The Netherlands Basics

Overview

• In general, students choose from Research Universities, Universities of Applied Science and University Colleges. Research Universities are the traditional, academic-foccused institutions. Universities of Applied Sciences are more hands-on and are often linked to Business or the Arts, but can offer a variety of different courses. University Colleges are more liberal arts-based, they are considered 'honours' programs and typically require a higher academic requirement to be admitted and often require application essays, interviews and recommendation letters. 

• Usually 3 years to complete a bachelors at a research university or university college, or 4 years at a university of applied sciences.

• There may be university requirements for IB math or sciences for programs such as engineering, science, business, economics, computer science and others that are focused on science or math. 

• Application requirements, such as essays, interviews and/or exams as well as deadlines, are determined by the course at each university. 

• Students can have four active applications registered on Studielink at any one time. Only two of these of these course can have the label 'Numerus Fixus' which is reserved for the most popular courses (such as Psychology and Computer Science), these programs will be indicated as such on the university's website. 

• Medicine is no longer taught in English.

Accomodation

• Finding student housing is a significant challenge and expensive if you are applying to a research university or university of applied sciences in the Netherlands, accommodation is not provided, this means the responsibility to find accommodation is placed on the students and their family. The exception are University Colleges where many, but not all often provide accommodation for the first year or two. Over the last five years or more, there has been a significant shortage of accommodation for students in the Netherlands, increasingly so in the last couple of years. Therefore it will be important to apply early and ensure you have a place to stay for the first year. 

We advise the following application plan, in order to minimize stress in securing housing:

a. Decide early (before November in Y13) on if the Netherlands is part of your Plan A or B, as this will determine how much you can commit early when it comes to housing lists and deposits.

b. Apply early. If you know what you wish to apply for and where, regardless of the deadline, apply by the end of November. This way you may receive a response earlier. For those applying to a 'Numerus Fixus' programme, such as psychology or computer science, or to University Colleges, you may have to wait longer for a response due to the extra steps that may be involved in the application (such as interviews or assessments).

c. Understand the resources available to you now. While you are waiting for the university to respond, familiarise yourself with the accommodation resources, landscape and potential hurdles in the geographical areas you are applying to. This will allow you to hit the ground running when you know you can proceed. Often you cannot formally proceed with housing until you have a confirmed acceptance, however having a grasp of the area in advance will help enormously. 

General steps to apply (but check individual university websites and program pages for specific instructions)

Websites

Study in NL (search engine for courses in English)

Dutch University Consortium (useful centralised resource providing information on some of the universities in the Netherlands)

University Colleges (great resource that explains how University Colleges are different to Research Universities and provides details information on each UC)

Studielink The initial application portal for the Netherlands. 

Boswell Beta Exams (Speak to your counsellor about whether you need to take a Boswell Exam and they can provide more information. They are often required if you do not have the required IB subjects to be eligible for a course)

Self assessment quizzes to help select best courses/majors