Universiteit Leiden

I am writing this because I believe it is very important for new students to have realistic expectations about a bachelor's degree at a Dutch university. My desire to study at LU was to learn a lot about given studies and be educated in different spheres. However, I also expected from my university a certain protection from being "on the side of the road" unemployed and forced to work jobs unrelated to my interests after graduation. Unfortunately, 9 months after graduation, my experience turned out to be exactly that. My bachelor's programme did not offer skills that could land a job in these difficult times in Netherlands after studies. Despite successfully finding an internship, having a decent resume and graduating with a thesis, I have to leave the country and possibly begin from scratch with something different.
I write this purely for new students who might think that =a high-ranking university is a safe pathway, but at the moment it is far from that. WO university will teach you academic concepts, and for anything beyond that you need an HBO or online self-taught courses, whether it is programming, UX design or anything where you can be self-reliant might be a safe option for the future.

The University is based in a very pleasant background . Also, the teachers lecture in a very engaging way and the University's online platform facilitate the researchs that students are lead to do by establishing a continuous connexion between the students and professors.

Courses are of great quality however the student life isn t the most welcoming and easy to integrate, u can easily feel lonely at times. Teachers are implicated however the relationship with them can be at times superficial.

The courses formed theoretical basis for understanding the world broadly, whilst also informing me of their application at a micro level. After the first year, we focus on an area of study, mine being North America (US, Mexico, Canada). The economic, cultural and political makeup of North America are taught to become an expert in the region. The International Studies course was excellent, with many hours of contact time between the tutor and the student per week, the course in excellent value for money (Especially compared to UK universities which cost three times the amount for a third of the contact time).