5 Reasons To Study In the Netherland As An International Student

Studying abroad comes with a lot of opportunities or advantages if one is equipped with the right set of information before departing from their home country. There are so many factors one has to consider when applying to study in a new environment, some people might make these decisions solely on economics prospects or even emotional commitments.

Regardless of what the driving factor might be, It is even more important now as there are many study destinations around the world to choose from. But, in this article, I would share with you reasons why you should consider studying in the Netherlands as an international student.

5 Reasons To Study In the Netherland As An International Student

1. Affordable Tuition

Once an international student is able to figure out how they can cover the costs of their tuition, the rest is always easier to handle mainly because international students pay twice the tuition required by domestic students in the country.

Studying in the Netherlands is actually cheaper when compared to the UK and US mainly because the government has subsidized tuition fees such that annual fees for EU students would be around €1,900 for EU students and €6,000 for non-EU students, depending on the university

2. Availability of Courses in English

The fact that the Netherlands is not an English speaking country should not make you discouraged from applying to study in their country. In a bid to make international students feel at home more, there are more than 2100 English taught programs you can apply to for a bachelor, masters, PhD or even diploma relevant both in the international community and in your home country.

But if English is not your native language in your home country, you might be required to demonstrate English proficiency by either providing IELTS or TOFEL depending on the requirements of the university you are applying to.

3. World Class Education

Dutch universities continue to attract international students because their universities are highly ranked in the world. In most institutions, they have standard facilities with curriculums taught being revised to meet the international community standards.

During your time in school, you would get to interact with your teachers and other students as most classes and projects are done within small groups of 30 or less. Just like there is a focus on your course work, most dutch universities enter into partnerships with many dutch companies in an avenue to provide opportunities for students to gain relevant work experience in their field of study.

4. Affordable Living Expenses and Travel Opportunities

In comparison to living in other European countries, the cost of living in the Netherlands is relatively low. depending on your needs and how well you can manage money, you would require between €800 and €1,000 to cover monthly expenses.

You can also lower your living expenses by considering student accommodation, staying in a shared apartment, use your student card to get discounts when visiting the bar, restaurant, museums, cinemas, and free public transportation either during the week or on weekends.

The location of the Netherlands amidst other European countries also makes it an enjoyable study destination for students, during vacations or long holidays you can travel to Paris, Belgium, Germany either by train, road or air depending on what you can afford.

5. Accommodating locals

While English is not the official language in the Netherlands, there are locals around who can speak in English and are willing to show new students around town when lost or in need of direction.

The locals being friendly and accommodating makes it easier for international students to live, study and work in the Netherlands. They are also very open and tolerant, welcoming everyone to share their opinions and express themselves. There are many areas where locals speak either dutch, french, german or both languages. This presents an excellent opportunity for people looking to improve their communication skills in either German, English and french.

Also if you decide to return to your home country or emigrate to another country, you being able to demonstrate that you are fluent in some of the widely used and accepted languages in the world which give you an advantage when applying for job roles.

Conclusion

You can also work part-time while school is on a session for 32 hours a month provided this won’t affect your studies. This enables you to get a student OV-Chipkaart, which gives you access to free public transportation.

Further, if you know how to use a bike, it could save cost on transportation as many people make use of bicycles which is quite cheap, easy to maintain and enjoyable as there are designated roads for cyclists in cities and major routes.