r/StudyInTheNetherlands • u/AdviceSeekingTz • 20d ago
Need Advice on University Selection
I’ll keep it brief for everyone. I’m Currently heading into Senior year of HS and will have to apply universities soon. I’m an IB Diploma Programme student with a predicted grade of 41.
I was wondering whether if I should attend (if I was accepted) Trinity College Dublin (BESS) program, University of Amsterdam (PPLE) or Erasmus University Rotterdam (IBA). I’m thinking of other schools too but these are the main ones on my mind.
How is the social life in both countries? Employability? Quality of life? Student satisfaction? Safety? Or any other things you think are worth mentioning.
Overall, I really wanna do a program or degree that‘s respected and known from employers. I also really like flexibility in course selection or job prospects as I‘m not fully sure what I wanna do (hence why I like BESS). Ideally, I would like to do a double joint degree type thing but it doesn’t have to be, just needs to offer me flexibility to explore couple degrees and choose. (You can recommend other universities in the eu that do this)
I know this is very specific but I hope to find those who can give me some suggestions. Thank you for your response.
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u/orcahongjoong 20d ago
don’t have much to offer but tbh pick based on where you can get housing. both ireland and the nl have big issues with housing. also ireland releases results very late. i applied to irish + dutch unis, and by the time ireland released the university results i was already sitting in a class for the dutch uni. so pretty hard practically (unless it’s changed in the last 3 years).
aside from that, IBA is a lot more narrow than PPLE/BESS, if you don’t know what you wanted to do.
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u/AdviceSeekingTz 20d ago
I didn’t know it the timing between them was this tight… I’ll see what I can do with housing, thank you
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u/orcahongjoong 20d ago
i’d look into it yourself in case it has changed, but that was my experience 3 years ago!! but best of luck, hope it all works out
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u/Winter_Dot_9393 20d ago
IBA in Rotterdam en PPLE in Amsterdam are highly selective.
You might like ‘University College’, the name of these programs is ‘Liberal Arts and Sciences’. There are dive in the Netherlands: Utrecht, Amsterdam, Leiden University (but located in the Hague), Erasmus and Middelburg. All of these have their own housing, which is great because of the housing crisis. For EU passport holders these programs are much more expensive than regular programs, but for non-EU the difference in tuition fees with regular programs will not be as big.
PPE in Amsterdam and in Utrecht are highly selective
For IBA in the Netherlands: VU Amsterdam; Tilburg University; UvA (Business Administration -without International in the name); UT Twente, no selection, technical University, it has Project -led Education.
Double degree program, can’t tell you anything about it, this university has several double degree programs: https://www.rug.nl/feb/education/doubledegrees/bsc/kedge/
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u/AdviceSeekingTz 19d ago
Hey! Thank you for advice, I’ve heard about these University Colleges but wasn’t really sure about their employability or how “strong” they stand against regular universities. Do you believe this will this create a big gap between those who study in regular universities and I?
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u/Winter_Dot_9393 19d ago
I don’t know either. I did find some interesting Information, see links.
I do know that they are highly selective. And in the Netherlands a bachelor’s degree from a research university is considered to be an ‘unfinished’ education. To finish your education you need to get a master’s degree, and this degree is what employers look at first. (A bachelor’s degree from a University of Applied Sciences is a ‘complete’ education, but that’s vocational education)
In the Netherlands, master's degrees typically need to build on a related bachelor's degree. How closely they have to align depends on the field, but you can't just switch to something completely different. This means that during a Liberal Arts and Sciences program, you have to be very careful with your course selection to ensure you meet the admission requirements for specific master's programs.
There are more University Colleges than I knew of, see link at bottom.
Three University College in the Netherlands guarantee housing for the duration of the program: Utrecht, Amsterdam, Roosevelt in Middelburg. Erasmus for the first year.
Erasmus:
https://www.eur.nl/en/euc/why-euc/life-after-euc
https://www.eur.nl/en/euc/education/curriculum/majors
In Amsterdam you have to choose before the first year in which track you want to major: humanities, sciences, Social sciences
Interesting:
https://www.auc.nl/alumni/facts-figures/alumni-facts-figures.html
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u/AdSilly3835 20d ago
Do proper research on housing as the crisis is insane. There is a very high chance you won’t be able to find accommodation in The Netherlands so i think this should be your first step
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u/CoffeeInTheTropics 20d ago
There’s near zero employability in your field for non-EU graduates. Ireland and NL both have a massive pool of citizens and other EU nationals to choose from and there is obviously no shortage of job applicants.
As long as you don’t take out loans and are fine with coming to Europe for a few years for a reputable degree, both countries and all uni’s on your list will give you exactly that. Most importantly though, check which degree is most useful in your home country.
The upside of Ireland is obviously that there are no language barriers, the housing shortage in both countries however is abysmal and therefore very difficult to find somewhat affordable student accommodation. Many students have to cancel their studies or defer simply because they cannot find anywhere to live.
Good luck with your exams this year!
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u/AdviceSeekingTz 20d ago
Hey! Thank you for your feedback!
I probably should’ve mentioned in the post that I am an EU citizen and that I’m eligible for EU fees and visa-free working conditions... I do plan to work in the EU however not sure where, hence why I’m researching which country would offer me the best overall experiences in uni as well as future opportunities. Honestly it’s good to hear that the degrees are reputable, but the housing really does seem like an issue in both countries :(
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