AUC or Groningen

I have received an offer from both institutions nad would love some insight about student life there so I can decide. I would be studying Astronomy with Philosophy of a Specific Discipline in Groningen, or a Sciences major at AUC. I would be great to hear any experience concerning these programmes, or just abotu the cities.

Reply 1

NotBestPleased

Are you based in the UK? Because if you are, you should double-check how easy it is to travel there. Groningen is sort of in the middle of nowhere (at least, by Dutch standards) and if you're going to uni and living away from your parents for the first time, you're going to want to travel back home a lot, and your family may want to travel there to help you settle in. Getting to Amsterdam from the UK is pretty reasonable, theres the Eurostar, Plane, Ferry, Eurotunnel depending where and how you set off.

I'm at the UvA, so i can tell you about Amsterdam, but can't say much about specifically the AUC or your major. Amsterdam is a nice student city. There are lots of English speakers so international students can get around pretty well. It's small so easy to get to places by bike. The public transport network is good (although a bit infrequent compared to major UK cities like London) so if cycling isn't an option it's not so bad. There are lots of student clubs/societies you can join, and often multiple of the same type but with different cultures (e.g. Rowing has Skøll, Nereus and Okeanos). Lots of non-student things to do too, nice museums, clubs etc. Only downside to Amsterdam is housing (although at AUC I understand you get housing on-site anyway?) and because it's a big tourist city sometimes the locals can be a bit rude. Amsterdammers are considered to be a bit more rude than other places in NL anyway. But it's not so bad once you get used to it. I'd personally recommend Amsterdam.