Meet senior transfer student Christine Dengsøe! Traveling all the way from Roskilde, Denmark, she is studying on campus for the 2017 fall semester. Considering the fact that the Denmark government pays students $900 a month for enrolling in a university, the higher education system here is clearly quite different. However, Christine is thriving in all the newness of College Park!
Q: First, what are classes generally like in Denmark?
A: Well, we will usually be in school from 8-12[pm] or 1-5[pm]. We’ll have class in one subject for 4 hours once a week generally. This would be a 2-hour lecture and a 2-hour discussion.
Q: What do you miss most about school in Denmark?
A: It’s completely your own responsibility to do your work and you can do whatever you want when you to want. You can do a ton of work one week and none the next. So, I miss being able to make my own schedule and the independence that comes with that.
Q: What first interested you about studying abroad? Was coming to America always your top choice?
A: I was very eager to leave home and study somewhere else. Actually, I wanted to go to Australia the most, but I had to take an English test to go. It was during final exams in December, so I opted to focus on the classes I was taking at the time and go to America, instead.
Q: How did you hear about the University of Maryland?
A: Many other students at my university have been here. They wrote reports about their experiences that I read when I was deciding where to go, and I thought that UMD sounded really nice.
Q: What has been the biggest change you have had to deal with while studying at UMD?
A: At home we only have to take a final exam and I think that’s so much better. Here, you have so many due dates and midterms, and you need to show up for class every day. It’s very different and tiring.
Q: So, higher education is free in Denmark and your government even pays you to attend school. Have you had to adjust economically at all since you’ve been here?
A: Actually, I don’t have to pay to study here, the government paid for it as well. I only have to pay for housing and food, which is the same as at home. Both of those are more expensive here of course, but the adjustment has not been bad.