Is Milan a good city to study in?
We put Milan to the test: All you need to know as a foreign student wanting to study in the northern Italian university city of Milan?
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00:00Do I need to speak Italian to study in Italy?
00:04Is it easy to find a flat?
00:06How expensive is it to live here?
00:08Here's what you need to know if you want to study in this country.
00:11Milan, in Lombardy, the region of Italy with the most international students.
00:19And who better to tell us about studying here than an actual student.
00:24You are from France.
00:26Tell me why did you decide to study here?
00:28I decided to come here for various reasons.
00:31My course specifically serves the international reputation and the fact that it was more technical.
00:36And especially just the culture in Italy is fascinating.
00:38You can easily do day trips to the most beautiful cities in the world and I just think it's
00:42just such a sort of enriching environment to study in.
00:45Founded in 1863, the Politecnico di Milano is the first university in Italy to offer
00:52all master of science programs in English.
00:55Professor Stefano Ronchi told me about the programs here.
01:00How big are the English programs for international students and how important is that for the
01:05university?
01:06We have over 30 master of science programs taught in English and we attract students
01:12from all over the world.
01:1330% of our master's students are coming from outside Italy.
01:18Why is that important for us?
01:19The first reason is that we aim to be a real international hub.
01:23The second reason is because we work closely together with companies and companies are
01:28asking for graduates from our architecture, design and engineering courses coming from
01:33all over the world.
01:34Italy is in the top 10 most popular countries worldwide for international studies, hosting
01:40around 125,000 students from abroad.
01:45Most of them come from China, Romania, Albania, Iran and India.
01:49Tuition fees in Italy vary, public universities charge from 900 to 4,000 euros a year, but
01:56you also need to pay your rent and living expenses.
02:02Now I'm meeting with a student who just bought groceries, so let's talk about prices.
02:06This is Spencer from the USA.
02:08Hi!
02:09Nice to meet you.
02:10Nice to meet you too.
02:11Thanks for coming here.
02:12Of course.
02:13Look at this.
02:14So, what do you have here?
02:15I got a lot for just 15 euros.
02:16What?
02:17Pepperoni.
02:19Penne.
02:21Four tomatoes.
02:22Arugula.
02:24Milk.
02:25Tomato focaccia.
02:27Ten eggs.
02:29And three tortillas.
02:31But what about rent?
02:32Is it easy to find a place here?
02:34Rent is a little bit more expensive in Milan and I've lived in a couple of different places,
02:37but I finally found a place that I'm really happy with, so I'd be happy to show you.
02:41Oh really?
02:42Let's go.
02:43Yeah, let's go.
02:44Spencer came to Italy on a Fulbright scholarship.
02:47Nice!
02:50Welcome to my apartment.
02:52Wow!
02:53Nice!
02:56And he shares the apartment with another student.
02:59Obviously, not everyone can afford a place like this.
03:03Well the university doesn't offer a lot of student dorms within the city of Milan and
03:07many of their dorms are further away from the campus.
03:09I wanted an apartment that was really close to the campus.
03:13I was able to find this apartment after quite a bit of searching.
03:17Usually for an apartment in the center, the apartments can be about $1,400 per month and
03:22on the outside of the city they're around $900 for a one bedroom.
03:26Imagine visiting Milan Cathedral.
03:29Or just walking around while studying here.
03:32Is it really a dolce vita?
03:34I'm meeting two students from Iran and Brazil to find out more about their lives here.
03:43So guys, how is life here?
03:47How do you like it?
03:48I really love everything about the life here, like the lifestyle, the culture that they
03:52have.
03:53At the end of the day having an aperitivo, a drink, this is absolutely my favorite part
03:58about it.
03:59Like when I first came here I was so focused only on the studies but then with time I learned
04:05to balance that.
04:06But at the end of the day I also enjoy everything that Milan has to offer.
04:10What is the most difficult thing about living here?
04:13Housing can be really hard because students come with apartment expectations and they
04:18need to lower their expectations to some rooms.
04:22And also something that's better to keep in mind is that some landlords expect students
04:29to have a guarantee or a stable bank account.
04:33Also the bureaucracy, like when you come as an international student you have to get a
04:38lot of documents and everything takes like months.
04:42So we've talked to international students but what do locals say about living here?
04:47I suggest to study very very hard.
04:49Exams here are quite difficult so don't come here thinking it's a vacation because it's
04:55not.
04:56Though it is quite hard, Italian people tend to be very welcoming with foreigners.
05:01If you are in big cities, a lot of people know English so it's not a problem but if
05:04you are studying in smaller cities it could be a problem.
05:08The rents are quite cheap if you are not in a big city like Milan or Rome or Florence.
05:14The life in here as a student is quite nice because we have a lot of activities and we
05:19have a very nice nightlife.
05:22So up to Italy then?
05:24Ciao Belli!