go ahead a drop me a msg and happy to talk you through the best places (i.e. you have massive parties from Monday to Sunday)

Recommend 100%

 

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