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Maths Requirements of universities in Netherlands

Hello, I'm Sebastian from Brunei and I'm looking to study abroad in Netherlands (preferably Tilburg/Rotterdam/Maastricht) in Economics/International Business. Have read through this forum for information on universities in Netherlands for a while now and also sent emails to almost every top universities but I'm still not able to draw up a conclusion for this. Universities other than 'University Colleges' tend to have A-Level Maths as requirement and student without one (which is me in this case) are required to sit for entrance exam. So,

1)Have anyone of you/anyone you know who is without A-level Maths and was admitted into a Netherlands university without sitting for the entrance exam?

2)Have anyone took Maths Profeciency test from a university?

3)Through emails, I was told to send them my qualifications during application so they can consider my overall results. Is there a chance that they will accept a student with only O level Maths?

Thank you in advance for your replies (hopefully)

Reply 1

vazee

You should read about entry requirements in the websites. Mostly, universities in the Netherlands do not require to have very high level of maths, but you must check it in their websites as I said.

Reply 2

SchinnerC

I have read through them, I even sent them e-mails. That's why I'm posting here to see if anyone was admitted even without A-level Maths. =.=

bump bump

Original post by SchinnerC

I have read through them, I even sent them e-mails. That's why I'm posting here to see if anyone was admitted even without A-level Maths. =.=

I am also finding the same problem (despite scrutinising websites!) and the responses to my emails have been a bit vague too. I appreciate that students leave Dutch High School with a diploma that covers a broader range of subjects than the standard 3 or 4 A levels in the Uk and so they will usually have done some maths beyond age 16. However, I can't see that they really need us to have studied at A level in order to have the appropriate level of maths proficiency to handle most Bachelor level courses. I checked out the maths entrance exam to Utrecht Uni and it was pretty tough - certainly beyond GCSE. What courses are you looking at?

Reply 5

SchinnerC

Initially, I'm looking at both Economics and Law. But due to the possibility of not getting admitted due to my lack of A level Maths, I'm leaning towards Law. However, this is only the case for standard universities I suppose as from what I've read, University colleges doesn't have A-level Maths as a requirement for Econs. This is weird isn't it?. University colleges should be more intensive and demanding yet has lower requirements?

Reply 6

poppydog

It would seem that most Dutch unis are not allowed to be selective ( I have heard that this means it is easy to get into university, BUT due to regular exams and their insistance on achieving a certain minimum grade each term, it is very easy to get kicked out - the drop out rate is massive compared to the UK for this reason).
The university colleges of Maastricht, Utrecht, Amsterdam and Leiden (at The Hague) remain outside the rules and operate a range of selective criteria via the motivational letter, essay and interview so they don't need to rely so much on the Maths A level as a guideline for how appropriate a candidate might be.
I think the liberal arts and science degrees sound great as I don't feel ready to specialise and this provides the chance to explore some new areas as minors too.
How do you feel about moving so far from your home? It is only a one hour flight for me but still seems a little daunting!

Reply 7

SchinnerC

Ah I see... So, what and where are you studying/ applying to?

Moving away from home to study in universities isn't actually that abnormal. Quite a few of my friends are already on scholarship studying in the UK and US with many more soon to follow I'm sure. Well to be honest, I can't wait. The football, art scene, music scene and the food scene. Most of them except food of course, aren't really prominent in my country, especially for a football and music geek like me ^^. Also, can't wait to learn European different cultures and languages, having already tried to learn some German. Will be looking for a part time job too to finance some of the expenses. How's the student job market over there?

Reply 8

Rand

Original post by poppydog

Yeah I'm Dutch myself, and students don't get into uni based on their grades, a diploma is usually enough. The really competitive courses like Medicine have a system which we call 'loting', it basically means that if you average 8/10 on your diploma then you get admitted to whatever uni you want, but if your average is lower than that you will be placed in a pool and literally become a lottery ticket. If they pulled your ticket out of the hat, you're in, otherwise you're not. That's why so many med students don't even make it past year one.

Idiot system, but hey, apparently it works.

As for Maths, it is a compulsory subject for every Dutch student and I think you'll need to have some qualification in it especially for Economics.

Reply 9

SchinnerC

"Yeah I'm Dutch myself, and students don't get into uni based on their grades, a diploma is usually enough."

Does this apply to international (English stream) students as well or just courses taught in Dutch?

Also, I'm wondering about job opportunities for non-EU students. I read that each student are only allowed to work 10 hours max. per week, but are jobs like this easy to find without able to speak Dutch? Particularly in Maastricht/Groningen/Utrecht.

Reply 10

Parnassia

I assume additional conditions regarding grades apply to international students, as admission is based on the Dutch secondary school system. You would never pass a Dutch exam with a 40% score for example, but you would in the UK.

As long as you are willing to learn at least some basic Dutch, you will have a decent chance to find a job. You are allowed to work more than 10 hours per week but if you receive our standard student grant, you aren't allowed to earn more than 13.000 euros a year.