Amsterdam University College or Edinburgh Uni?

Hi all,

I'll be starting my undrgrad this year and I already have some difficulties with choosing the uni. It would be great if you could give me some advice!

So, I'm interested in the humanities - mainly in philosophy, but also in literature, religion studies etc.

I've received an offer from the Edinburgh University for philosophy (4 years with a masters degree). Also, I will probably get a place at the Amsterdam University College for the Liberal Arts and Sciences course.

Can you think of any advantages and disadvantages of each of them?

Thanks in advance for your help! :smile:

Reply 1

Breward

9

Cost

AUC has on-site accommodation guaranteed for 3 years

Which uni has the better reputation?

Which course interests you more?

Both are great cities

Both cities are quite pricey to live in

Where is home? How easy is it to get home? I live in England, but it is quicker to get to Amsterdam than Edinburgh.

Reply 2

lolamlw

6

I am an AUC alumni and I can definitely recommend the programme! Liberal Arts and Sciences gives you the opportunity to explore other disciplines, unpack problems and examine ideas from multiple perspectives, and meet people with different, yet interesting, research interests. In addition: The teachers are great, Amsterdam is awesome, and your perspectives for entering graduate colleges are good. I am an Oxford applicant, and many of my friends have pursued or are pursuing their master's programmes at excellent universities (Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, Sciences Po, Johns Hopkins, Columbia etc.)

Reply 3

Breward

9

Hi Laura

What did you specialise in at AUC?

Did you do the honours college route? Do many AUC students do the honour route?

What are you studying at Oxford?

Are you a British student? When I visited AUC last year, the director of studies said that the college is very international but they only have about 10 Brits a year.

Did you live in halls for all 3 years?

Thanks.

Reply 4

lolamlw

6

Original post by Breward

Hi Laura

What did you specialise in at AUC?

Did you do the honours college route? Do many AUC students do the honour route?

What are you studying at Oxford?

Are you a British student? When I visited AUC last year, the director of studies said that the college is very international but they only have about 10 Brits a year.

Did you live in halls for all 3 years?

Thanks.

Hi,

I majored in International Law and Economics, and minored in International Relations. There is no 'honours' route: AUC is an honours college, which means that all courses are 'honours'-level, and most students will obtain an honours degree (conditional upon your GPA. In order to obtain an honours degree one has to have a GPA of 3.5 or higher).

I have lived at the dorms for three years and I really enjoyed it. I would say 55-60% of the students are Dutch or of 'Dutch heritage', meaning they have lived abroad all their lives but study in NL. I am Dutch and Colombian, not British :smile:

I have applied for Global Governance and Diplomacy at Oxford.

Good luck! :biggrin:

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 5

Lucy_Fi

7

Original post by wtw

Hi all,

I'll be starting my undrgrad this year and I already have some difficulties with choosing the uni. It would be great if you could give me some advice!

So, I'm interested in the humanities - mainly in philosophy, but also in literature, religion studies etc.

I've received an offer from the Edinburgh University for philosophy (4 years with a masters degree). Also, I will probably get a place at the Amsterdam University College for the Liberal Arts and Sciences course.

Can you think of any advantages and disadvantages of each of them?

Thanks in advance for your help! :smile:

hi, im in exactly the same situation hahaha edinburgh vs AUC... SSC/psychology

What did you decide in the end?

Reply 6

Lucy_Fi

7

Original post by lolamlw

I am an AUC alumni and I can definitely recommend the programme! Liberal Arts and Sciences gives you the opportunity to explore other disciplines, unpack problems and examine ideas from multiple perspectives, and meet people with different, yet interesting, research interests. In addition: The teachers are great, Amsterdam is awesome, and your perspectives for entering graduate colleges are good. I am an Oxford applicant, and many of my friends have pursued or are pursuing their master's programmes at excellent universities (Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, Sciences Po, Johns Hopkins, Columbia etc.)

Hi there

this has nothing to do with the topic, but since you are an AUC student I wanted to ask you about the food there. I know most students cook their own lunches at home and everything but are there some students who go and have lunch at Uva in the mensa? Like on a regular basis? Or do you not know about anyone who does that? Because I love AUC, but I really don't like the idea of cooking...

Reply 7

bigger niche

8

One disadvantage of enrolling on a course at Amsterdam University College (indeed, at *any* University College in the NL) is that the course fees will be much higher than the fees on a course at a regular NL university (currently around €2,000 per annum).

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 8

biliska

1

Original post by lolamlw

Hi,

I majored in International Law and Economics, and minored in International Relations. There is no 'honours' route: AUC is an honours college, which means that all courses are 'honours'-level, and most students will obtain an honours degree (conditional upon your GPA. In order to obtain an honours degree one has to have a GPA of 3.5 or higher).

I have lived at the dorms for three years and I really enjoyed it. I would say 55-60% of the students are Dutch or of 'Dutch heritage', meaning they have lived abroad all their lives but study in NL. I am Dutch and Colombian, not British :smile:

I have applied for Global Governance and Diplomacy at Oxford.

Good luck!

Hi.. I am an applicant from Africa ad really excited about attending AUC. How long do the admissions decisions take to come out.

Reply 9

varun_vrooon

2

Hey I also got in and I'm really excited to go to AUC. What's your name?

Original post by biliska

Hi.. I am an applicant from Africa ad really excited about attending AUC. How long do the admissions decisions take to come out.

Reply 10

Anonymous #1

Original post by lolamlw

I am an AUC alumni and I can definitely recommend the programme! Liberal Arts and Sciences gives you the opportunity to explore other disciplines, unpack problems and examine ideas from multiple perspectives, and meet people with different, yet interesting, research interests. In addition: The teachers are great, Amsterdam is awesome, and your perspectives for entering graduate colleges are good. I am an Oxford applicant, and many of my friends have pursued or are pursuing their master's programmes at excellent universities (Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, Sciences Po, Johns Hopkins, Columbia etc.)

HI

I have been invited to admissions day but can't attend so do an online interview instead.. Do you know if this is just a formality to being accepted as everyone says this is not an interview as such!

Reply 11

MD102

1

Original post by Anonymous

HI

I have been invited to admissions day but can't attend so do an online interview instead.. Do you know if this is just a formality to being accepted as everyone says this is not an interview as such!

Hi, I recently applied to AUC and was asked to do an interview, too. Just like they say on the email they send you, it's more of a formality.. which means chances are you're 75% admitted, but the interview really confirms it for them. Any slacking off on the interview won't guarantee your admission at all.
Personally, I withdrew my application right after I visited their open day because I was NOT impressed: nobody was helpful during the open day; the students that were there to help us were sitting on couches together, speaking Dutch; they ran out of food at the bar (which isn't an aspect to consider when deciding on a uni, but the lack of organisation was crazy). I definitely did not feel at my ease or welcomed like I did at UCM, UCU.

Also, during the AUC open day students can attend two mock lectures. The first one was on Media Studies and I have to admit it was very cool. The second was actually the key factor which made me withdraw my application. I was attending a Philosophy mock lecture. The professor drained on and on and half of the class was falling asleep, also the program is EXTREMELY limited. I come from an Italian high school and ALL of the philosophers I had already done two years ago in hs! The other major aspect which made me withdraw my application was the student housing: no lights, no organisation, the ceiling was falling apart, the courtyard was totally neglected, there were dirt mattresses in the terrace... I was very disappointed by it all and especially by the lack of organisation.

In conclusion, I was 90% percent convinced I wanted to attend AUC because of its ranking and Liberal Arts program. However, it's completely overrated and the Open Day was a very negative experience for me (as well as for a couple other Italian students whom I got the chance to talk to).

Reply 12

Shree515

12

hi! i apologise for being a year late to this chat. i got accepted to AUC and am being considered for PPE at Utrecht Uni. I'm an international student, and all I know about those unis are their rankings - what you've said really worries me because I can't visit the campus unless I travel there. and with covid that's not going to happen. I'd have to pay a deposit of 200 euros soon, but don't even know if AUC is definitely the one. I'm applying for a scholarship as well to both unis, so financials are important. has your view about AUC changed/developed at all? it'd be great if you could tell me more - maybe your experience was uncommon? bad timing, maybe? i really hope so!thank you for your help in advance :smile:

Reply 13

jany1268

1

hello, in 2023, i will start as an international business student in UVA. Could you share some reviews and information about your experience in UVA in 1 year of studying? Thank you

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 14

Zowowee

2

Hi Jany. I’m thinking of going there this year. Are you liking it? How are the dorms now?

Reply 15

jany1268

1

Original post by Zowowee

Hi Jany. I’m thinking of going there this year. Are you liking it? How are the dorms now?

Hi you, I have attended another university in a different country. But my friend, she attended UVA, and overall, she quite struggled a bit at the beginning, but then she quickly adjusted. https://www.quora.com/What-is-your-experience-at-University-of-Amsterdam. You can read some reviews in this link for more recent insights.

Amsterdam University College or Edinburgh Uni?

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