Student Life in Ås
Int. Students UnionIf you are new to Ås you might want to know what to expect and what you may find there. Here we will give you a brief picture of the place where you will be studying.
About 10% of the student population in UMB is composed of international students. Thus, the possibilities for intercultural exchange are quite vast. You will never run short of new faces in Ås.
Ås is a small town of about 14000 people in total (spread throughout the county) and is only 30 minutes away from Oslo by train.
The town has all the basic necessities that a student needs: four supermarkets (REMA1000, KIWI, RIMI, COOP and PRIX Mega), an organic shop (Helios), two banks, a post office, a library, a train and bus station, sports facilities in lots of fields!
Sports and outdoors activities
One of the main highlights of Norway is its nature and the all the outdoor activities you can practice year round. That is right: all year round!
During the summer and autumn months you can run and bike around the different picturesque country routes around Ås and/or venture to Drøbak and enjoy the fjord and the beautiful views.
While the summer season does not last very long, the winter also provides extra entertainment. Many winter activities are offered in Ås including cross-country skiing, skating, hockey, and tobogganing. So if you like skiing, hope for a good snowy season, and your skiing dreams may just come true here!
Nightlife in Ås
Although Ås is not necessarily bursting with places to go and things to see regarding nightlife, there is always the student society building, Samfunnet. Within the building there are 2 bars, a restaurant, and a cafe, which offer their services and usually have activities occurring to which the international students are encouraged to participate.
Apart from this, many students organize themselves within Pentagon to have dinners and gatherings with each other on different days of the week, so you do not have to worry about meeting people. With less than 3000 students there is a good chance you will make friends quite soon.
Of course, there are other options for entertainment such as taking the train to Oslo to check out the nightlife there and experience everything that a big city has to offer, at prices you may have never seen before! Oslo has been awarded the "most expensive city in the world", so keeping that in mind, you will find plenty of bars, dancing clubs, movie theatres, plays, ballets, restaurants, etc.
A few facts about Norway
Here are a few facts about Norway, so that you do not feel so out of touch when you come here for the first time:
Language: Norwegian (Norsk, in the local language)
Currency: NOK (Norwegian kroner). The exchange is about 8.77 Norwegian Kroner per 1 Euro.
Population: 4.6 million
Updated: 16.02.09
Printerfriendly version
Del med en venn:
Inernational Students Union
ISU - UMB, Ås Email: isu@student.umb.no