A Life Experience I Wish I Had More of January 16, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The European education system as a STEM major seemed really flawed to me as a study abroad student at Vrije Universiteit. Just the fact that for Biomedical studies first year students are entitled to take Biochemistry and Cellular Biology as a first semester course. Secondly, every course that we would find intensive or would take a full year of school to complete was done in 8 weeks such as Human Anatomy & Physiology or the Biochemistry course. Apart from that, the other courses I took that were in the business and English sectors were rather mild in comparison to the science courses. The resources provided were lacking compared to the US standards such as not having TA/Teacher office hours and almost no leniency towards any sort of trouble you run into academically. For example, in my Biochemistry course there is a lab portion done with a partner in your work section. It consists of a week of lab work and a lab report of around 4000 words all performed around 2 weeks into the course. My partner, somehow, was allowed to withdraw from his class, after being in the class for 2+ weeks, and without notifying me both from the professors and himself leaving me with one day left to finish the report all by myself. Secondly, there are two exams in this course, a math portion and a concepts portion where we need a 5.5/10 to pass. The math exam took place a week after the report draft was due and the professor thought that it would be okay to give me only a couple days worth of extension on my report making it due the day of the exam. Long story short, in an already fast paced course, I barely got my research report in just hours before my exam leaving me with almost no time to study for this exam resulting in a failing score. The resit exam for this exam was in February (far past my last days studying abroad) and without passing this exam which counted for only 10% of our grade, I would not be able to pass the exam. I contacted the professors, my program, and the examination board which all lead me to where I am now. No replies about my exam situation and it has almost been a month since my program date ended. Apart from this, the other courses were quite unique and weren't as rigorous or fast paced as the science courses.

On-site administration of your program

The IES program did a fantastic job making my study abroad experience amazing. Firstly, the student accommodation at The Social Hub City was amazing with study areas, social areas, a gym, free laundry, and a lobby bar and a restaurant with 20% off for students. IES made sure we truly experienced Dutch culture by providing us with many travelling trips around the Netherlands and "borrels" to socialize in true Dutch fashion. The staff was beyond friendly and capable with whatever we needed and made living in a whole different continent a fun experience with minimal stress. Even with travelling to other European countries, the staff provided us with lists of recommendations which all turned out amazing!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

As I mentioned above, I stayed at The Social Hub City which was my first option of living that IES provided me. This was an amazing decision which was in a prime location right in the middle of everything I needed. Apart from the hotel amenities, I had my own room with a full sized bed and shower. Across the street was an Albert Heijn, the target/walmart of the Netherlands, and right outside the hotel was the metro station where I would use to go to school and different places around Amsterdam. All in all, having been able to find this type of housing during a housing crisis in Amsterdam was a blessing.

The Dutch food and food in Amsterdam wasn't too good to be honest. However, there were a couple halal places 2 minutes away from my hotel that were both cheap and delicious! Apart from that, the local dutch food wasn't great except for maybe some "borrel" snacks like bitterballen when you are having a couple drinks with friends or some deserts like oliebollen which were these Dutch styled beignets that were just holy. I found myself eating mainly shoarmas or kebab foods throughout my stay which I do not regret one bit as it was nutritious and delicious.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Everything I did abroad and meeting local people made me feel like a Dutch man. However, the only reason why I gave this 4.5 stars out of 5 is because I didn't get to practice much of my Dutch that I was learning as everyone there speaks English so well! I found myself watching big World Cup games at local bars filled with Dutch people, and even made friends with a group of Dutch mutual friends of mine and they took me out to a town local to them called Hoofdoorp where we had a couple beers and shared stories. I also managed to dive deeper into my love for techno house music and EDM as the night life in Amsterdam was AMAZING! A little less crazy compared to London and Paris, but anyone would be able to have a good time in the Amsterdam nightlife. I also went to the Amsterdam Music Festival which is the biggest indoors music festival in the world with the best DJs in the world such as Tiesto, Martin Garrix, Armin Van Buuren, Afrojack, Nicky Romero, and Timmy Trumpet. The nightlife is one to remember for sure, but the laid back nights with my Dutch friends or friends I met in my program were also amazing.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not have any experiences with healthcare, but from what I understand, we were all given health insurance so everything was pretty much covered apart from personal visits with specific types of doctors such as psychiatrists or therapists. However, apart from health care, the stores around Europe don't carry typically cold medicines that we use like ibuprofen, advil, tylenol, and what not.

Amsterdam felt super safe and I've heard this from multiple of my friends in the program as well. A couple girls in my program during our program's core meetings specifically states that they felt really safe at night walking alone from the metro stop or back to the hotel.

I know that the academics were tough and all, but the circumstance I got put into was completely out of my control. So, with a good mindset I would definitely retry this program again knowing the course load and study habits that I should have to succeed.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I saved up over summer for this study abroad experience so my budget per month was $1500 USD. If you are lazy and didn't cook much like me and also travelled elsewhere in Europe, this budget was pretty slim. However, for students who just stayed in Amsterdam and lived a dorm life like that of America's, then $1500 is more than enough to be comfortable with.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

The program didn't really encourage me to use what I learned outside of the classroom, but I found myself trying to use what I learned to order food or buy groceries sometimes which didn't really help cause everyone already knew English as if English was their mother language.

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• Hotel

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• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The people I met (Social aspect)
• The matriculation process (Coordinated and guided)
• City living (The stay)

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The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer