Faranak Gholampour
Study program: Social Integration MA
Country: Iran, Islamic Republic of
Scholarship: self-funded
Period of studies at ELTE: 2017.09.01 - 2019.07.31
"For me, studying at ELTE is a great opportunity to experience new educational system, new relationship between student-teacher and learn about other cultures."
Why ELTE?
As I’m a self-funded student, the tuition fee is one of the most important consideration for me. When I wanted to apply for my master, I compared some universities in Europe for the same field study and I realized the cheapest one is ELTE. Also, in compare to other European countries, Hungary is quite cheap which is affordable for international students. ELTE is based in the capital and is the first national ranked university in Hungary. So, these reasons are not enough for coming to ELTE?
What do you like most about being a student at ELTE?
I would say professors in ELTE are very friendly and helpful. I come from a very different cultural and educational background and the education system is totally different in my country. For me, studying at ELTE is a great opportunity to experience new educational system, new relationship between student-teacher and learn about other cultures. I have found so many friends who are from all around the world and ELTE is the main reason of this kind of friendship.
What are your challenges in your study program?
As I come from a different cultural background, I felt a kind of culture shock in my first semester. I did not know about Hungarian culture and language and also did not know how should I behave with people from different culture to avoid misunderstandings. My English was good but I could not communicate with ordinary people, for example during daily shopping. I felt a bit depressed and homesick during the first months of arriving and the process of cultural adaptation took me time, but finally I learned about cultural differences and how to manage the new life style and being optimistic about future.
How do you think your degree will help you in your life and career?
In today's world, the key factor for many kinds of jobs and business is communication and if you want to be successful in multicultural societies or have your international business, you have to know other cultures to understand how cultural factors influence human behavior. If you learn it, you will be a successful person in your business because you know how to behave respectfully with different people from different culture. I am studying intercultural psychology and as my previous master is clinical psychology, I want to be a counselor. For sure my current study helps me a lot to be aware of the differences between people and makes me an intercultural counselor.
Do you have any recommendations for future students at ELTE?
I would tell future students if you want to explore an exciting learning environment, be in touch with helpful and kind professors, use beautiful libraries, experience new culture and find so many international friends, join us in ELTE.