Written by Tėja

Many of the courses in the SSE Riga curriculum involve group work assignments, which can be more challenging to do than how it may appear at first sight. That is because reaching an agreement among several people is difficult. Therefore, I am writing this post to give you, some pieces of advice, which may be useful working on your group assignments. 

1. Understand the importance of the task. Do not underestimate the assignments, as they will contribute to your final score for the course. Nevertheless, learning to work in a group is a valuable skill that will be required in your future workplace. Thus, look at each group assignment as a useful practice.
2. Include every member of the group in the project. Make sure that everyone has a chance to express their opinions and provide suggestions. That will make people feel more comfortable and will create a nice environment for all of you to work in. A friendlier microclimate will lead to better results and will make the working process more efficient, as people will be encouraged to participate more.
3. Find the time to make the project. Aligning several people’s schedules may be difficult; however, it is crucial if you want to succeed. The best choice is to meet all together at least two times. First, when you are just starting the project so that you all could discuss the ideas and divide the tasks among each other. And second at the end, when all of the tasks have been completed to make final cuts and familiarize everyone with the result of the work. 
4. Choose a team captain. It is always a good idea to pick one person that will be in charge of making sure everyone is contributing to the assignment. The captain also has to assure that there would not be any conflicts in your team and if, unfortunately, they occur, to be solved as soon as possible. Having a leader helps to operate more efficiently as well as contributes to the way the above-mentioned points are completed.
5. Manage your time. Do not start doing all the tasks on the last day before the deadline. I know this sounds like a cliche that managing your time is very important, but here I can just remind the first point in this list – do not underestimate the importance of the assignments. They will be a part of your final score. Doing a group assignment is relatively easier than writing an exam or a report, thus it is a great opportunity to increase your final grade. 

That would be my Top 5 pieces of advice for working on group assignments, and lastly, I just would like to remind you one more thing – there is nothing impossible. Yes, some assignments are challenging and require a lot of effort to complete, but no matter how difficult the tasks may appear, they are possible to do, and they have to be completed. If you need help, do not hesitate to ask your team members for it. You are all in this together, thus helping each other out is a must to succeed. You all are contributing to the final result so try your best and I am sure your project will come out great. 

Good luck!!!

Written by Roberts 
Sports Committee Associate, Student Association 2022

As students, we are always thinking of a fun way of spending the precious 15 minutes between lectures. While chatting and getting to know each other is great during the first semester, after a while students usually start looking for a more competitive way of using the available time and this is exactly where foosball (table football) comes into play.

It is always great to feel the competitive spirit among your peers as you try to score goals on the foosball table. We all want to feel like champions and winning a game here really does evoke feelings of joy and happiness. Another “great” way of bonding with your teammate is by crawling under the table and leaving your signature after losing (0-8) to your opponents. Switching up the teams or the ways in which you try to score the goals and figuring out what works best for each player is a journey. This way of thinking can even be applied to the level of studying in SSE Riga in general: first you come and are possibly surprised by all the tasks, deadlines and assignments that are thrown at you, but soon enough you realize that by testing out different ways of studying you can overcome any challenges that you come across.

And foosball is not only played for the sake of playing it: we even have tournaments, both internal and with our neighbouring university RGSL, to decide who is the true champion of the semester and which team gets to have their picture on the wall of fame. While playing foosball might seem to be just a fun way of spending time, it perfectly matches the overall way of thinking of our university and the message is clear: you should definitely come and play foosball with us!

Written by Margarita
Junior Associate of Business Committee, Student Association 2022

Dear reader, The Business Committee associates are calling you!

Hope you have a few minutes to read our business offer! Today we would like to make a post for you talking about the business committee's responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities!

What is a business committee association?

The Student Association of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga is the main representative body of all SSE Riga students. The Student Association consists of eight committees (the Business Committee is one of them), multiple organizations, and the Student Association Board, which is elected annually (we are waiting for the 2022 elections 😏)

What are our responsibilities?

The main responsibility of the Business Committee is to provide the SA with financial and non-financial resources to improve the study life process beyond academics at SSE Riga. The Business Committee cooperates with other committees and organizations to strengthen the employer brand of the SA partners and sponsors. Calls, negotiations, proposals, and sales are things that can describe the Business Committee's responsibilities!

What do we learn and experience from it?

1.     Cooperation with different companies all around the world!

2.     Ability to get contacts from companies who would like to cooperate with SSE Riga SA.

3.     Opportunities to develop communication and interpersonal skills that are necessary elements for being successful in today’s business world.

4.     Ability to negotiate different terms of cooperation and sponsorship offers.

5.     Opportunity to be responsible not only for yourself but also for the school environment.

Written by Tėja

Preparation for the exams is without a doubt stressful: it looks like you have no time for anything, there are so many topics to go through and they all appear to be impossible to understand. On top of that, general schoolwork is not waiting and assignment deadlines are approaching you. You feel constantly tired and stressed, and no matter how much you study, the fear of failure never leaves you. This post might help you to feel a bit better regarding your exams.

Firstly, I just want to say – relax. Take a deep breath. The world is not going to end today. Or tomorrow… Probably 😊. No one likes to take exams, but we all understand that it is inevitable. What helps me to deal with stress coming from the upcoming exams is just simply reminding myself that an exam is nothing else but a set of problems needed to be solved. It might look like the most obvious statement ever, but sometimes students tend to forget that exams are nothing special. Like every burden that you will find in your life, this one just needs to be dealt with.

Of course, there is the frightening possibility of failing. But is that truly so bad? Failing is a crucial part of our lives (especially student lives). We all fail and make mistakes. And as I said, exams are just one more set of problems - it is common to fail to solve them. 

If you fail – you are not the only one. Many students, no matter their grade, age, or subject their studying, fail the exams. It is just part of the studying process. Do not feel excluded if you failed it too. That does not mean that you are stupid or incapable of studying the subject. All it can tell you is that you just need a bit more time to understand the topics.

But what happens when you fail? Depends on the exam, of course. But most of the time – the world does not end. In SSE Riga, students who failed their final exams, in most cases, can take the re-exams. And even if they fail them too, they can still try to overcome this burden the following year. And I can tell you a secret – many of the SSE Riga students have to sit through the exam more than once. But, let me repeat myself, it is normal. In fact, there are some pros to taking the re-exams. By doing so you have an opportunity in deepening your knowledge of the subject, and understand it in a better way, and often students who have failed their exams at first, end up being better in this subject than others. Because by spending more time studying you understand better how the knowledge you learn can be adapted in the real life.

What to do when you failed? First of all, don’t get upset. I already told you why you shouldn’t feel discouraged by this. Secondly, look at the mistakes you made – it can be useful as you will be preparing for the retake. Besides, if you have any troubles learning you can reach out to other students or teachers’ assistants, I am sure they would be happy to help you. And lastly, take a short break, and relax. You have already gone through much, and now is the best moment to pause and collect yourself. Trust me, studying goes way smoother when you feel good about yourself.

I hope this short post will help you to feel at least a bit better.

Written by Roberts Ralfs 

So, this part may seem scary to a high school student that has not had any experience with case studies or had interviews, especially ones that may have such a huge effect on the future of their careers. I was completely nervous about the interview since I was not a confident speaker even in my native language.

Let’s start with the format:

The interview consists of two parts: a discussion of a case study you will have been given before the meeting, and a friendly interview about you. I recommend watching a short video about each of these parts on the SSE Riga YouTube channel to gain a better understanding.

Here are some practical tips about the whole process.

Case study:

You are not expected to solve the million-dollar question faced by the firm in just 1h; you are applying to learn that kind of stuff. Whilst you can do good without the following, I can recommend reading the book “Crack the Case: How to Conquer Your Case Interviews”, as it addresses case-solving with simple strategies in a non-boring way. Alternatively, you could watch a YouTube video about it. I did not read every page, but would like to revisit, and finish soon. 

Whilst there may be knowledge in just the first chapters that can help you apply anywhere, solving cases and general problems, the most important thing is practice. Haven’t we seen many motivational videos online that we forget an hour later? Try searching and solving a case or two to enhance that problem-solving thinking of yours. Now, imagine the outstanding impression you will leave. Important tip: take some notes while reading the case study (half hazardous bullet points will do). You will remember and have more than enough stuff to talk about.

Interview:

So what do you plan to do in 5 years? Well, I barely had a plan for 3 months; I committed to studies at SSE Riga mere weeks before applying, whilst some made up their mind mere days before the deadline to sign the contract came. It is fine to be unsure; you will have plenty of opportunities to find out. Nevertheless, I encourage you to think about these general interview questions. They will help you in choosing the right place to study, it will make your answers feel genuine, and you might find similar questions in the interview.

If you do not feel comfortable with your speaking skills (like I did), then I suggest doing a practice interview with a friend or a teacher. I did one with one of the English teachers at our school over voice chat, and it seemed to boost my confidence. Finally, remember that the people you will be facing will be friendly and understanding, so feel free to ask questions too.

Good luck!

Written by Elizabete

The situation in the country and the world is the way it is – we have restrictions, people are getting sick, and safety measures are developing in what seems minutes. The situation of course also requires action from the university side; thus, it is possible to see different rules and requirements for attendance at different universities within one or many countries.

During these difficult times, SSE Riga provides the opportunity for hybrid study. This means that you can choose either online or onsite depending on your preferences or health situation. I myself have studied online for around a year and only recently started to use the opportunity to go to school onsite, so I have the experience from both sides, and will lay out the pros and cons of this format.

On the plus side:

+ You can spend more time with family or – as I was – spending time babysitting :)

+ You can save time on driving from home to school, thus managing more tasks – I saved exactly 1h 40 min every day

+ Online gives the possibility to do more tasks at once, such as listening to some activity organized by the Student Association (Alumni Screw-up stories) and do some additional tasks (create a poster for the Committee)

+ Most of the courses provide recordings, which you can watch afterwards

+ In exams you have a more familiar environment, so less stress if you choose online studies

+ I am working while studying and it is easier to manage both if you choose online studies

+ You can wake up 5 min before the lecture/ seminar and even manage to have breakfast!

On the minus side:

- Many activities (before lockdown - teambuilding) happen onsite, and if you have chosen not to show a certificate you cannot attend them

- If you have shown a certificate, you most often cannot switch from onsite to online if attendance is mandatory.

- You lack communication if you choose online studies (friends, discussions, having fun)

- You cannot create a network online as well as people onsite (I know fewer people than my friends onsite)

- You cannot create personal connections with lecturers if you study online

- Every failure feels tragic and it feels like you are the only one failing, but onsite it looks different – many people face the same problems as you do.

- It is harder to keep attention up to the same level as it is onsite

Overall, it is completely up to the individual – one is more introverted, one is more extrovert, one needs a quiet place, someone else needs people around them to stay motivated and feel better; however, it is beneficial that the university provides this option and respects individual decisions about their safety measures. I like to study online and already am getting pretty used to it, but I also miss seeing people around, talking, and simply having fun, so everything has its limitations.

Written by Evita

While failing an exam may seem scary and discouraging, it’s definitely not the end of the world. There’s no doubt that a lot of students who are planning to study or are already studying at SSE Riga, including myself, were or still are scared about the high standards at SSE Riga, but there’s definitely no need to worry too much – mild stress is actually a helpful motivation.

First, there’s plenty of help provided from other students, teachers’ assistants, mentors, professors, and the list goes on. Teachers’ assistants can be reached at almost any time of the day or night, and they will provide answers, examples, and useful tips. Also, creating study groups, sharing relevant information, and explaining difficult topics to peers is key to earning a good score. Keep in mind that every single lecturer provides many examples of previous years’ exams and their answer keys, so you are always prepared for the tasks that are awaiting you in the exam. :)

Second, there’s no need to be afraid of a failed exam and its consequences, because at the end of every semester there’s a re-exam week when you can try your luck in passing the exam again, and, of course, extra material and preparation seminars are also provided.

Lastly, every exam consists of multiple tasks and topics so if you don’t understand one concept – don’t worry! There are still many tasks you can earn points on.

A big gift from the administration is open-book exams – and yes, these mean exactly what they sound like – you can use any relevant material in order to pass your exam, which makes good notetaking very important and relieves stress. I want to add that even if you’re not the best note-taker, there’s no need to worry because the Academic Studies and Critical Thinking course will provide you with all the information needed to successfully start your university journey.

One final important thing to remember is that at SSE Riga it’s not only about learning hard skills but also about developing soft skills and an overall work ethic, time management, socialization skills, and knowledge, so don’t worry if passing a course takes more than one try – remember: “It's not how many times you get knocked down that count, it's how many times you get back up.” — George A. Custer

Written by Elizabete

When I chose SSE Riga as my university, I didn’t know very much about the school. I had heard something but, since none of my friends had studied here, the majority was a big surprise for me in Year 1. Right now (with knowledge of the actual studies here) doing research and talking with many other people about SSE Riga, I have found that there is one very popular misassumption about SSE Riga – “SSE Riga studies are only theoretically based”.

When choosing a university, it is important that you graduate with more knowledge than you entered, and that you will be prepared for the job market. Well, as much as I would like to skip all (or at least most of) the theoretical part on many courses (and I believe you would, too), some theoretical knowledge is needed to set a background. However, at SSE Riga theoretical and practical knowledge are in balance – some subjects just cannot be learned without theory, and in your career, you might (depending on your career choice) be able to use this knowledge, but you definitely will be able to use soft skills (how to deal with the workload, how to deal with stressful situations, how to solve a problem using the knowledge you have, etc.). This balance comes from many highly practical tasks – for example:

• creating a marketing ad for a real company and analyzing the results afterwards (what else would be the best way of developing marketing knowledge J?),
• analyzing case studies (analyzing real-life situations) on many different courses (making connections between theory and practice in many different fields),
• creating market research for existing companies (preparing for the real-life career situations),
• developing entrepreneurship ideas in all aspects (learning not only economics but gaining knowledge to create your own company in the future),
• analyzing the financial background of existing companies (because it helps to better understand financial statements, approaches, and processes),
• analyzing organization management for an existing company in cooperation with students from the Netherlands or the USA (two ducks with one shot – you got new contacts in the Netherlands or the USA, and you get to develop your organization management knowledge).

And those are just the ones off the top of my head – sounds pretty amazing, doesn’t it?

So – we are not only rereading the book but actually, the programme is created so as to develop both soft and hard skills for our future career, which of course is also being very much appreciated by employers. We are happy to learn in a more practical way, which comes together with different evaluation systems, because in our growing economy and with our developing technologies – those soft skills will be what really matters.

Written by Aiva

Before starting university, I knew that there would be mainly two types of teaching and learning methods - lectures and seminars. However, I did not fully understand what seminars are and how they are organized. Of course, every university, even every study program, and each of its courses has its specifics, but there is one big difference in the very essence of seminars at SSE Riga.

What is different at SSE Riga from other universities in Latvia is that seminars here are led also by students, not only lecturers. It depends on the course, but mostly seminars are led by students themselves.

Students who are leading seminars are called teaching assistants or simply TAs, and they are students year higher who had received the best results in the course a year ago when they took it. For example, Year 2 students lead seminars to Year 1 students and Year 3 students lead seminars for Year 2 students. The students who will be leading seminars are chosen from applicants for this position and they are the ones that got the best grades in the particular course. They are usually a group of students (about 4 or so) who work closely together with each other and with the lecturer to prepare for the seminars, solving the tasks given by the lecturer in advance, before the actual seminar is happening.

Then, when the seminar is held, TAs are explaining the tasks to students in groups - one TA for 30 students. Students can ask questions if something is unclear, and the TA will try their best to explain, give examples, and so on. If there arises some misunderstanding or the TA is not sure, he or she asks the question that is unclear to the lecturer and in the next seminar clarifies everything for his or her group of students.

Because of online learning, there are some changes also in this aspect of studies. There are still approximately 4 people as TAs for a course, but they are leading the seminars online now. Sometimes there are two TAs in the Zoom seminar, sometimes one. They are dividing the seminars they have to lead between them, and each TA puts an effort into helping students.

However, leading seminars is not the only thing TAs do, they are also checking students’ assignments (homework tasks) and in some courses even grading the exams. As with everything, there are pluses and minuses to it.

TAing takes some of the students’ time and every TA still attends all of their courses and is learning their own course material, doing their own assignments. Another thing that can happen sometimes is that TAs get confused themselves when there is some very complicated problem in a task or a concept is unclear and confusing. But that happens very rarely and is not such a bad thing because it gives Year 1 students a possibility to dig deeper into the concept and they can even prove their reasoning to the TA. Continuing with plusses, TAing helps to strengthen TA’s knowledge and makes them much more confident about the course material that they are teaching. Additionally, they can give students examples that are easily relatable since TAs have been in the same place just a year ago and they know very well what were the most difficult things to understand.

I have to admit that at first, it seemed a bit odd that students, only a year older and only a year ahead of me in studies, are teaching some of the course material and helping me and other Year 1 students to correctly do the tasks given to us by the lecturers. Now I have adjusted to it and it feels completely normal.

I guess it takes time for everyone to adjust to new circumstances and the best thing that one can do is use all the opportunities that have appeared. So, regarding this a little bit of unexpected university experience, I have decided that I want to be a teaching assistant, too. That is why I am studying hard and truly appreciating that I can learn from the best. And quite likely, I will be writing a blog post about TAing next year from an entirely different perspective.

See you in seminars!

Written by Elizabete

Since childhood, we all the time study, write tests, are compared with others, and have the same valuation and rules as everybody else. But how is it possible to judge by the same principles if people are different? This big question appears, when in the 12th grade you apply for university and your study place depends on your grades, however, maybe you didn’t like a few important subjects, or maybe you just had competition in sports during school days. Because of the nonstop competition, students are scared to try something new, get out of their comfort zone, and take risks. Being scared is normal, but you don’t have to be scared about studies in English, especially in SSE Riga, and let me tell you why.

Let me tell you my story - I am a girl from Riga, Latvia, and one of the biggest BUT points when I chose university was my English. I wasn’t the best or even average English speaker in the class, and I didn’t even dream about full-time studies in English. Till the last moment when I had to give an answer to my decision, I wasn't sure if this is what I really wanted to do. Studies in my native language would be easier, and most likely I would end up with a few of my old friends, but here...everything would be new and scary. However, already in the first lecture in SSE my fears started to fade away.

Firstly, professors understand that we come with different knowledge; therefore, they use easier language so that the language barrier doesn't make the material harder for us. From my experience, the first course was scarry – a lot of English, a lot of new vocabulary, a lot of new information, however, the professor talked slowly, repeated herself more times so we can catch up, used less terminology, but more examples from life, and was ready to explain differently more times till we understood. Since we had a partly online format, I didn't know how bad my English is compared to others, but this helpful and encouraging attitude from lecturers motivated me to stop stressing about my English that much and think about course materials.

Secondly, seminars are led by Year 2 students; therefore, you can ask them to explain more times till you understand, and, because they last year had studied this material, they know what helped them to understand the material, thus, can share their tips and tricks. Since we have the opportunity to have our buddy of year 2, there is always somebody to whom you can go with help - they can help with explaining specific things in a native language or in informal English. Also, we are a close community, and different activities let us meet more people with whom to find solutions together or to who go for help. As well as, we can find students who are from the same country or at least speak the same language, and ask them to explain the topics in other languages too. When I didn’t understand something, I would ask my course mates, year 2 students after seminars, or write an email to the professor - we all are people who understand how difficult some topics can be.

Moreover, we have courses which help us to improve language use: for example, courses which include reading and analyzing, as well as, English course, where, no matter how good is your background, you will study punctuation, formal writing, and paraphrasing. All courses in SSE Riga don't ask for some specific knowledge about economics or math, but since we all have different backgrounds, every course provides necessary information starting from basics.

Conclusion – of course, it is necessary to have some knowledge in English and to be able to speak; however, nowadays we have so many things in English (including Instagram, TikTok, and other social networking sites, as well as games and gaming platforms) that it is really hard not to know anything. The knowledge I get from school was enough to understand what is going on. Here many people don’t think of themselves as perfect English speakers, but when the only study language is English - it is impossible to avoid increasing progress.

Written by Artis

A disclaimer, I am still shy, but I have become so much less shy than I was 2 years ago when I was still a high schooler. I can definitely say I was the shyest kid in my class. I literally knew no one from parallel classes and had no deep connections in my own, as I spent the breaks reading books and, as soon as school ended, went to practices. I like speaking with people, but I can’t approach them.

• What shyness is and why does it matter?

The thing about shyness or general social anxiety is that it is in essence, fear. Fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of being viewed in a certain way due to those things you say. But the problem with not saying anything is that you are still judged as the shy or awkward kid - like it or not. And even if right now you are just a bit awkward or not too comfortable speaking with people, the only way to improve is to do it - speak with people.

• How to deal with it

So, to become less shy, you need to face your fears. Talk with people. Have social interactions no matter how small they seem. Say “Hello” to the person you sit next to. Join a school organization - you don’t even need to say much; just be present. At first, it might seem really hard. I am still confused if I should say hi to people I sort of know. Doing these simple tasks you will receive an adrenaline rush and might even sweat a lot. It’s great. It is a sign that the interaction was uncomfortable for your body - a fight or flight response was activated. By interacting with people over time you will get used to it. The adrenaline will flow less and less, and these actions will become easier and easier until they become something mundane. From there, the sky's the limit.

• Why choose SSE Riga?

First of all, the students are very friendly and every second course has some teamwork involved. That means that it is literally impossible to not meet new and often cool people. And for many projects, at the end of them, you will be forced to present your findings to genuinely important people like economists from the central Bank of Latvia or actual business owners. Presentation and public speaking skills boil down to the ability to speak well, so if you improve in that department, then you can have more confidence when approaching people.

Secondly, there are a lot of student organizations. Even if you might be rejected from the more popular ones, some organizations accept anyone so you can easily find people who are interested in the same topics as you, be it finance in iFund or discussions about current events in the debate society. If you share the same interests, it is much easier to approach and start a chat and continue it.

Moreover, if you get a good enough grade for a course, you can even become a teacher (a teaching assistant to be precise) the next year. It’s excellent practice for public speaking as you will have to teach a subject to a group of 30 students. Even if you will feel uncomfortable presenting to a crowd at first, on the upside, you will know the topic really well and probably will be interested in it.

Furthermore, if you want to become an even better presenter and overcome the anxiety of calling strangers, then the ambassador program is a great opportunity. In it, you will have to call up teachers and school secretaries to organize presentations about SSE Riga. For me to build up the courage to call a stranger used to take about one hour and now has dropped to only around 15 minutes. A great success.

• Conclusion

It might seem uncomfortable or hard, but just push through. Speak with people and your shyness will lessen given you enough time. And one of the best ways to do that is to be in an environment where it's easy and safe to speak with people. And SSE Riga is a great place for that.

Written by Aiva

Hello! I’m Aiva - a First Year student at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga), and I’m from Latvia. As you are reading this, you might already be familiar with the fact that studies here at SSE Riga are fully English. If you are interested in how it feels or if you have some concerns or doubts about it, dive right into this blog post to find out some valuable insights about me as a non-native English speaker studying in English.

To begin with, of course, there are a lot of challenges. But “challenge” is a positive word, right? If you want to think about it a bit, here is a great quote from Morten Hansen, our Statistics, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics lecturer: “It is wonderful when things get complicated.” 

Going back to specific challenges, I must admit that I was quite concerned about how it will go. Being good (however, not even close to excellent) at English, I thought of studying in English as a challenge for myself. And yes, at first it wasn’t easy and natural. Yes, it isn’t easy-peasy now. But it is definitely worth it! 

As a student at SSE Riga, I spend five days a week - to be fair, it probably is five and a half or six days a week - listening to lecturers talking in English, reading course material in English, and solving tasks in English. It is very intensive, but this way I am learning faster, gaining a lot of knowledge in a short period of time, and strengthening this new knowledge. I have been doing this for some four months now, and it has become my everyday life. 

I can easily say that the improvement I expected has taken place. There is a saying in Latvian that could describe my overall feelings about studying in English as of now: “To feel like a fish in the water.”  No doubt that there are still many things I do not know and many possible ways of how I could progress, but, thanks to my studies, I am feeling more and more skilled and confident to write, talk and read in English. With this, I don’t want to say that I could do everything in English and that I have become some English language superhero because of studies, no, nothing like that. It’s just that I feel completely okay in this kind of environment - this English language environment.

The thing that I can say for sure is that spending this much time surrounded by English, it just is different. Now I sometimes wonder how unusual it would be if I actually studied in Latvian…in Latvia. Isn’t it surprising - to think like that!?!

What is interesting, I often realize that I’m also thinking in English. It happens when I have to decide on something or when I am thinking about my feelings and emotions. Sometimes it makes sense for me to think in English because I feel that I can express and understand my mood and emotional state better. Maybe it is the fact that the English language simply has more words than the Latvian language, or maybe it is instinctive to do that because of spending so much time in this English atmosphere.

It has nothing to do with economics and studies as a learning process itself, but the use of English has become so frequent that I find English to be appropriate also for conversations with myself. It might sound weird, it might not, but what I want to say is that this experience is something out of the ordinary. As time goes, the idea of it sinks in and even if I start to feel familiar with this, it is never boring. 

To conclude, I can say that even though studying in English feels natural now, I still look at it with a glimpse of the excitement and see many possibilities of improvement that would undeniably be useful in my future. Challenges are still there, but that’s what moves me forward!

And a small suggestion to you, dear reader: don’t be afraid of challenges! Let it be studying in English, let it be anything else, believe in your abilities and I wish you good luck!

Written by Evelina Daniela

Starting university can be a scary experience for anyone. Especially when it’s at one of the top schools in your country. And so many stereotypes about the students are in the air and you don’t know what to think.

I felt the same way. When I was applying and when I was starting my studies. I want to ease the minds of prospective students by sharing some of the stereotypes I had before. And explain why they are in fact not true.

SSE Riga accepts students only from state gymnasiums

I had heard this one so many times that I lost count. I didn’t know many students from SSE Riga, so the people I talked to about the school had no real connection with it. But many of them said that SSE Riga is such a prestigious school, that it only accepts gymnasium students.

This didn’t concern me personally, as I was studying at Riga State Gymnasium No.2. Yet it still seemed strange – how can there be such separation judging by what high school you go to?

Obviously, this was not true. I think it’s just something that people say because they know a friend of a friend of a friend who went to a gymnasium and ended up studying at SSE Riga. I myself have actually made some pretty good friends already, most of them not even being from Riga and instead of coming from smaller Latvian cities.

Students at SSE Riga are conceited and full of themselves

This is another misconception that I heard from multiple people. And this was the one that scared me the most. I thought – if the school is filled with the brightest minds, they’re all probably stuck up and judgmental.

I mean, when you think about it, it’s a private and international university. Students are bound to think that they are so much better than everyone else, right?

Wrong.

Well, but it’s quite expensive in comparison to the other universities in Latvia, so most students HAVE to be stuck-up rich kids…

Also wrong.

It was definitely a bad mindset to have when starting studies, I admit that, but that was what I was thinking at first. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by everyone here. The students at SSE Riga are actually some of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and I’ve only been here for three months.

What I mean by “the nicest people I’ve ever met” is that my peers are very forthcoming. Missed something a lecturer said? Ask someone, they’ll tell you. Don’t understand a topic? Someone who understands it will be more than willing to explain it to you. Talked to someone once during an event? They’ll say “hi” every time you see them on the SSE Riga premises – something that never happened to me in high school.

SSE Riga students don’t have any free time – it’s all just studying

Well, yes and no. Studies can be overwhelming at times, there’s no doubt in that. But that also brings up the question of do you actually have a lot to do or are you just procrastinating and have poor time management?

Life at SSE Riga isn’t all studies and no fun. The Student Association regularly organizes different events and parties for students to unwind from the stress of assignments and exams, as their motto is “Study hard, party hard(er)”. But some students can succumb to the “party” part and end up with missed assignments, failed courses and no time for anything besides studying. Perhaps this is exactly where the stereotype comes from, but you shouldn’t trust a bad sample.

However, if you can manage your time well, like, for example, just squeezing in some extra reading before heading out to party with course mates on a Friday night, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

If you don’t enjoy partying, that’s not a problem. The school has many organizations for students to take part in and enjoy their talents or hobbies. We have a choir, the Debate Club, Je Joue, Student Association and many others where you can put your various skills to use. From what I’ve seen so far, nearly every single student is in at least one organization, and many of them actually have hobbies outside of school. For example, I can’t even begin to count all of the students who are dancers or play musical instruments.

Stereotypes can be a bit nasty sometimes, and it’s definitely not good to take them as fact. The kind that I mentioned above can really be unnerving and maybe even scare some prospective students away because they fear studying in a negative community. I wish someone had told me last year that I had nothing to fear, so I hope the insights I shared from my own experience have brought peace to at least one high schooler’s mind.

Written by Artis

• Introduction

A lot of students worry about “what will I do if I fail an exam” and others solace that “a failed exam is not the end of the world”, but they do not address the root issue. To avoid the headache of re-exams the solution is to just pass them in one try. Though I am not a clean sheet as I failed the statistics exam during the online period, as of the end of the 3rd semester it has been the only one out of around dozen.

• Time

The biggest dilemma with preparing for exams is the time aspect. How much time should you spend focusing on your studies? Every exam can be easily passed if you study enough. The problem is to balance passing or even getting good grades with your personal and social life. In this regard, I will not be able to give advice as everyone’s needs and wants are different. You will have to decide whether you want to just pass and from there how much time will you spend studying.

• Focus

Focus. Focus. Focus. The most time-efficient way of passing exams is to focus. If you want to pass the exams on the first try, you will have to attend lectures and be present. Not only in the sense that you arrived at the physical room where the lecture is taking place, but also engage with the material.  Asking questions is great but even just thinking about them is good. You must think about what the lecturer is trying to say, what do they mean. How do the concepts fit with your previous knowledge - describe them in your own words. If you just attend the lectures and pay attention, the preparation for the exams is relatively easy.

For this, seminars are of great help. There you usually solve exam questions and therefore they are perfect for preparation - the teaching assistants or even the lecturers go out of their way to explain topics that will be in the exam. And remember - write down everything. It’s a great way to remember and understand more and costs absolutely nothing (timewise) if you attend the lectures and seminars. Furthermore, paying the full tuition fee tallies up to around 30 euros for every working day. That means that being at lectures or seminars and doing nothing but, for example, scrolling your phone is not only wasting your time; you are also paying for the privilege.

You can, of course, just attend nothing and then cram right before the exam, but I consider it too risky given it invites procrastination and therefore is not suitable for passing every exam.

• Conclusion

Reexams are annoying so why not pass every exam on the first try? The problem is time. You must decide how much time are you willing to spend to achieve your goals – be it just to pass every exam or pass every exam well. To be the most time efficient you will have to focus. Attend lectures and seminars, write handwritten notes, be attentive, think of questions to ask (though not necessarily ask), and many other methods. Because remember, time is money – literally as you are paying a tuition fee.

Written by Nastya

My name is Nastya Turavets, I am 17 years old, I am from Belarus and I am in my first year of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. Most likely you expect to read something about studying or admission exams now, but no. I am sure you already know a lot about this, and if not, then you have a great opportunity to find out, because the deadline for applying to study at SSE Riga is May 9, and we all look forward to seeing you!

As a person who has not lived in Latvia before, I absolutely understand how applicants want to be at this university as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to come as a shadow, sit at lectures, communicate with students live, feel the whole atmosphere and look at the "insides" of the university. Yes, I tracked the news, subscribed to Instagram accounts (even some students), and wrote on all issues, but that's completely different.

I remember very well the day when I first crossed the threshold of the university building, then it seemed that this was the most exciting and unforgettable day in my life. I also remember my delight, which still holds, because I did not even expect such a strong euphoria from SSE Riga. It was then that I realized that I was in a place where your interests, efforts, your people who will become a family, your future ups and downs are gathered. Incredibly important advice: do not hesitate and ask students to show you the university. First, we love it very much, but the most important thing is that no one will tell you so interestingly and inspiringly about this place as the people who live here every day.

But for me, absolutely everything was new: university, friends, country, home, phone number and supermarkets. It was unusual to remember the bus numbers that go to university, or for example, to get used to the new currency. Fortunately, students from the courses above (2/3) helped us a lot. For example, every year-1 was assigned a year-2 student who was always ready to come to the rescue, suggest something and share their experience. I'm incredibly happy that I can always reach out to someone with any question, from "How do I find a library?" to "Where's the most delicious coffee?"

Riga. Long before enrolling, I had a dream to live in a place where there is an Old Town. I will always remember one of the first walks there, honestly, I fell in love. To be honest, I am still surprised when the locals say that there is nothing to do there. But Riga is not only history, it is also new opportunities, innovations and novelties. I love that I can explore this city: museums, exhibitions, parties, cafes, bookstores, and silent streets. The "character" of this city is definitely worth understanding and then you will undoubtedly fall in love with it.

What do you do in your free time? I've heard this question quite often from my friends and family. What is free time? Okay, without jokes, as I said, you will definitely find something to your liking here. In addition to studying, SSE Riga offers a huge number of opportunities. For example, if you like sports, you can go to the gym, swimming pool, volleyball, football and basketball. Perhaps you like to spend Friday night at the coolest party in the city,  well, welcome to the Event Committee, because as we say "Study hard – party hardER". Our university offers a really big number of organizations and student committees, so you will have something to do with yourself. From my own experience, I can say that, at the moment, 99% of my life is connected with SSE Riga, it is easy to find people with similar interests, suitable directions, and realize your dreams.

And finally. Of course, this is only a small part of my experience and feelings, but I hope that I at least a little managed to reveal to you the world into which I plunged. Of course, there were a lot of good, bad, mistakes, victories, and so on, but I advise you to feel it in your own experience. I hope to see you in the next academic year and discuss your experience in person. If you have any questions, I am happy to share my contacts, feel free to ask every simple question.

Written by Daria

It is not a secret that post-soviet countries have a myriad of paradigms, and higher education attainment is not an exception. With my firm decision to study abroad, I encountered many questions from puzzled relatives and acquaintances about my unwavering choice.

Many people wondered why I would decide to pay for higher education if, given my academic achievements, I could easily study at the top university in Ukraine for free. And funnily enough, the fact that I received a partial scholarship from SSE Riga that covered part of my tuition was not an argument.

I could easily study at the top university in Ukraine for free, so why would I go abroad and pay, at least partially, for my tuition?

The superior quality of the curriculum, ranking, its different approach to the study process, international staff, and student body are undeniable attributes of SSE Riga. However, my final choice was driven by the opportunities the School provided, including an abundance of student organisations as well as additional scholarships.

“All our efforts are recognized and rewarded - and that is what I appreciate the most!” is a phrase that I often share. And if you are willing to use all the opportunities available, as I was, you have high chances to receive both monetary and non-monetary benefits.

Having come to SSE Riga with a mindset to seize the opportunities, I managed to receive two more scholarships in addition to the incredible experience and self-development. Yes, it is not a mistake - two more scholarships.

Merit-based scholarship

The first one is a merit-based scholarship that is given for excellent academic standing, active student involvement, and personal growth. And I am profoundly grateful to the SSE Riga Alumni Association for motivating me and other scholarship recipients to strive for knowledge and self-development.

Ambassadors Scholarship

The second scholarship comes from the Ambassadors Program, the beauty of which is that ambassadors are recognised for promoting the School locally or internationally. And we are also given creative freedom since you can freely choose how to contribute beyond the minimum requirement.

Overall, either you seek personal development or financial support, SSE Riga provides multiple opportunities for its students. And after all, given the established beliefs, education abroad can be comparable to education in my home country, though with a much richer set of benefits

Written by Anete 

A lot of people know, that the first semester while studying at a university, is the most stressful. It seems quite logical because there are many changes to happen - new people around you; immense amounts of workload, and not knowing how to deal with it; deadlines after deadlines, after deadlines, and some people might even have to move away from home, to be closer to uni.

All of this is true, but from my experience, and from my peers’ experience at SSE Riga, the most stressful part is the crazy workload. Not knowing how to manage our time and which tasks to put first was very frustrating, and thus, quite stressful.

So, my first piece of advice to overcome stress would be to start managing your time way before your studies. You can start by managing your screen time, and just in general start to pay more attention to how you spend your time. This may become very important when you’ll need to balance school life and your personal life.

My second piece of advice would be to leave time for physical activities. Studying at SSE Riga can be demanding, so doing sports would help you relieve some unnecessary stress, and get some healthy time off from studying. Everyone knows the good side effects of doing sports, so I’m not going into detail about that. What you should know is that the sports committee has arranged weekly practices, such as swimming, basketball, gym (there are more), after lectures, and that is just a great opportunity to relieve stress and get to know other students.

Doing sports could help with relieving stress, but procrastinating is still a quite common problem that needs extra attention. I’m not gonna lie, starting studies on-site after 2 years of online studying, was hard, and hit me like a brick. I always thought I could leave some work for the next day, or even next week, and in the end, ended up not doing it at all. This also became problematic, when I failed my first exam, by always putting preparation off to another day. So, to save yourself from failed exams and sleepless nights, my third piece of advice would be to do little by little every day. By doing so, you divide big tasks into small tasks, which makes them seem less intimidating or demanding. Also, by doing so, you will learn to start things early enough, so, when the end of the first semester comes, you will be able to handle the workload.

In conclusion, time management, leaving time for sport, and dividing big tasks into smaller tasks, are just some small ways how you could improve your daily routine and live a less stressful life. The good thing is that if you make these things a habit, then they will help you also in the future. Remember - start early, and leave time for yourself

Written by Poļina

SSE Riga definitely has many advantages. Nevertheless, sometimes when you go to university, you may ask yourself: "Why am I doing this?" or think of the reasons you choose to come here instead of getting more sleep. It happens to everyone in every university. Especially now, when we can choose to stay at home and watch a lecture online. Here are just some of the reasons that motivate me to wake up and go to university, even if it is the worst weather ever.

• Friends and coursemates

I know it is mentioned by every single student that SSE Riga community is incredible. But it really is. You know almost everyone in the classroom and get to share your thoughts, experiences or maybe concerns with people that fully understand and support you. All of you are in the same boat and will try to help you in case you are drowning.

• Friendly professors

You may not realise how important it is to have an attentive teacher who tries to be on the same wavelength as you. Jokes and interesting group projects – not any lecturer outside of SSE Riga will try to entertain you and draw your attention to the subject. Having such support and a positive attitude from the professors makes you feel wanted and comfortable as well as increase your willingness to study.

• Tasty food

Well, I believe that if you are hungry, you cannot do anything well. SSE Riga provides a good opportunity to eat healthy and affordable (most important tasty) food in the building. This saves time and empowers students for the rest of the day. You have enough time to eat, repeat the material and discuss the newest series on Netflix with your friends.

• Beautiful building

It is interesting how everyone underestimates the significance of esthetic. I would hardly ever want to come to an old non-renovated building with creaky floors. SSE Riga is as beautiful inside as it is outside. It has a lot of space, comfortable couches with blankets, foosball, free water cooler. The lighting is not annoying, and it is not too loud there. Even seats in Soros are comfortable so that you do not dream of getting out of there as soon as possible. 

Overall, of course, when choosing a university, we tend to mostly look at its ranking or career opportunities. It is important, no objections. However, when you start feeling exhausted, it is important to have other reasons to return here every day. SSE Riga is one of that places that you will never regret choosing over staying at home. 

Written by Nikita

Managing your free time at university can be a challenge, especially when you're studying at a prestigious institution like SSE Riga. However, with a little bit of planning and organization, you can make the most of your time and achieve your goals both academically and personally. 

Below I have listed some tips for managing your free time at SSE Riga.

• Prioritize your responsibilities

The first step in managing your free time is to identify what you need to accomplish. Make a list of all your responsibilities and prioritize them based on their importance and deadline. This will help you focus on what's most important and avoid procrastination.

• Create a schedule

Once you know what you need to accomplish, create a schedule that includes dedicated time for studying, completing assignments, and participating in extracurricular activities. Be sure to also include time for leisure activities, such as exercise, socializing, and hobbies. A schedule will help you stay organized and ensure that you have enough time for everything.

• Use technology to your advantage

There are many tools and apps available that can help you manage your time more effectively. For example, you can use a calendar app to schedule your responsibilities and set reminders. You can also use a to-do list app to keep track of tasks and deadlines. These tools can make it easier to stay on top of everything and ensure that you don't miss anything important.

• Take breaks

Studies have shown that taking regular breaks can help you stay focused and improve your productivity. Instead of trying to work for long stretches of time, take short breaks every hour or so to rest your mind and recharge. Use this time to do something you enjoy, such as reading a book or going for a walk.

• Find a study group

Joining a study group can be a great way to manage your free time at university. Not only will it give you a chance to meet new people and make friends, but it can also help you stay motivated and on track with your studies. By working together, you can keep each other accountable and make sure that you're all making progress.

In conclusion, managing your free time at university can be a challenge, but it's essential for academic success as well as for personal growth. By prioritizing your responsibilities, creating a schedule, using technology to your advantage, taking breaks and joining a study group you'll be able to make the most of your time at SSE Riga and achieve your goals.

Written by Nastya

Hey-hey! How is your day? Maybe you are already tired and want to get home as soon as possible? But I have a better idea - I want to invite you to visit me. My name is Nastya and I am from Belarus. But I think it's no secret that our university is located in the city of Riga, so it would be quite inconvenient to travel so far every day. Therefore, I now live in Latvia and study at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.

Hmm, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about student life? Dormitory! I don't know how about you, but I've always dreamed of living there. What are DORMS from the student's point of view? Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you live in a building filled with your friends. Around you are people who face the same problems in everyday life and are always ready to support you, people who are ready to get up at 5 in the morning and whose sleepy faces are the dearest to you. But what if I say that these people will answer “Yes!” to any of your adventures, cook the best dinner with you, review all films and series at theme nights, and share the most useful notes? Represented? So you were able to get to my home.

I live in a double room with a shared bathroom. But we also have many other options for students (read here). The coolest thing is that in your room you can create your own little world. For example, I love garlands and consider it almost the first thing for the atmosphere, love the way flowers look in my room, and I also hung my photos and favorite posters that inspire me. It's trite, but so cozy. In fact, I am very happy that I can change my room when I want and thus I will not get bored with it. If you are interested, I added a couple of photos from my Instagram to the end of the post, in which you can see my room.

Our building has many advantages. For example, a leisure room where we often gather, and two study rooms where you can retire and immerse yourself in microeconomics or academic writing :). We have four kitchens (and I think that in secret we compete over who cooks better). Another advantage of the dormitory is that it is not so far from the university. Basically, we get there by public transport and it does not take more than 20 minutes. In addition, it has become our tradition, we often go to lectures together. There are a couple of product shops around the dorms, and the famous Mežaparks not far away.

The dormitory has become a home for me, filled with wonderful experiences, incredible people, unforgettable emotions and colors. If you have the opportunity, then I really advise you not to miss the chance to immerse yourself in student life.