[duobe]

Hi there!

I would like to hear opinions about Hogeschool of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, or in other words Amsterdam University of Applied sciences and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

Do those universities have a good reputation? I have heard that they are quite good because there are much more practical things than in research universities. However, I am afraid but I found that the rating in world context is not so good..but maybe it doesn't matter if the course is rare?

The course that interests my friend is Trade management Asia. There are no such course in other universities. in NL. Maybe someone know something about this course? Is it perspective? At least..is it worth paying money to study at this university? ( we are from EU )

It would be great to hear something from students who studying there.

[duobe]

heyy, any opinions? :/

[Chiseph]

Hey I've heard that doing sciences in the Netherlands is actually quite good - I'm not sure about the ratings, but I know someone doing Biochemistry at Utrecht and he seems to really enjoy it. He seems to branch out a lot because he decided to take classes on Linguistics and Neuroscience so there's flexibility within the course, due to the credits system I think. I dunno if this helps you at all, but it's all I know

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App

[zoulikhahaha]

I am Dutch, born & raised here, so I can say I know the system haha.

What you are talking about are NO universities, just to clear that up. I've done the International Baccalaureate diploma, but before that I did HAVO (Higher General Secondary Education) which gives me entrance into these Hogescholen. You see this: I needed to do an extra diploma in order to get into universities (now, I wanted to study outside of Holland, hence the IB omes in handy). HAVO is comparable to GSCEs. A-levels are comparable to IB which is comaprable to the Dutch VWO (one level higher than HAVO). So if you've done A-levels or any form of Sixth Form education you are gonna step down a level lower.

Our system is kind of weird to explain, as you do get a BA after you finish a Hogeschool, but it's not the same as a university BA.. Weird, I know.

As most of my friends are doing their studies at a Hogeschool now (most at the one in Amsterdam) I know that they are good. I know people who have done VWO but are going to a Hogeschool now, because like you said, it's more practical - she wanted to study Physiotherapy and well you can't do that at uni haha. It's generally more specific, which is good if you know exactly what you want, like the Trade Management Asia course. For example, one can study Management (Bedrijfskunde) but can also opt for Human Resource Management, Fiscal Management, Events Management, Sports Management, Agricultural Management etc.

But so yeah, that's why their rankinga don't make sense (I didn't even know they were ranked haha). University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam University College are Amsterdam's universities. This thus excludes the Hogeschool.

I can go on and on about this btw, as throughout HAVO you are prepared for your Hogeschool course choice, so I've visited them, read tons about them and just have a lot of info in general. It wasn't until my last year at school that I opted for IB. If you have any questions or just want to talk about it, feel free to PM me, or we can discuss it here of course

[Cll_ws]

(Original post by zoulikhahaha)
I am Dutch, born & raised here, so I can say I know the system haha.

Hey, I'm looking for some help with something and thought with you being Dutch you might be able to help! Although it is about entry requirements for an international student, so you might only know as much as me!

I'm looking at applying to Leiden University and for entry requirements it simply specifies, GCSE's and 3 A-levels. Is there a minimum grade for the A-levels? Just 3 passes? or grades A-C or something like that?
Also, as well as A-levels, I have a Foundation Diploma, which is a level up from A-levels, sort of a Year 0 of a degree. Could this also be used towards my entry? (I have emailed them asking these things, they just haven't gotten back yet, so i thought i'd see if anybody here could help!)

Thanks for any help you can give!

[zoulikhahaha]

(Original post by Cll_ws)
Hey, I'm looking for some help with something and thought with you being Dutch you might be able to help! Although it is about entry requirements for an international student, so you might only know as much as me!

I'm looking at applying to Leiden University and for entry requirements it simply specifies, GCSE's and 3 A-levels. Is there a minimum grade for the A-levels? Just 3 passes? or grades A-C or something like that?
Also, as well as A-levels, I have a Foundation Diploma, which is a level up from A-levels, sort of a Year 0 of a degree. Could this also be used towards my entry? (I have emailed them asking these things, they just haven't gotten back yet, so i thought i'd see if anybody here could help!)

Thanks for any help you can give!

Hey! I think you just need to pass, as that is also the requirement fio Dutch vwo students. I checked their admissions website and they do say that there's also a Dutch language requirement, but maybe that's only for some courses, since this wouldn't make sense for its English-taught programs. You need a diploma that's the on the same levels as vwo, which A-levels are so you're good if you passed them. Some courses might have subject requirements, but normally they don't specify any marks or so. I don't know if the Foundation Programme counts for something - they'd have to inform you on that. Maybe you get exempted from some modules or get extra credits?

You're lucky to apply now, as our system is going to change sooner than later. Dutch students just need to pass their exams and then they get in (you basically only register and not necessarily "apply" - this only the case for oversubscribed courses like Medicine and Psychology where they have a "lottery") unlike most foreign unis where you have to write a personal statement and achieve certrain marks etc etc. But they want to put that system to work here as well - I know they are already doing it for the English-taught programs.

I hope that helped a bit, may I ask why you chose LU and what course you applied for?

[Cll_ws]

(Original post by zoulikhahaha)
Hey! I think you just need to pass, as that is also the requirement fio Dutch vwo students. I checked their admissions website and they do say that there's also a Dutch language requirement, but maybe that's only for some courses, since this wouldn't make sense for its English-taught programs. You need a diploma that's the on the same levels as vwo, which A-levels are so you're good if you passed them. Some courses might have subject requirements, but normally they don't specify any marks or so. I don't know if the Foundation Programme counts for something - they'd have to inform you on that. Maybe you get exempted from some modules or get extra credits?

You're lucky to apply now, as our system is going to change sooner than later. Dutch students just need to pass their exams and then they get in (you basically only register and not necessarily "apply" - this only the case for oversubscribed courses like Medicine and Psychology where they have a "lottery") unlike most foreign unis where you have to write a personal statement and achieve certrain marks etc etc. But they want to put that system to work here as well - I know they are already doing it for the English-taught programs.

I hope that helped a bit, may I ask why you chose LU and what course you applied for?

Thanks very much that does help!

It is an English taught course that i'm applying for, International Studies at LU, I chose LU because of the course, it seems the perfect course for me with regards to my interests. And i've heard really great things about Holland as a place to study abroad, studying abroad is something I had always wanted to do.

But I have only just recently began to look into the possibility of studying in Holland, i've been studying Architecture at an English university for the last year but have decided that it's not really something that i'd like to do for 3 years, despite my interest in it.
I had looked at design courses in Holland, Industrial Design at Eindhoven looked quite good and is still something I might look into. Although i'm tempted to totally leave Art & Design behind, despite it being a strength of mine, just due to not really ever enjoying any course i've done in that area for the last few years! I'm good in that area, but I guess it's something that I don't particularly like studying!

But yeah, as I said, i've only recently discovered the courses, and I know International Studies is a new course at LU. So if you know anything about the course, or just the reputation of the course and LU itself then that would be useful! Due to it being new and not a course that i've heard much about before, I was concerned that it might not be the most reputable course? but I don't know!
It sounds very similar to International Relations just with a few extra components, which I know is taught at many reputable universities in England.

Before I apply i'll certainly be doing some more research

[duobe]

OMG i haven't expected such an informative answer..thank you sooo much! now I understand it better and this clear explanation really made an impact to my friend's choice

[zoulikhahaha]

(Original post by Cll_ws)
Thanks very much that does help!

It is an English taught course that i'm applying for, International Studies at LU, I chose LU because of the course, it seems the perfect course for me with regards to my interests. And i've heard really great things about Holland as a place to study abroad, studying abroad is something I had always wanted to do.

But I have only just recently began to look into the possibility of studying in Holland, i've been studying Architecture at an English university for the last year but have decided that it's not really something that i'd like to do for 3 years, despite my interest in it.
I had looked at design courses in Holland, Industrial Design at Eindhoven looked quite good and is still something I might look into. Although i'm tempted to totally leave Art & Design behind, despite it being a strength of mine, just due to not really ever enjoying any course i've done in that area for the last few years! I'm good in that area, but I guess it's something that I don't particularly like studying!

But yeah, as I said, i've only recently discovered the courses, and I know International Studies is a new course at LU. So if you know anything about the course, or just the reputation of the course and LU itself then that would be useful! Due to it being new and not a course that i've heard much about before, I was concerned that it might not be the most reputable course? but I don't know!
It sounds very similar to International Relations just with a few extra components, which I know is taught at many reputable universities in England.

Before I apply i'll certainly be doing some more research

Leiden University has an extremely good reputation in the Netherlands, especially for Law, Political Science and European Studies and I think it's experience in these departments will benefit the International Studies course. It is definitely one of the top institutions in the country - whereas some rankings tend to put University of Amsterdam higher, while it was never acclaimed in high schools and such that it's a top university (like in England I'd assume there's a general opinion amongst high schoolers that Oxbridge are the country's top unis). Leiden on the other hand is mostky viewed as prestigious. Maybe this also has to do something with my proximity to Amsterdam and how we see it as a normal uni (like before mentioned we don't have all these entry requirements so that's not really a measure to conclude an institutions reputation). I don't think you can go wrong with opting for LU, but definitely do some more research and see if it fits your aspirations and wishes and such.

I think International Studies should be a good course, as I once read this thing how multidisciplinary courses are highly sought after by employers, makes you well-rounded and all. You can always specify your direction by doing a more specific Masters if you wish. From what I read on the course's website it looks really good though! I would say just completely read that site and see if it's what you want

[zoulikhahaha]

(Original post by duobe)
OMG i haven't expected such an informative answer..thank you sooo much! now I understand it better and this clear explanation really made an impact to my friend's choice

Yaaay you're welcome

[duobe]

have you heard something about American Studies? my boyfriend still cannot decide what to study... now we are thinking about Uni of Groningen. but it is a risk to apply for only one course, what would you recommend? he have been interested in International Studies at Leiden too (as I see you have talked about it above ) but since there are no International Business studies in Leiden (taught completely in English) we have changed our mind (I am going to study International Business and we are going to live together in NL )

[zoulikhahaha]

(Original post by duobe)
have you heard something about American Studies? my boyfriend still cannot decide what to study... now we are thinking about Uni of Groningen. but it is a risk to apply for only one course, what would you recommend? he have been interested in International Studies at Leiden too (as I see you have talked about it above ) but since there are no International Business studies in Leiden (taught completely in English) we have changed our mind (I am going to study International Business and we are going to live together in NL )

I didn't hear about the one in Groningen, as it's completely taught in English but I do know the Dutch-taught courses about this. Dutch unis tend to offer a lot of region-specifc courses like Islamic and Arab studies (focussing on the Arab/Muslim world) and then there's like a 1000 more but the government is going from specialized courses to general, multidisciplinary courses so some will disappear. However American Studies suits this new system and I read that it's unique in the country and that it's been rated 'Excellent' so that's good. Like Leiden, Groningen has a great reputation (especially for business btw) so the quality of the program should be good. Groningen has been getting applications from a lot of UK students so it's definitely becoming more international too. Personally I always got the impression that Groningen, together with Leiden and Maastricht are amongst the best unis in the country (from what you hear here and there) and found out by doing research that Erasmus in Rotterdam and U of Amsterdam are also really good.

If he likes the course in Leiden more, you could also opt for the International Business program at Erasmus University in Rotterdam - it's really the best you can get for economics and business here, especially it's MBAs are world-renowned. Rotterdam and Leiden are close to each other (they're like 25 km apart) so you could live together in the middle like The Hague or live in either one of the cities. You should take into account that Groningen is in a completely different part of the Netherlands and since I'm born and raised in the Randstad I could never see myself living there, as it takes really long to get to big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam etc. But then again, what's distance in a country that you drive through in 3,5 hours anyway. Groningen is a real student city, so I assume it would be plenty of fun

[duobe]

(Original post by zoulikhahaha)
I didn't hear about the one in Groningen, as it's completely taught in English but I do know the Dutch-taught courses about this. Dutch unis tend to offer a lot of region-specifc courses like Islamic and Arab studies (focussing on the Arab/Muslim world) and then there's like a 1000 more but the government is going from specialized courses to general, multidisciplinary courses so some will disappear. However American Studies suits this new system and I read that it's unique in the country and that it's been rated 'Excellent' so that's good. Like Leiden, Groningen has a great reputation (especially for business btw) so the quality of the program should be good. Groningen has been getting applications from a lot of UK students so it's definitely becoming more international too. Personally I always got the impression that Groningen, together with Leiden and Maastricht are amongst the best unis in the country (from what you hear here and there) and found out by doing research that Erasmus in Rotterdam and U of Amsterdam are also really good.

If he likes the course in Leiden more, you could also opt for the International Business program at Erasmus University in Rotterdam - it's really the best you can get for economics and business here, especially it's MBAs are world-renowned. Rotterdam and Leiden are close to each other (they're like 25 km apart) so you could live together in the middle like The Hague or live in either one of the cities. You should take into account that Groningen is in a completely different part of the Netherlands and since I'm born and raised in the Randstad I could never see myself living there, as it takes really long to get to big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam etc. But then again, what's distance in a country that you drive through in 3,5 hours anyway. Groningen is a real student city, so I assume it would be plenty of fun

omg one more detailed and so clear answer from you ) thank you so much, i really appreciate that this information is really helpful. i have always wanted to study in Erasmus in Rotterdam and just didn't notice that it is so close to Leiden so I guess he will apply for both American studies and International studies and...as he had already finished school he will be informed if he was accepted or not earlier than me ( i will finish school in 2013 so i will get offers ), right?

[zoulikhahaha]

That depends on when he is applying! If he's applying now then he'll def hear before you, but for as far as I know you can't defer your entrance so he'd have to apply again next year. But in general I think unis give out decisions on a rolling basis so if he applies and he already has his diploma they accept him immediately as they don't have to wait for the final results of course. So yeah you're completely right I think haha

[duobe]

ok what about jobs there? is it possible to get it for foreign student? maybe universities would help with this

[zoulikhahaha]

If you have an European passport you'll be fine with working here, although I have to say it might be a bit harder in an area like Leiden considering you don't speak Dutch. I think universities definitely have job opportunities as well and if not they'll probably be happy to assist you. And I mean there'll always be a bar or cafe that you can work at even if you don't speak Dutch I think, especially in cities like The Hague with a lot of tourists etc.

[duobe]

thanks again ) i think we should catch a cheap Ryanair flight to Netherlands and see how it looks like, you know, how it feels like when being there as we are going to live there this might be great experience

[Cll_ws]

(Original post by zoulikhahaha)
Leiden University has an extremely good reputation in the Netherlands, especially for Law, Political Science and European Studies and I think it's experience in these departments will benefit the International Studies course. It is definitely one of the top institutions in the country - whereas some rankings tend to put University of Amsterdam higher, while it was never acclaimed in high schools and such that it's a top university (like in England I'd assume there's a general opinion amongst high schoolers that Oxbridge are the country's top unis). Leiden on the other hand is mostky viewed as prestigious. Maybe this also has to do something with my proximity to Amsterdam and how we see it as a normal uni (like before mentioned we don't have all these entry requirements so that's not really a measure to conclude an institutions reputation). I don't think you can go wrong with opting for LU, but definitely do some more research and see if it fits your aspirations and wishes and such.

I think International Studies should be a good course, as I once read this thing how multidisciplinary courses are highly sought after by employers, makes you well-rounded and all. You can always specify your direction by doing a more specific Masters if you wish. From what I read on the course's website it looks really good though! I would say just completely read that site and see if it's what you want

Yeah I can see why a more multidisciplinary course could be good, especially if like me you don't really have a clear idea of what you'd like to do after you leave university! And like you said it would leave many options open to me should I wish to do a masters which is good.
I do really like the look of the course, and Leiden University. So right now i'm planning on applying. It's a shame I didn't research into this a couple of months ago after I decided that I wanted to leave my current university/course, I might of made the deadline for 2012 entry if I had.
I guess if I apply soon for 2013 entry it'll give me a year to work and save some money!

Thanks for all your detailed replies

[Amun90]

(Original post by zoulikhahaha)
I am Dutch, born & raised here, so I can say I know the system haha.

What you are talking about are NO universities, just to clear that up. I've done the International Baccalaureate diploma, but before that I did HAVO (Higher General Secondary Education) which gives me entrance into these Hogescholen. You see this: I needed to do an extra diploma in order to get into universities (now, I wanted to study outside of Holland, hence the IB omes in handy). HAVO is comparable to GSCEs. A-levels are comparable to IB which is comaprable to the Dutch VWO (one level higher than HAVO). So if you've done A-levels or any form of Sixth Form education you are gonna step down a level lower.

Our system is kind of weird to explain, as you do get a BA after you finish a Hogeschool, but it's not the same as a university BA.. Weird, I know.

As most of my friends are doing their studies at a Hogeschool now (most at the one in Amsterdam) I know that they are good. I know people who have done VWO but are going to a Hogeschool now, because like you said, it's more practical - she wanted to study Physiotherapy and well you can't do that at uni haha. It's generally more specific, which is good if you know exactly what you want, like the Trade Management Asia course. For example, one can study Management (Bedrijfskunde) but can also opt for Human Resource Management, Fiscal Management, Events Management, Sports Management, Agricultural Management etc.

But so yeah, that's why their rankinga don't make sense (I didn't even know they were ranked haha). University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam University College are Amsterdam's universities. This thus excludes the Hogeschool.

I can go on and on about this btw, as throughout HAVO you are prepared for your Hogeschool course choice, so I've visited them, read tons about them and just have a lot of info in general. It wasn't until my last year at school that I opted for IB. If you have any questions or just want to talk about it, feel free to PM me, or we can discuss it here of course

There are some inaccuracies in this post I would like to clear up. HAVO (the Dutch pre-HBO/Hogeschool course) is not equivalent to GCSEs, but is of a higher level. HAVO is more comparable to the US high school/K12 curriculum than to GCSEs. Just look at the content covered in HAVO level mathematics and then compare it to GCSE Maths and you will clearly notice the level is higher. UK students with only GCSEs are not even admissible to Hogeschool Bachelor's programmes, but need at least two A-levels to meet the admission requirements.

Furthermore, 'Hogescholen' are considered to be institutions of higher education and give out Bachelor's degree. They are translated as 'Universities of Applied Sciences', which is exactly what they are. They are excellent schools for people interested in applied sciences and professional skills.

[reuben3595]

Hi guys. I am living in Malaysia and I'm currently sitting for my SPM (GCSE equivalant). I plan to study physiotherapy at the Hogeschool of Amsterdam or Fontys University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands mainly beacuse the fees are reasonable. I am just wondering what the standard of education is like over there, and how is it living there? And is it possible to get a job over there right after I obtain my degree? Please help.

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