Student going to Ottawa for Erasmus

Just wondered if anyone has any advice. My son is organising course, accommodation etc on-line.

Do you want the advice to be specific about Ottawa or Erasmus in general?
My son is currently on Erasmus in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, The college organised the course and the student accomodation in Rotterdam. For the practical/employment side (in Amsterdam) my son had to find his own accomodation on the internet.
My older son spent three monthes in Vancouver a few years ago during college holidays and he had no problem sourcing accomodation himself and part-time work.
I'm sure your son will love it, it certainly opens their eyes to the world on a practical as well as educational sense.

I sort of know a college student who was on Erasmus in Ottawa University. He stayed in college dorms and had a great time. From what I remember, a "furnished" room was literally a bed and a desk, so an extra bit of shopping was required to provide some home comforts, including bed linen & duvet. Apparently the cheapest method of transport was to buy a pair of ice skates, and zip up and down the frozen river, but obviously that is only available at certain time of the year.

If I can find out anything else I'll let you know. In the meantime if you have any specific questions it would be no harm to post them and you might get some very helpful information. One way or another I'm sure your son will have a fantastic time.

Best bet for accommodation is to get a place on campus, which do come 'furnished' as mentioned. If renting off-campus, it's hard to find somewhere furnished, and probably expensive.

Thank you all for your replies. I think he is opting for campus accommodation. He was asked to show what funds he had available to him, but the grant office wont give him the info until the forms come out in August, though he has been approved in principle. So will this be an obstacle for him and should he apply for a student loan to show he has the necessary funds until his grant comes through?

I just thought someone who had been there could give him some advice on what to do and not to do regarding visas/finance and any other issues he may not be aware of.

I would refer back to his college for those issues. We were never asked to show funds available. My son's Erasmus mobility grant did not come through until last week and he only has another month to go on his Erasmus! - so I wouldn't be depending on that initially.
Just make sure he sets up 365 online banking as it will help him to keep track of his account whilst he is away and will help if you need to transfer money quickly.

My son spent a great year on erasmus in France, though for us it was very expensive as we had to pay for an apartment and lots of flights home as he was so close to Ireland. Didn't get any grant, but maybe its different for USA and we never got grants anyway.

Has he checked to see if the 'approved in principle' letter is enough? Otherwise, you should able to write a letter to say you will support him. If I remember correctly, you will have to provide a bank statement to show you have income, but you don't have to have all the money at that time.

Also check with the college's international office, they should be well versed in the requirements for a student visa and be able to help out.

what college is it could i ask and how did he know which one to choose?