Reviews of Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) | Netherlands

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Hjortur E

Haskoli Islands, Reykjavik, Iceland
Linguistics, Graduate, Independent

Overall

I wish I had known...

Not really

In my opinion:

Most people loved it.

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

4

Culture

3

Costs

3

Activities

3

Campus life

2

Party / people

2

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

It's all good

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

3

Traveled

3

Improved language skills

2

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

3

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

3

Advanced my studies & career

4

Final comments

Amsterdam offers a nice student life and a lot of activities. Get a bike and get familiar with the Dutch Brown Cafe Culture and International music offered in town.

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clemence r

Université Sorbonne Nouvelle: Paris III, Paris, France
European Studies, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my English

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Did not speak it

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

there is no need to speak Dutch to go to Holland, they all speak an amazing English. The hardest thing is to stand hearing the Dutch language which is far from being the most beautiful language in the world;) Apart from that, speaking English with other international students do not especially improve your vocabulary, just your fluency, or easiness. Basically, we just 1000 words, it's a basci English. SO, practice and keep learning by yourself, because you need to be more subtle in your academic papers!

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Temitope E

Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria
Economics, Graduate, International Master Program

Academic

Course recommendations

I recommend that my university should try to add a dutch introductory course to the curriculum of their international programs for an added advantage of studying in a country with another language and to help eliminate the feeling of a stranger in public places as a result of having a knowledge of the local language.

My academic experiences

Quality of courses

Variety of courses

Access to resources

Interaction with teachers

Interaction with international students

Interaction with local students

Personal comments

Well, I will susgest that the university should try to have more english version of their academic events like discussions, career fair and so on, for the benefit of international students.

My opinion of the university assessment

Exams at end of course

Exams throughout the course

Essays and/or projects at the end of course

Essays and/or projects throughout the course

Overall

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isis p

Université Panthéon-Sorbonne: Paris I, Paris, France
Banking, Graduate, Erasmus

Expenses

Main source of funding:

Family

Other sources of funding:

Government assistance<br> An ERASMUS grant

Work opportunities:

I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits

- housing was clearly not cheap, but since I come from Paris it was still cheaper for me to live in Amsterdam. Nightlife: coming from Paris, it also seemed very cheap to me.

Travel, Food:

was more expensive than at home.

Telephone, Overall:

was the same price as at home.

Nightlife, Housing:

was less expensive than at home.

Accessibility of student needs

Second-hand text books

Second-hand household items

Computers / Internet

Administrative

Money from home

Personal comments

Furniture: in Amsterdam, you can easilly find furniture in the street (for free) of course it's in a bad state but when you spend 10 months in a student room, you're happy to have a free sofa, bedside table, armchair... Tip: instead of buying food in the supermarkets such as AlbertHeijn (expenseive) rather go to markets.

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Irene V

Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Language, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Overall

I wish I had known...

Not really, I could handle the new environment pretty well...

In my opinion:

Everybody loved it, you will too!

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

4

Culture

4

Costs

2

Activities

3

Campus life

2

Party / people

3

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

The campus of the UvA are spread through out the city, be prepared to bike!

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

3

Traveled

3

Improved language skills

3

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

3

Advanced my studies & career

4

Final comments

Holland is a small country: you can discover many cities on one day trips. Night life in Amsterdam is great and there are lots of museums, markets, etc. You can also travel in Europe since they are centrally located. Be prepared to go everywhere by bike: rain, snow...doesn't matter! It's really fun :) But most of all, be open minded to learn new things about other cultures and languages.

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