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Studies > Netherlands > Amsterdam > HES Amsterdam > Review by Pia
 
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HES Amsterdam (HESASD)

Amsterdam School of Business, Weesperplein 8 - Postbus 295, 1000 Ag Amsterdam, THE Netherlands
3.84 / 5 based on 270 reviews.
Description:
Studying at the HES Amsterdam School of Business means studying at the biggest and one of the best-known business schools in the Netherlands, comprising 6000 students. It offers a wide range of business related programmes preparing students for Bachelor and Master Degrees. Included are support studies such as foreign languages, law and psychology.


Reviews
International Partners
Programmes
Accreditations
87% of students recommend
270 reviews
Housing
3.7/5
 All experiences (270)
Student life
4.2/5
 5 stars (48)
Academic
3.9/5
 4 stars (132)
Languages
4.1/5
 3 stars (78)
Expenses
3.2/5
 2 stars (12)
Overall
4.3/5
 1 star (0)
“If you want to travel around Holland quiet often they have this amazing discount card for trains, it costs around 60 euros for one year and you get 40% discount on all train fares, it is perfect if you like to go to the beach in den Haag, or to parties in different cities, or just to get to know the other lovely cities of Holland.” Read Review
piadelamaza, Sweden

HES Amsterdam review by Pia

Review by Pia, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden
Business Studies, Erasmus
HOUSING    
Personal assessment
Cost
KEY:
Couldn't have asked for more.
Pretty good.
Could've been better, but didn't lessen the overall experience.
Disappointing.
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why? Because I had a great time, it was a student building so we all lived together but in our own apartments.
Personal comments:
It was great! I enjoyed it very much, as I mentioned we all live in the same building and we had a pub in the basement which was a meeting point. There was a very good atmosphere bewteen everyone and it was a lot of fun, I would love to do it again.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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STUDENT LIFE    
Personal social experience
Activities
KEY:
Amazing! Hardly had time to study.
Plenty to do when I had the time.
So-so.
Did not get involved.
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
Activities: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Nightlife, Travel: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal comments:
There are so many places in Amsterdam, Melkweg and Paradiso usually have nice concerts and parties. Club 11 is a nice club to go to, with a beautiful view of Amsterdam. As for cafes Kashmirs lounge, lost in Amsterdam are cosy cafes as well as the Rokerij. Twstd, the tetra bar and Wonder bar, are small bars adn Dj cafes, good price and they have most of the time Dj's playing all kind of music, my favourite hang outs. For parties my best experience was to keep an eye out for flyers to see what is happening or to go to record stores, such as outland records, In deep n dance, Sweaty records to check and ask for parties.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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ACADEMIC       4.5 / 5
My academic experiences
Quality of courses
KEY:
Fantastic.
Pretty good.
Could've been a bit better.
Disappointing.
Variety of courses
Availability/access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with other international students
Interaction with local students
Course recommendations:



My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
KEY:
Liked it.
It was alright.
A bit annoying.
Didn't like it.
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course.
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
Personal comments:
none

This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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Language difficulties
Social
KEY:
No problems.
I coped pretty well.
Sometimes it was difficult.
It was a constant struggle.
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Language of instruction: English
Local language was: Different than language of instruction.
Was learning English a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
Was learning the local language a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my knowledge
How much did you improve your English?
My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
How much did you improve your local language?
My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
Personal comments:
Most of the locals speak english so not knowing Dutch was not a problem at all, which made it harder off course to learn the language, since it was easeir to speak english. At University with the students, english was the main language so for me it wasn't a problem since I speak it fluently.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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EXPENSES    
The accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
KEY:
Very easy.
Minimal effort.
Accessible but required effort.
Almost impossible.
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Main source of funding:
Other
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
An ERASMUS grant
work
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits:
I spen more on the telephone, because I only had a mobile phone so calling abroad became more expensive. I spend more on the nightlife not because it is more expensive but because I went out much more. On food and travelling I spend less because it was cheaper in Holland than in Sweden.
Nightlife, Telephone: was more expensive than at home.
Overall, Housing: was the same price as at home.
Food, Travel: was less expensive than at home.
Personal comments:
If you need furniture or household items go around the city, beacsue in Holland they have a wounderful recycling tradition, that everyone leaves their things outside on the street, once a week, so who ever needs anything can take it before the garbage men do! Some things are a real catch!
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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OVERALL    
Important to choosing this university...
Academic reasons
KEY:
Very Important.
Important.
Not really important.
Unimportant.
Culture
Costs
Activities
Campus life
Party / people
Weather / Location
I wish I had known...
Not really!
In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!



During my experience abroad, I ...
Became familiar with another culture
KEY:
Happened all the time.
Happened quite a lot.
Happened a bit.
Didn't happen.
Traveled
Improved language skills
Met people from other countries
Became more independent
Partied a lot
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies/career
Personal recommendation:
It was a great experience, the Unversity arranged a whole week of activities in the beginning so that everyone can get to know each other, which was great. The teachers were very easy going and open, so it was easy to talk to them and have a more relaxed relationship.



FINAL COMMENTS

If you want to travel around Holland quiet often they have this amazing discount card for trains, it costs around 60 euros for one year and you get 40% discount on all train fares, it is perfect if you like to go to the beach in den Haag, or to parties in different cities, or just to get to know the other lovely cities of Holland.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
Was this review useful?   Yes · No


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