Studying in the Netherlands

Good question.

In general, Netherlands is a good place to study and live. Netherlands has many prestigious universities with very high ranking. Utrecht, Delft, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Amsterdam, Groningen, Erasmus and Twente are a few to name, but there are much more. Just google for world ranking of the universities and you will find quite a few Dutch Universities. Dutch Universities are more experimenting as well. For the undergraduate studies, many schools have started University College program in English, which is a free-form program where you start with a wider variety of subjects and narrow down your choices as you progress. This is a great option for the students who are not 100% sure about their interests, which is often a case. There are some English language options for Undergraduate study, on the other hand, graduate study is often in English.

In general, universities have very good infrastructure, facilities, and staff. Netherlands is an English friendly country, so living in The Netherlands is generally a very good experience.

Fees are far lower than the UK or USA universities, but probably there are other countries with lower fees than The Netherlands.

After you finish the study, Dutch government allows you to stay in the country for certain time to find a job (I think one year). I am not 100% certain about the current rules. However, if someone gets a high skill job while living outside the country (living outside NL for more than 10 years), then he/she can get 30% tax benefit. i.e. 30% of the income is tax-free. This is a very good incentive. In general, Netherlands has very high taxes.  This benefit will not be available to the students who study and then work in The Netherlands. 

If the student is from an EU country (including England before Brexit becomes a reality) would pay a nominal fee only. Also, for those students all the rules will same as a Dutch student.

Many of my friends study in the Netherlands as the university courses are all in English and there is the option to study dutch on the side.

There are also a lot of international students in the Netherlands, so the universities give direct and useful advice and help on how to settle down in the new country.

Plus life quality in the Netherlands is great, so young people interested in eco living and advanced ways for living a green life are keen to visit this country!

After leaving in NL for some years,

1) Reasons: why I would recommend to study in NL

- It is on the continent so no long risky flights needed (home, or nice places in Europe)
- It is relatively safe here
- it is relatively easy to find a job to pay the daily costs for leaving next to the study
- English is more spoken in Netherlands then Dutch at least in the University and Big cities.
- Most subjects at university are in English.
- The NL society and  students are extremely multi-cultured and the integration between the cultures is really good comparing to all other countries in EU. So you will not feel any discriminations (at least not having a student status)
- Considering Germany as the best place in EU to get a job guaranty based on what you done during a study the Universities at Netherlands are considered almost as equal to the German Universities (so for the German companies a second choice after students from German universities)

1) Reasons: why I would NOT recommend to study in NL
- If you study in NL with the purpose to find a JOB in NL after your study then it can only work for Medicine or IT or some niches of engineering. The Dutch work-market (after university) is small and if you not studied Medicine or IT  it will be very difficult to find a Work in NL since you would have to compare with Dutch people which are the preferred choice for the Dutch companies.

Yes, It is a good place to study abroad. Famous universities in the Netherlands are Wageningen University renowned for agriculture and life sciences, Utrecht renowned for medical sciences and medica research, Eindhoven Institute of Technology and Delft University for Engineering, Leiden University for literature and humanitarian studies, Twente University in Water Resources Management, Amsterdam(frei) University is also great and multi-disciplinary subjects are taught there. Research institutions like TNO and Wageningen research centers are world-class ones in its field.

Under- and post- graduate studies are not free in the Netherlands and you need to apply for funding through the Nuffic and NFP which can provide me good means to support your studies or through your personal contact with an academic supervisor who may have a funded research project and therefore he/she can sponsor your studies. You can apply for grants through the website study in holland

studyinholland.nl


Best wishes and good luck 

Unless you are female or white I would not choose the Netherlands as a place to continue your academic work. I encountered racism so blatant and gross I totally thought I was back in the 1940's Deep South. * In the (poorly equipped) *** I experienced a crowed of science students make monkey noises as I walked by. This I shall never forget. One experience of many, when my experiences were brought to the attention of the faculty heads, this including ***

As a result I have continued writing about my experiences and have shared my stories with some people of note who research these kinds of events. **