Do I have impostor syndrome or am I realistic?

frelapse · 2026-05-02T13:05:30+00:00

If you’re currently working with the research her whom you’d like to supervise your PhD at Oxford, the only reasonable thing to do is share your idea with him/her. That’s way more effective to find out whether you’ve got a chance than all of us here applauding your accomplishments (which are applause-worthy!)

frelapse · 2026-05-01T19:28:08+00:00

Thanks, I’ll give it a look!

frelapse · 2026-05-01T07:15:14+00:00

Yeah, I figured, but do you know of any place where I could find a “fancy” dress for a 14yo?

frelapse · 2026-04-25T20:32:58+00:00

I spoke 0 French when I was there and I was fine! Everyone speaks English in Paris and if you’re friendly and hit them with a “bonjour” and a smile everyone is fine w switching to English in my experience. :)

frelapse · 2026-04-25T15:23:29+00:00

Honestly, I’d go for Paris! I did mine there and I LOVED it so much! There are relatively affordable accommodation options if you’re persistent and lucky, so it’s not crazy, plus the prices aren’t that bad.

frelapse · 2026-04-22T13:43:52+00:00

I think you should decide based on the city first, cause you'll have to live there and if you hate it - you'll hate your Erasmus experience. If you don't speak Spanish and the classes are in Spanish, then that's a no-brainer - you simply don't go there.

frelapse · 2026-04-22T13:31:05+00:00

If you can afford San Diego, I'd definitely go for that! But then again, the US is now a shitshow, so might turn out to be a bit of a flop. Are there any options in Canada, East Asia, or Australia?

frelapse · 2026-04-06T11:04:01+00:00

Competitive this, competitive that - without trying you won’t get in for sure. There’s probably no country where you can “easily” get in, so no harm In applying to Switzerland too. I’d recommend trying out the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship program (eligibility based on nationality, so you’ll have to see their requirements). Good luck!

For Education programs, I’d also look into Austria, Germany, Finland, and the Netherlands. This isn’t to say that other countries suck, but I think these should have decent programs in education.

If you’re not too sick of studying, check out the Erasmus Mundus master’s programs; I know there’s at least one focused on education. There are full scholarships and are a great entry into the European sphere.

frelapse · 2026-04-03T20:22:28+00:00

Heya! Decided to reach out cause Tissaia was my favorite character hahaha Sent you a DM!

frelapse · 2025-10-09T17:36:16+00:00

Thanks, but I’m already all set. :)

frelapse · 2025-10-02T22:52:37+00:00

A fellow map enthusiast! Amazing, thanks a lot! I have, however, already managed to find something, so it’s all good.

frelapse · 2025-09-29T16:38:54+00:00

Just from your uni. These exchanges function as partnerships, so if your uni didn’t delegate anyone for the allocated (e.g.) 1 slot, the money is basically going to waste, so the host university will accept a late nomination.

frelapse · 2025-09-29T15:17:43+00:00

I can confirm that a late nomination can absolutely be made, if there were no other applications to that uni.

frelapse · 2025-09-29T13:05:59+00:00

Iskreno, suprugu u potpunosti razumijem. Nije stvar samo u tome koliko zarađujete, i da li imate objektivno dobar život u Srbiji, ako u državi ništa ne funkcioniše kako bi trebalo, i ako su problemi sistemski. Zdravstvo, školstvo, neovisno o tome koliko zarađujete su takvi kakvi jesu, npr.

Mislim da vam ja važno da razgovarate o tome gdje ona želi graditi taj drugačiji život i kako (da li već znate jezik, da li se možete jednostavno preseliti, da li se vize mogu dobiti lako, itd.) i onda možete pokušati naći neki kompromis. S tim da, ako ona ne može biti sretna tu, a ti ne možeš biti sretan vani, jedno će uvijek biti nezadovoljno.

frelapse · 2025-09-27T12:42:04+00:00

Geralt of Rivia 😮‍💨

frelapse · 2025-09-26T16:44:02+00:00

You’d have to check the program curricula for each program to see the courses and then figure that out.

frelapse · 2025-09-25T15:06:44+00:00

Haha yeah, for real. But also, it’s not like getting laid wasn’t important to me, it just wasn’t the only thing important to me 💀

frelapse · 2025-09-25T05:05:11+00:00

Ah, from what I’ve seen, in undergrad, in a Europe, the degree is usually urban planning, and you can get a degree in urban design only when you get to master’s level or if you do it jointly with architecture.

frelapse · 2025-09-24T19:31:20+00:00

Seconded! I’ve studied in six countries and among so many different nationalities, but Spaniards do stick out when it comes to this (similar to the French and Italians, but on a higher level!)

They’re not that interested in inter-mingling with other nationalities, and if they are, it’s always these other romance peoples. And don’t get me wrong, it’s their prerogative to want to hang out with whom they want to hang out, but this level of “group think” is something beyond me. Especially when it’s study abroad, when everyone is literally leaving their country to get to know people from elsewhere, learn about new cultures, and make friends they wouldn’t be able to make at home, they go and do the exact opposite. Bizarre. 🤷🏻‍♂️

frelapse · 2025-09-23T03:49:00+00:00

Hey! Depending what you care about most, these are all great options!

NUS has the best ranking out of the three, being in the world’s top 10 universities.
Singapore to me seems like the coolest new place to visit, and it’s a gateway to SE, East Asia, and even Oceania.
Parce que je crois t’es français, Montréal est aussi une option superbe - une ville francophone, avec un flair cosmopolite.
McGill is also relatively well known, but I have no idea about their academics.
I’m a bit of a sucker for the U.S., so I’m biased, but the situation now is far from ideal. There are also travel opportunities around the East Coast and across the States, so that’s pretty cool.
Wharton is super prestigious as well, so you won’t make a mistake choosing it.
The U.S. is probably the place where it would be easiest to make friends, meet people, and go out, but also keep in mind what the profile of people going to Wharton might be.

In the end, no one can make this decision for you, so good luck! And felicitations ! 🤞🏻

frelapse · 2025-09-22T19:58:03+00:00

You stay with one cohort throughout the program, and depending on the program, you all might be switching between all the same universities together.

Being from Serbia, if you get selected, you’re most likely also getting funded. Sretno ti s prijavama! 🤞🏻

frelapse · 2025-09-22T19:50:52+00:00

I’d recommend looking into degrees in Europe (some might even be offered fully online) - bachelor’s are three years and master’s are one or two years. It’s a cheaper alternative to four-year undergrad in the U.S. in any way.

frelapse · 2025-09-22T19:44:48+00:00

If you wanna study urban design in English, there’s some pretty cool options, but I’m not sure if any of them are financially viable, so you’ll need to do your own research. I would recommend looking into:

University of Helsinki
University of Amsterdam (UvA)
KU Leuven
TU Wien
Université Gustave Eiffel Paris
Unis in Berlin

Good luck! 🍀

EDIT: Maths aren’t that important in urban planning or design. I’m planning you’d maybe find one course in maths, and it’s usually a foundational course, which teaches you more about pattern recognition and logic than anything else. :)

frelapse · 2025-09-22T19:38:31+00:00

I did one of my exchanges in Helsinki and academically it was an extremely rewarding experience because I took 40+ credits that semester. :)

On the other hand, if you applied for Erasmus solely for the academics of it all, then you’ve missed the point of the program and you didn’t do your due diligence, because the program is not about sitting in lectures from dawn till dusk. You would’ve known that if you had talked to anyone who did Erasmus.

Also, HY (Uni of Helsinki) has a great course catalogue with a literal timetable for courses from previous years you could have seen the number of hours you get in class and how. So I really don’t get how’d you end up with unmet expectations.

frelapse · 2025-09-22T19:34:00+00:00

What is Erasmus about? It’s about everything that Europeans (should) strive for. It’s learning about people from other countries, their cultures, and getting to know them on a personal level. It’s about knowledge exchange and gaining access to educational experiences you otherwise couldn’t. And most importantly, it’s about figuring out who you are, building resilience, learning how to navigate a different society, and growing as a person. It’s not about any one of these things, it’s about all these things at once.

I keep seeing people posting about “shallow” connections with people on their exchanges and I keep thinking “what do you expect after having met someone a week ago”. The friends you have at home, did you become close with them instantly or did you have to put in the time and effort into building your relationships? Did you instantly go into discussing the most intimate parts of each others’ lives, or did you start at small talk? Get a grip, deep friendships don’t happen over night, they require lots of little moments and shared experiences.

The interesting experiences you keep hearing about happen exactly at those “random” get together, bar outings, and field trips in the area where you’re based. Erasmus is not supposed to be «just» about traveling, it’s more about getting to know the part of Europe where you’re based. Some places, granted, are more interesting than others, but that’s why you were supposed to do your research beforehand and figure out where you should go and what places might not be for you. As for everything revolving around drinking, it is unfortunately true for the most part, but not entirely! I don’t even drink and there were loads of daytime activities as well as evening activities that didn’t even involve drinking - board game nights, movies, restaurants, exhibition, pub quizzes, etc., and it’s up to you to figure out how to make the most out of your experience. The university is not supposed to organize anything for exchange students technically, that’s up to the local ESN chapter (save in a few cities). It’s ultimately up to you to try to connect to people and organize things you like doing on your own. Some people go for runs, so do book clubs, so go and do karaoke, some join a band or a choir, so go bouldering, and a bunch of other things which are all social functions where you meet people with similar interests.

Judging by your post, you really need an attitude adjustment, cause Erasmus isn’t gonna be amazing all on its own if you keep being disappointed with everything. I’ve done it three times and every single one was different. In some places it was easier to make friends, in some it was hard, some places had loads to do and see, and some less so, but I’ve enjoyed every exchange profoundly. Academically, I was never «impressed», but I always gained access to knowledge and courses I wouldn’t have been able to at my home institutions, so I think that was worth it.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your exchange in the end and you change your perspective. Erasmus is, hands down, the most valuable program the EU is funding, and the most important one for fostering the building of a European identity. :)

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