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General advice considering uni in the Netherlands

Coming to the end of my AS year and beginning to consider which uni's i'd like to go to. I'd love some general advice on studying in the Netherlands, stuff like,

- i speak no Dutch (though if I decided to study in the Netherlands I would obv attempt to learn some) does that mean 'division' from the Dutch students, do English speakers stick together? although I know most people speak English is it still possible to feel fully involved in life in the city and social life while not speaking fluent Dutch? i'd hate to be in a place where for 3 years i feel like a tourist.

- are Dutch universities more challenging academically? (i'm thinking of studying liberal arts). plus, do Dutch universities expect a high general level of maths?

- is there a noticeable difference in the attitude of the student body than in British uni's? for example more academically focused, or less ect. (asking people to make a huge generalisation, sorry)

edit: i'm pretty interested in Roosevelt academy, if anyone has any specific comments.

thanks so much for ANY advice anyone can give me. (:
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 1
1. Dutch students on English language courses love to practice their English with native speakers. So, you would most likely be popular and easily make conversations. Also, when there are for example 3 Dutch students and 1 English student talking in a group they would always use English so the other one is not singled out.

2. Yes, they are. Most of them are ranked in the top 100 of the world, better than most British universities except for Oxbridge/LSE and the like.

3. I don't think there is a substantial difference.
Reply 2
Original post by cattitude
- is there a noticeable difference in the attitude of the student body than in British uni's? for example more academically focused, or less ect. (asking people to make a huge generalisation, sorry)


Some students are literally taking decades to finish their BSc, and it is considered somewhat exceptional, or at least "very good" if you finish your BSc in the years set for it. However, there is a lot of pressure from the government onto universities to get the average study time down, so these years regulations are added every few years: for example, in some universities you need to get your first year in one shot - this is known as "bindend studieadvies" or binding study advice. usually it's less strict than that though.

there is a lot of room for extracurricular activities, and in many cases this is actively supported by the university, even when your studies somewhat suffer under it. on the other hand, there are also more and more regulations to meet certain limits, such as "bindend studieadvies", which puts you in a somewhat strange situation of being adviced to be both academically focused and not so.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 3
Kind of to ask a question off this post (if you don't mind) how is the Dutch relationship with foreign/ English students? I have heard many things such "as once they learn your English they stop talking to you," to, "Don't worry about it you will fit in!"
Clarification please?
I've been studying at Leiden University (which also has a Liberal Arts course) for almost two years now. In my own experience, and from what I've seen of others' experiences, the international students do tend to congregate together. This isn't actually a bad thing in my opinion; we're a group of people with similar motivations in life, the same enthusiasm for diversity, and in the same situation, living in a foreign country and wanting to explore, so we have a lot in common and enjoy each other's company. It's great to make friends with people around the world!

Having said that, I also have very good Dutch friends and it's easy to talk English in social situations. Having said that, I think it's hard for any outsider to become part of an existing friendship group. This is true in any country. So my Dutch friends are friends as individuals, rather than a big group that I've joined. They have their own separate social lives, just as I do.

Also, I've found that the extra-curricular activities are largely in Dutch (which makes sense, and isn't fair to change), so it's difficult to get involved in societies and fraternities/sororities, that kind of thing. However, the international students have their own very diverse and active set of societies.
Reply 5
Original post by capital S
Some students are literally taking decades to finish their BSc, and it is considered somewhat exceptional, or at least "very good" if you finish your BSc in the years set for it. However, there is a lot of pressure from the government onto universities to get the average study time down, so these years regulations are added every few years: for example, in some universities you need to get your first year in one shot - this is known as "bindend studieadvies" or binding study advice. usually it's less strict than that though.

there is a lot of room for extracurricular activities, and in many cases this is actively supported by the university, even when your studies somewhat suffer under it. on the other hand, there are also more and more regulations to meet certain limits, such as "bindend studieadvies", which puts you in a somewhat strange situation of being adviced to be both academically focused and not so.


It's mostly explained by the low tuition fees of the Netherlands combined with a relatively generous student grant system making many students want to study for as long as possible rather than rush into the job market. Last year there was some political controversy on this and a 'perpetual student fine' was introduced, but was later on turned down by a new coalition government.
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 6
Alright thanks Ellie, so would you say you don't really "go out" with your Dutch friends or do you do so but just individually?
Original post by Micccol
Alright thanks Ellie, so would you say you don't really "go out" with your Dutch friends or do you do so but just individually?


Well, I've definitely been in situations where I've been the only non-Dutch speaker and people are still happy to speak in English to me, but usually I socialise with other international students.

Having seen the home/international student relationship in three countries now, I think it's broadly similar. It takes more effort to make friends with the home students, whereas the international student community is a ready-made community.
There's some info on Dutch unis for UK students here: http://www.uniintheusa.com/how-why/how-why-abroad/1495/uni-in-the-netherlands
Reply 9
I also want to go to university in the Netherlands, and I'm wondering about a few things...

- Fees? I think they're cheaper than England, but I haven't seen any options for loans? Also, accomodation seems reeaally expensive! I checked some housing websites for an example, and they're kinda extortionate.

- Which universities offer Filmmaking, Animation, Digital Arts?

- Qualifications! This my huge worry, as I'm unable to to the IB (and if I could, I don't know if I would, anyway!) but I've been told that universities in the EU only accept people with IBs. Does this apply to universities in France, as well? Because I'm considering there, too.
Reply 10
Original post by fuglycorn
I also want to go to university in the Netherlands, and I'm wondering about a few things...

- Fees? I think they're cheaper than England, but I haven't seen any options for loans? Also, accomodation seems reeaally expensive! I checked some housing websites for an example, and they're kinda extortionate.

- Which universities offer Filmmaking, Animation, Digital Arts?

- Qualifications! This my huge worry, as I'm unable to to the IB (and if I could, I don't know if I would, anyway!) but I've been told that universities in the EU only accept people with IBs. Does this apply to universities in France, as well? Because I'm considering there, too.

in order:

- afaik there are no student loans except for dutch students. college fees are about 2000E. accommodation is offered privately (e.g. www.kamernet.nl) and housing organizations (e.g. DUWO, SSH). housing price depends on the city (Amsterdam tends to be expensive) and location (housing in the center of amsterdam in unaffordable, but if you're willing to live in the Bijlmer area it's alright). be aware that you're not looking for "short stay housing", because that's indeed outright extortion.

-Arts are offered by "kunstacademies" (art schools), as universities are primarily about science. That is, what you would call a university we would often call a "hogeschool" (not to be confused with "high school", which is the literal translation), also known as HBO education.

-the only way to tell is by applying, but honestly i think you can get in with any decent high school diploma.
Reply 11
Original post by capital S
in order:

- afaik there are no student loans except for dutch students. college fees are about 2000E. accommodation is offered privately (e.g. www.kamernet.nl) and housing organizations (e.g. DUWO, SSH). housing price depends on the city (Amsterdam tends to be expensive) and location (housing in the center of amsterdam in unaffordable, but if you're willing to live in the Bijlmer area it's alright). be aware that you're not looking for "short stay housing", because that's indeed outright extortion.

-Arts are offered by "kunstacademies" (art schools), as universities are primarily about science. That is, what you would call a university we would often call a "hogeschool" (not to be confused with "high school", which is the literal translation), also known as HBO education.

-the only way to tell is by applying, but honestly i think you can get in with any decent high school diploma.


Thanks! :smile:
Original post by cattitude
Coming to the end of my AS year and beginning to consider which uni's i'd like to go to. I'd love some general advice on studying in the Netherlands, stuff like,

- i speak no Dutch (though if I decided to study in the Netherlands I would obv attempt to learn some) does that mean 'division' from the Dutch students, do English speakers stick together? although I know most people speak English is it still possible to feel fully involved in life in the city and social life while not speaking fluent Dutch? i'd hate to be in a place where for 3 years i feel like a tourist.

- are Dutch universities more challenging academically? (i'm thinking of studying liberal arts). plus, do Dutch universities expect a high general level of maths?

- is there a noticeable difference in the attitude of the student body than in British uni's? for example more academically focused, or less ect. (asking people to make a huge generalisation, sorry)

edit: i'm pretty interested in Roosevelt academy, if anyone has any specific comments.

thanks so much for ANY advice anyone can give me. (:


Hi there! Hope the following helps :smile:)

- No, being a non-Dutch speaker will not put you at a disadvantage as pretty much everyone speaks English and gets taught English from a really young age. Have you been there on holiday before? They really don't mind speaking English, unlike some other countries that have a harder time speaking English.

I can't really comment too much on the university life there & being a part of an already established friendship group or student body as I've moved here to do my A levels & degree, I can however tell you that Dutch students usually commute from their home city to their university city rather than moving onto campus like the Brits and Americans tend to do as a right of passage (of course these are my generalisations, someone else may argue differently) but I don't see how your social life can be affected because of that or not being of the home nations nationality. If anything you're likely to get more attention because you're an international student.

- yes Dutch universities are far more challenging than those here in England. Many people just go to hogeschool, which like someone has already mentioned before translates to 'high school' but isn't - at hogeschool you study for a HBO qualification which is roughly equivalent to a Bachelor degree. Usually (and this is another generalisation of mine) people go to universities for courses that lead to a vocational profession such as medicine or law. This is because a HBO is enough to get you a well paid job, for example my sister who's currently at KPMG with a HBO diploma.

- Good universities to look into would probably be universiteit van Utrecht, Leiden en Amsterdam but I would also advise you to look into the 'hogeschools'


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