Since I came to ELTE as a Stipendium Hungaricum scholar, tuition wasn't really my concern. What mattered more to me was whether the teachers were approachable, how intense the academic pressure would be, and how international the university actually felt. I looked into reviews from Bangladeshi seniors already studying in Hungary, and even some who went to other universities told me they wished they'd chosen ELTE instead; that really stuck with me. I also spent time on ELTE's website, and it genuinely looked like how a top university's website should look.  ELTE also had a podcast and a genuinely active online presence, which gave off a strong signal of being an international, well-connected place, not just another university with a static webpage. On top of that, Budapest itself was a big factor; it's really one of the few cities in Hungary with real part-time job opportunities for students, which was practically important for me too.

One thing that really stands out to me is something my C programming practice teacher told us early on. He said we don't all start the race from the same point; someone who looks like they're effortlessly acing coding and CS concepts right now might have been doing this since class 8, sacrificing play and other parts of childhood to get there, while others of us grew up in very different circumstances. He then shared that before joining ELTE himself, he didn't even know how to turn on a computer. Despite that, he completed his degree, went on to work in cybersecurity at a company, and eventually came back to teach us. Hearing that from someone standing in front of the class, not just as encouragement but as his own lived experience, was genuinely inspiring, especially for those of us who don't come from privileged backgrounds and sometimes feel alienated sitting next to classmates who seem naturally brilliant. It reminded me that where you start doesn't determine where you can end up, and that ELTE actually has teachers who understand and speak to that.

One of my earliest challenges was purely logistical. I arrived on September 15th, while some classmates arrived as early as September 1st, a 15-day head start that made a real difference. My first week already had classes five days a week from 9 to 4 or 5, which left almost no time to handle administrative tasks like opening a bank account or visiting various offices. On top of that, I was genuinely afraid of missing three classes, since that would mean failing the course, so my focus stayed heavily on not missing lectures rather than on admin tasks.

The first semester can feel overwhelming; everything is unfamiliar, and it's easy to feel lost at first. My advice is to study a little every day rather than cramming; little, incremental progress adds up and makes the workload feel far more manageable over time. I'd also strongly recommend joining clubs, even ones outside your own faculty. I'm in Computer Science, but I actually go on hikes with TÁTK's cultural club, and it's been genuinely great. The first semester is really a time for exploration; don't limit yourself to just what matches your major on paper. One practical tip: get your documents ready early so you can start applying for student jobs as soon as possible. Savings from home tend to run out faster than expected, and having everything prepared in advance means you won't be scrambling when you actually need income.