Learn Hardcore Russian: В другом городе я случайно встретил ту же студентку — какое интересное совпадение! - In another city I accidentally met the same female student

в другом городе = in another city (you are already there; location).
в другой город = to another city (movement toward that city; accusative case).

In the given sentence the action happens in that other city, so prepositional (в другом городе) is correct.

Why is я included? Can it be omitted?

In Russian you can often omit subject pronouns because the verb form already shows person/number.

Я случайно встретил…
Случайно встретил…

Both are possible. Я is kept here for clarity and a neutral, natural tone, especially at the start of a new sentence or story.

What does случайно mean exactly, and where can it go in the sentence?

случайно means “by chance / accidentally”. In this sentence, it modifies встретил (“met”). Possible word orders include:

Я случайно встретил ту же студентку… (most natural)
Случайно я встретил ту же студентку… (slightly more emphasis on “by chance”)
Я встретил случайно ту же студентку… (possible but less common and a bit awkward)

The safest and most neutral is the original: я случайно встретил.

Why is the verb встретил used, and not встречал?

встретил is perfective, which is used for a single, completed event: he ran into her once, at that moment.
встречал is imperfective and would suggest a repeated/ongoing action (“I used to meet her”, “I was meeting her”), which doesn’t fit the idea of one accidental encounter.

So я случайно встретил = “I happened to meet / I ran into” (once).

Why is встретил in masculine form? How would it change for a female speaker?

Russian past tense agrees with the gender of the subject in the singular.

Masculine speaker: я встретил
Feminine speaker: я встретила
Neuter (it): оно встретило
Plural (we/they): мы/они встретили

So if a woman is speaking, she would say: В другом городе я случайно встретила ту же студентку…

What does ту же студентку literally mean, and what is the function of же here?

Literally, ту же студентку is “that same (female) student”.

ту = “that” (fem. sg. accusative of та)
же adds the idea of “the same (one as before)” or “exactly that one”
студентку = “female student” (accusative of студентка)

Without же, ту студентку is just “that student (girl)”; with же, it clearly means the same student mentioned earlier.

Why is it ту же студентку and not та же студентка?

Because in the sentence the student is the direct object of встретил (“met whom?”), so you need the accusative case:

Nominative (subject): та же студентка – “that same student (she) …”
Accusative (object): ту же студентку – “met that same student (her)”

Я встретил ту же студентку = “I met that same student.”

What case is студентку, and why does it end in -ку?

студентку is accusative singular feminine of студентка.

Feminine nouns ending in -ка usually form their accusative singular by changing -ка → -ку:

девочка → девочку
подруга → подругу
студентка → студентку

It’s accusative because she is the direct object of the verb встретил.

Is there any difference between ту же студентку and ту самую студентку?

Both mean “that same student (girl)”, but there’s a nuance:

ту же студентку – neutral “the same student (as before)”.
ту самую студентку – slightly more emphatic, like “that very same student”, often used to stress surprise or recognition.

In this sentence, ту же студентку already fits well; ту самую студентку would make the coincidence feel even more striking.

How would you say “the same student” (male) instead of female?

Masculine “that same student” would be:

As object (accusative): того же студента
- Я случайно встретил того же студента. – “I accidentally met that same (male) student.”
As subject (nominative): тот же студент
- Тот же студент снова пришёл. – “The same student came again.”

Why is there a dash before какое интересное совпадение instead of a comma or period?

The dash (—) in Russian often introduces:

A comment, reaction, or result
Something like an afterthought or emotional remark

Here it works like English: “… — what an interesting coincidence!”
A period would be possible (… студентку. Какое интересное совпадение!), but the dash feels more lively and connected to the previous clause.

Why is it какое интересное совпадение, with neuter какое?

какое is a neuter form of the interrogative/relative adjective (like “which/what kind of”), and it must agree with совпадение, which is a neuter noun.

совпадение (neuter) → интересное совпадение
Exclamative pattern: Какое + (adjective) + neuter noun! = “What an interesting coincidence!”

So какое интересное совпадение! literally: “What (a) interesting coincidence!”

Could you say Какое это интересное совпадение! or Что за интересное совпадение!? Are they different?

Yes, both are possible, with small stylistic differences:

Какое интересное совпадение! – very direct exclamation, neutral and common.
Какое это интересное совпадение! – slightly more emotional/expressive; the это adds a bit of emphasis (“What an interesting coincidence this is!”).
Что за интересное совпадение! – also “What an interesting coincidence!”, but with a slightly more vivid, sometimes surprised or dramatic tone.

All three are acceptable; the original is the simplest and most neutral.

What is the stress and approximate pronunciation of the whole sentence?

Stressed syllables marked in CAPS:

В друГОм ГОроде я слуЧАйно встрЕтил ту же студЕнтку — каКОе интерЕСное совпадЕние!

Rough English-like approximation (very rough):

V droo-GOM GO-ro-de ya sloo-CHAI-na vstrYE-til too zhe stoo-DYENT-koo — ka-KO-ye in-te-RYES-no-ye sov-pa-DYEN-i-ye!

Is this sentence formal, neutral, or colloquial? Could it be used in writing?

The sentence is neutral, suitable for both spoken and written Russian.
It would sound natural in:

A conversation
A personal letter or email
A narrative text or story

It’s not slangy and not overly formal, so it fits most everyday contexts.