Indian Students, Think Twice Before Choosing Poland (Even Warsaw) for Studying Abroad – My Experience
Hey everyone,
I want to share my experience studying in Warsaw, Poland, so that Indian students considering it as a study destination can make an informed decision. I arrived for an Erasmus exchange semester, but within just five days, I faced multiple instances of racism that left me unsettled.
My Experiences:
While walking alone toward a bus stop in Warnenska (Mokotów), Warsaw. a man on a bicycle stopped near me, came towards me and made a gun gesture of shooting me and said boom.
Someone from a random apartment window shouted something aggressively at me in Polish when I was standing alone in the bus stop.
On a bus, an elderly woman called over a younger Polish man, and both started staring at me and my friend while speaking negatively and gesturing toward us for 10 minutes straight. We were the only one in the bus.
What shocked me the most is that I never faced anything like this in Germany. The contrast was huge—Germany felt far more open, diverse, and welcoming, whereas in Poland, I often felt out of place and even unsafe at times.
I know Poland might seem like an affordable study destination, and scholarships can be tempting, but based on my experience, I strongly advise Indian students to avoid Poland—including Warsaw. If you’re considering studying abroad, I’d recommend choosing countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland or maybe France, which offer much better opportunities, inclusivity, and overall experiences.
I shared the same in sub reddit and these are the below reactions:
https://www.reddit.com/r/warsaw/s/H9OFQ9qgnH
my_qualifications : Erasmus exchange student from a university in Germany