by Carolina Braglia Aloise Bertazolli, LLM student in the Department of Legal Studies
I checked CEU’s website for the first time in 2018, when I was still an undergrad and many things caught my attention: quality of education; how many doors of opportunities the university could open; diversity of faculty members; international environment; and the financial support the university provides. Those were the main reasons why I decided to apply to CEU . I have not regretted my decision since, because the amount of knowledge I have gained and the improvement to my skills in only two months is already visible.
First of all, CEU is well-known for the quality of its education. The amount of papers we have to read, assignments we have to write and oral presentations we have to give help us improve each week. The feedback we receive from professors is personal and they care about the quality of their students' work. If you want to stay in academia, as is my case, holding a CEU degree can help you earn your spot, since CEU is respected by other universities and people who graduate from CEU have a good background in the areas they chose to study.
CEU has a Center for Academic Writing, which proves how much the university cares about the quality of its education: non-native speakers have the opportunity to participate in private consultations to refine their writing skills. Future opportunities are connected to quality education, and the university has a Career Services Office that provides webinars related to job opportunities in specific areas – how to apply for a PhD; how to prepare CVs for interviews; etc. They do a great job of working with students to find their path within the job market and to overcome PhD challenges. CEU demonstrates how important their students’ success is in their studies and future.
The third reason that motivated me to apply and study at CEU is the diversity of its faculty members. My department, Legal Studies, has permanent faculty and visiting faculty from all over the world. Coming from another continent myself, this diversity is important. Different perspectives create a multicultural environment that allows people (students and professors) to have a better understanding of the world and its differences. This brings me to the fourth reason: the international environment. CEU has students from more than 100 countries and I would never have the opportunity to meet people from as many countries if it was not for CEU. I am really grateful for having the opportunity to study with people with so many different backgrounds and that makes me a better person.
The last and most decisive reason was the financial support. CEU has a range of scholarships that help students come to CEU and decrease the burden of the costs of studies. Quality and environment are important features in a university, but CEU guarantees its diversity with scholarships and help provided to students. Therefore, CEU promises and accomplishes all of its goals by assisting its students financially. The environment and opportunities given by CEU are real and of a high quality.
