The not so good things:

When studying abroad, the hardest aspect may be getting adjusted to the topic of your classes or the form of teaching at a different institution. While attending BEM (now known as KEDGE due to a merger), in the English masters program, the focus is geared towards developing ‘soft’ skills. Which makes sense because the English classes aren’t necessarily intended for native English speakers, but instead French students. Most classes revolve around group work. The downside to being in the English courses was the amount of extra work you had to perform writing, if you worked with non-native English speakers. Many exchange students complained about this because we’d spend countless hours re-writing, trying to translate, and correct the work of some group members. One professor acknowledged that every year there’s a problem of some non-exchange students not attending class and dumping their work on the exchange students. Also, it may seem that you’re getting picked on constantly by professors because you do speak English. During one of sequences, in every class native English speakers and exchange students were always picked to present their ideas, while non-exchange students weren’t. You definitely have to be sure you work hard to get a passing grade because Bordeaux grades everything all at once, and then releases their grades during the summer. I’ve been gone from BEM for over 8 weeks, and just this past week was all my grades posted. Also, keep in mind, Financial Aid can’t process rewards until they get those grades back.

Now that you know the bad stuff, here are the good things:

BEM is a school that relies very heavily on socializing. The school thrives on its organizations; my suggestion is to at least join the wine club. During the warmer months they go to chateaus and do wine tastings weekly. I joined the cooking club, which was fun but the language barrier again was a problem. You can’t expect people to translate everything for you, but they certainly did their best.  I do feel my soft skills have developed a lot from attending BEM because I learned to express myself genuinely in different settings to people from different cultures and languages.  Also BEM has a very diverse range of English taught classes. The student body itself is very diverse, and they’re very professional and driven people.  BEM should definitely be applauded for the amount of internships provided to the students; constantly your e-mails will be filled with possible offers from companies like Samsung all the way to Chanel. If an exchange student is looking to stay in Europe and get an internship, I definitely think BEM is the perfect place to pursue that possibility.

I’ve heard really great things about BEM’s new merger and new identity as KEDGE. I think the good aspects of the school will only get better. They’re going to have an amazing new facility, and I think also a larger student body. If studying abroad there, you should be really excited because BEM/KEDGE is a really well known school that is known for taking care of their student body as well as they can. I’ve met really amazing people from that institution which I’m still in contact with today, who I hope will be lifelong friends.

I am home from studying in Bordeaux for a little over 5 months. I traveled to over 6 different countries.
I won’t deny, my first 2 ½ months in Bordeaux were EXTREMELY rough. Everything that could have went wrong, went wrong. However, it became a pretty good experience.
Bordeaux the City:

What I’m going to miss most of all about Bordeaux are the international students I met. They have many great small restaurants. Bordeaux is a very beautiful city, with everything in walking distance. It was only a 15 minutes walk to get from my flat (Victoire tram stop) to the main shopping area (Grand Theatre tram stop). Bordeaux School of Management is definitely a place where you can brush up your ‘soft’ skills, and the school does whatever it can to give their students access to the best education and internships.

However, if traveling there, be sure to brush up on your French. Finding people who speak English in Bordeaux is really a hit or miss. Once, while a large protest was going on, I couldn’t find anyone in the crowd who spoke enough English to tell me what was happening. Also, the French are VERY particular with how things are pronounced; even fluent speaking Canadian-French students had trouble communicating with the natives of France.

Tips if Studying in Bordeaux
1. Get a flat ahead of time. Do WHATEVER you can to get your flat in the city center. All the good stuff of Bordeaux is near the city center. Their trams and buses stop running as frequently after 10pm (they stop all together at 12am), and their taxis are VERY expensive. I knew lots of international students who felt living so far away from the city hindered their experience.

2. Go out to eat! They have amazing 3 course meals for just fewer than 15 euros which is quite the steal. I suggest visiting Rue Saint Remi near Place De La Bourse, it’s a street filled with affordable restaurants. The best restaurants in my opinion are Chez Pascal’s, Le Chine, and Karls.

3. Go on day trips! There are so many amazing near by places to Bordeaux because it is so close to Spain and the ocean. Some suggestions: Arcachon, Dune de Pyla, San Sebastian, and Saint Emillion.

4. Plan ahead! Though traveling in Europe is much cheaper than the US because it’s smaller, still book tickets in advance. Bordeaux’s airport is much smaller than most airports, so you don’t get the best deals compared to a place like Paris.

5. Rent a car! Yes, this is possible. It’s really affordable if you have 4+ people, also if one of them can drive a stick.

6. Take pictures! I brought a camera and took lots of pictures, but looking back, I wish I would have taken more.

– Jerica L