The Best 5 Months of My Life July 01, 2025

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I did not find the courses overly difficult, I actually spent significantly less time on class-related material outside of class time in comparison to when I'm on campus at Middlebury. Overall, I found the courses interesting, the teachers friendly and approachable, and grading (for the most part) was fair and easy to understand (whenever it wasn't, it was very easy to approach a teacher directly for more guidance). All students are also assigned a tutor (essentially what we'd call an academic advisor at Midd), who can also be a helpful resource when navigating academic life. I only met with mine once at the beginning of the semester just as an introductory meeting... but it was nice to have the option.

On-site administration of your program

They were very communicative before the program, but I felt like on-campus, a lot of the time we had to figure things out on our own. However, I think that's largely the culture in the Netherlands/at Dutch universities, especially on such a small campus like UCU, so it is understandable but it was a bit frustrating at times.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was dated (even though I lived in one of the newer dorms) and my unit ended up having cockroaches and maggots... I understand this is more to the fault of my unitmates; however, without support to facilitate any type of integration/residential assistance (like RAs, etc.), this occurrence (being the lack of communication between unitmates) can be common at UCU. Also, luckily this wasn't an issue in my unit, but lots of my friends had issues with rats in their unit/kitchen. Units were self-catered (we had to buy our own toilet paper, paper towels, clean, etc.), which, despite being an adjustment from Middlebury, is fine, but there was no warning of this to my knowledge. I understand it was simply a different environment and they do things systemically different there, but there was little to no support when it came to housing, and when students did approach the housemaster (one out of the two main residential supports on campus) he complained every single time. For example, I forgot my key card to enter my building once and no one from my unit was answering. I wasn't sure what to do (there was no equivalent of Public Safety on campus who could open doors in an instant...), so I ended up contacting Maarten (the housemaster), who gave me a lecture on how unintelligent and inconsiderate I was for inconveniencing him because he had to get up off of his couch and come help me. That was 1/2 interactions that I had with him, and, in all honesty, that was probably the more pleasant of the two interactions. All this to say, more support, preparation, and friendlier employees would have made the living situation much more enjoyable.

I'm only giving food three stars because there were no dining options on campus. There was a cafe open in the morning/early afternoon most days, but I believe they mostly served smaller pastries and coffee. Otherwise, grocery shopping was mostly affordable and the restaurant options nearby were all pretty good.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

UCU is definitely a bubble (especially because it's such an international campus), but if you put in a lot of effort you can get a taste of Dutch culture (biking around the city, taking the train to neighboring cities, etc.). Taking the Discovering the Dutch class offered at UCU was a really great way to learn about and appreciate the Dutch culture, in my opinion.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I believe health care was addressed once during orientation, but it was kind of thrown in with a lot of other information and all the exchange students were mostly left to figure everything out on their own after the fact. It seemed a bit confusing so I didn't bother getting a GP and mostly just hoped for the best... It worked out for me because I didn't end up getting sick (maybe I had the common cold for a few days but nothing more), but for the future I would hope for more guidance on this. It would also be helpful to learn about other common health issues effecting college students in Utrecht/the Netherlands (sexual health in particular). I say this because toward the end of my program, I learned that the unit below mine had scabies. I had never even heard of scabies before, but I mentioned it to a few of my Dutch friends and they all said that it was common in the Netherlands and that it's almost something that people brag about in a way.

Safety isn't something I genuinely considered before going abroad, but it was definitely the topic of several conversations I had with my fellow exchange friends. We were amazed at how safe we constantly felt in comparison to the states and felt so incredibly fortunate to be in Utrecht/the Netherlands which mostly felt safe regardless of where we were or the time of day it was. I felt comfortable taking the train alone, riding my bike alone, grocery shopping alone, etc. However, there are two instances that I can think of at the moment that did make me feel uncomfortable. 1) One night (probably around 1 or 2am), I was outside with another black Middlebury student who was visiting me. While her and I were talking, a man started chanting "Trump! Trump! Vance! Vance!" at us. He never approached us and kept his distance, but it was still uncomfortable in the moment with everything else going on. 2) There was one time I was out in the city at a club with friends and a man groped me. I did not say anything to the security or anyone else there, but it did/still does make me feel gross.

As different as UCU is from Middlebury, I think that generally made my experience better and more meaningful. I learned a lot about myself both in and out of the classroom, and for that reason I am happy with my decision.

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

I chose to travel pretty much every weekend, so I often spent much more than $100/week, which I absolutely recommend if you have the means. I think part of what made my abroad experience so informative and meaningful was my willingness to break the bank a little bit to travel and experience things outside of my comfort zone. However, if I hadn't done this, I think $100/week would have been feasible, but I would have been bored out of my mind.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Location
• Community (generally welcoming and inclusive + lots of unique/niche events)
• Biking culture!!!

• Housing
• Communication (it was often up to students to communicate in large group chats regarding events and whatnot)
• On-campus resources (no public safety, minimal housing support, lack of response from international office sometimes)