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New Yorker Studying Abroad.

Hello all,

This is my first post at TSR and was hoping I could get some insight into Tilburg University in the Netherlands. I will be doing study abroad there and am curious to know it's general reputation in the EU/London and how the city and people are there. Thanks in advance.

Reply 1

Craig_D

Welcome to the forum! I have to confess that I don't know enough about it to have an opinion, I'm not sure that many Brits would. Just curious, but why are you interested in British opinions of a Dutch university? :confused:

Reply 2

Higheck123

Thank you for the welcome. I would like to have an opinion from the British because I always wanted to work in London; even thought I hear getting a visa as an American is hell. I guess in that case you may wonder why not just study abroad in the UK? I am still considering Cass and Warwick as study abroad options but it is about $6,000 more than the Netherlands and I have lived in Amsterdam for a few months and loved it. I am also thinking about completing a masters from a UK institution so I wanted to know how Tilburg may look to admissions and possible employers.

Reply 3

TonyTrouble

RSM is in general more prestigious than Tilburg.If you are now studying in Stern or Cornell,that would be stronger hook than Tilburg.Although I do believe that one shouldn't rely solely on his degree to do all the work while he's just laidback and doing nothing

Reply 4

Craig_D

You're welcome :smile:

Ah, yes, I understand your problem. I can completely empathise that the $6,000 would make a world of difference, in which case you're making a wise move. I do know that Tilburg is well established, and ranked ~500 in the world, which is fairly good. The main point I think though is that you get a good grade, which speaks a lot more about your personal abilities than the institution you studied at. I have full confidence that with a reasonably high mark Tilburg university will be looked at positively, and you will be accepted into a job in London or a Masters course as if you'd studied here.

Reply 5

Higheck123

It is very good to know that extreme emphasis is not put on institution. I currently go to a state school and employers frequently look down on our applications, I have experienced this and my GPA is almost a 4.0/4.0. BTW would you suggest Cass or Warwick? I know Warwick is better by far but Cass is in London and seems like it would be fun.

Reply 6

Vinchenko

Original post by Higheck123

Well, a lot of emphasis is placed on institution in London if you've studied in the UK, it's probably not for the netherlands just because people don't know the various universities there well enough! Certainly, I'd argue that rarely happens here, though with american state schools being in their current condition I can see why....lowest in the OECD I think; last year the US refused to even submit any of the standardised tests in order to be ranked internationally! Anyway, regarding Cass vs. Warwick depends very much on precisely what subject you want to do and what career you're looking to go into. They're incredibly different institutions. Why those two alone, out of interest?

Oh, and, you'll confuse people if you go around saying Cass! It's just the business faculty of City University, though it is more respected than it's parent institution.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 7

Higheck123

Vinchenko, thanks for the reply. I agree some of the state schools here are terrible and their financial condition is no better. As for standardized test scores, our private institutions are great (I went to catholic prep) but public schools are in desperate need of reorganization.

I am most interested in trading and asset management for career positions and I have not only singled these two schools out but I am not knowledgeable to evaluate many others in the UK. I would welcome any recommendations you may have though.

Reply 8

Vinchenko

Original post by Higheck123

You're welcome, though please use the quote button to reply, as it means I can see when you have! (As can you, right hand bar, 'who quoted me')

If you are at all interested in finance and trading, you must consider LSE (London School of Economics), which is undoutbedly the best business/economics school in the city. I believe UCL (University College London) is also a great place to study in that area, and these are both much more prestigious universities than City, which is comparatively new. The prestige is what is important when getting a job, after all, (as well as your grade obviously) and especially LSE would give you a very impressive CV and fantastic connections for the future. University is often considered more important than grade in this country, as grades are either 1st, 2i, 2ii, or 3rd, as opposed to the much more detailed GPA system you have there. Also, standards do vary considerably between universities.

Oxbridge should also be a consideration - that is, the universities of Oxford & Cambridge. Neither teach any specifically financial degrees as an undergraduate degree, however they do a range of economics related courses and at Cam certainly you can switch to do a Part II tripos (essentially the second part of your degree) in a management course which is an ideal preparation for the business world. However, by far the most important aspects of studying at Oxford or Cambridge are the prestige of going to universities that are ranked at Harvard level and the connections that gives and the doors that opens in future life. Almost all British leaders have been to one or the other, Clinton came for a few years to Oxford (it's where he 'smoked but did not inhale' weed :tongue:

) and a very many other successful people too. It's very tough to get in, and a lengthy application process, but it's comparatively cheaper than other universities to study at and really is the best education in the modern world.

Really, you have a variety of options, and I can't see any possible reason for picking either Cass or Warwick just on their own! They're incredibly different places, and neither are really at the top of their game, if that is what you want. I'd suggest investing in a copy of the Times Good University Guide (link for 2011 version, 2012 one out in a month or so) http://www.amazon.com/Times-Good-University-Guide-2011/dp/0007356145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302125300&sr=8-1 and doing some more research and deciding precisely what it is you'd want from a university. Remember you can apply for 5 British universities/courses in any admissions cycle, and it costs the same to apply for 2 as for 5, so it's certainly worth making 5 choices if you do want to come and study here.

I could go on and on about this, but there's little point unless you let me know what exactly you want to know :smile: