Dutch universities: anyone with DC there?

[Frequentflier]

Is there anyone with a child at a Dutch uni, please?

My DD is not at a Dutch Uni but she’ll be applying soon for Delft. It seems accommodation is quite hard to find so it may be a long shot but worth a try.

I went years ago...

Yes. My dds in Amsterdam

@IheartJKR was it hard for your DD to find accommodation in Amsterdam?

My DDs at Leiden, just begun her second year. She was only there 6 months before Covid hit and they went online, so didn't have much of a chance to settle in.

She is not very happy with online classes. Apparently the teachers are very rushed and snappy ( can't really blame them, I think), and the teaching standards have plunged since first year. Also, the markings scheme is very strict. The highest in her class is a 7, so she is now worrying about what employers will think of that!

I have told her to consider that these are not normal times and that teachers are stressed just as much as she is. And just muddle along.

@Middersweekly for the first year, your DD should have uni accomodation? And then for the second, there is a website to help them find accomodation in most Dutch towns. Forgot what it's called now, but will find out.

@Middersweekly

My dd was educated in Amsterdam for years before her degree so we had connections. She’s now on her Masters but moved out of the city just before lockdown into a place with outdoor space thank god.
Dd lives in Hilversham currently

@Frequentflier @IheartJKR thanks for your replies re-accommodation. I know not all universities offer accommodation for first years. There are many YouTube videos about the difficulties with finding accommodation but DD would like to give it a try and see if she can get it sorted in time.

DD is in The Hague. She has friends in UVA and they’ve found it really hard to get accommodation. One has had to rent in Utrecht and commute!

Plenty of places in the student accommodation in The Hague but DD is at home because her course is all online for the moment.

@LongPauseNoAnswer is your DD finding the online teaching adequate? Mine is finding the workload quite overwhelming. She did well in her first year, so am wondering if it is bcos of online, and how best I can encourage her.

No experience of Dutch uni's but I just wanted to reassure your daughter that the lecturers probably aren't snapping at her. The Dutch are very blunt and direct and it takes a bit of getting used to. Tell her not to take it personally.

If she’s planning to stay in the Netherlands she shouldn’t worry about the grades. Employers are aware of the grading system and wouldn’t expect many people to have 8 or higher.

@BaronessBomburst

Agreed -

When my dd was little she complained to the dentist that her tooth hurt and he shrugged his shoulders and said “life’s a bitch huh”?

Yup. Dutch directness takes a bit of getting used to.

@Frequentflier she's in her first year so the workload so far has been ok. She says it's hard to concentrate on the online lectures but I think she's more sad than anything else that her first experience of uni has been a bit shit.

My DD was at Maastricht on Erasmus programme for a year.. absolutely loved it.. would have liked to look for work in the Netherlands... except stupid Brexit fuckers put an end to that - so she's in the City of London now and very grateful to have a job..

Yes the Dutch are very direct in their way of speaking. My 2 close friends are Dutch and I love them dearly for this but if you’re not used to it, it may be a shock! I have heard that the universities are very good in the Netherlands but the students are continually tested and pushed so I have a feeling this may be standard practice. I hope your DC’s in the Netherlands pull though this year. It must be awful for students this year all round at university.

V helpful comments, thanks everyone. I think this well may be a cultural difference. And when in Rome... etc etc. She needs to not take it personally. I think in normal times it would be easier.

@LongPauseNoAnswer it is v hard, isn't it? I feel so much for young people. DD won a scholarship and was v excited to go, but I think the relentless staring at screens is intensely fatiguing.

@Middersweekly yes, more or less constant testing. Half the class has dropped out. I think this is usual but disconcerting.

I didn't study at a Dutch university but had a course mate from Amsterdam.

He couldn't get over how friendly our lecturers were... in fact he found it all a bit unprofessional at first .

As PP have said, it could just be cultural differences.