Reviews of Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN) | Netherlands

Useful | 1

sonia n

Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Law, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Student life

Describe host city:

Student life dominates the city

Travel, Nightlife, Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment

Personal social experience

Activities

Nightlife

Travel

Overall

Personal comments

Groningen night is amazing, there is plenty to do and places to go at night. You can stay until 6 in the morning in Shadrack or in the Car. There are Jazz concerts in the Spieghel, in the Sol in Cantine.... Happy hour on Monday in Sally's, on Wednesday in the Storm and every night in the Blaw Angel. The Soldier to have a beer; Enzo to dance; gay pubs with house music; Molly Malone's on Thursday (happy hour), the Three sisters in Grote Mark (Dutch people; Samba....Lots of pubs...

Useful | 1

sonia n

Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Law, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Housing

Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Host university

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why?

you have your own space and you can interact with other international students

Personal assessment

Cost

Facilities

Location

Cleanliness

Space

Personal comments

I lived in basaltflat which was a building full o appartments where almost 150 international students lived. It was pretty good because it had all the advantages of a residence but you had your own privacy, although it was quite expensive for the location (20 minutes by bike from the city center

Useful | 0

sonia n

Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Law, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Academic

Course recommendations

Don't expect an easy erasmus in the Netherlands. Courses in Groningen are hard, specially in Law, but it is to say that they are very interesting

My academic experiences

Quality of courses

Variety of courses

Access to resources

Interaction with teachers

Interaction with international students

Interaction with local students

Personal comments

You cannot smoke in he cantine since 1 January 2004....Exams at the end of the course when you are leaving are very annoying... you want to enjoy your last days and you have to study hard to pass them. I would prefer exams during the course or papers

My opinion of the university assessment

Exams at end of course

Exams throughout the course

Essays and/or projects at the end of course

Essays and/or projects throughout the course

Overall

Useful | 0

sonia n

Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Law, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my English

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Everyone in the Netherlands speaks English very good. You only have to say ... "sorry?" and they will anwer you in English..jeje You can also learn Dutch at University if you are interested in the languange

Useful | 2

sonia n

Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Law, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Overall

I wish I had known...

Groningen is a real student city, you will enjoy a lot there. It is plenty of international students, specially Spanish (everywhere) and Chinese, but also German, Italian, Turkish, English, Japanese, French, Sweedish, African, North-American, Polish... all around the world, a great city to discover so many cultures

In my opinion:

Everybody loved it, you will too!

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

4

Culture

4

Costs

1

Activities

3

Campus life

3

Party / people

4

Weather / location

2

Personal recommendation

Go and enjoy your stay, it will change your life, and your points of view. You will meet a lot of interesting people and make a lot of good friends

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

4

Improved language skills

4

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

3

Final comments

Disccounting caard to travel by train (you can get it in the station). Buy a Dutch Mobile caard (more useful). Cold very very cold in the winter (gloves, coats, scarfs, hats). Bikes (always second hand not more than 10 euros in the street) and buy a good lock, otherwise they will steal your bike...

Useful | 1

sonia n

Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
Law, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Expenses

Main source of funding:

Personal savings

Other sources of funding:

Family

Work opportunities:

I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits

I spent more in food telephone and housing because I live with my family n Tarragona. In nightlife, because I went out there almost every day and in travelling because I went to visit all the Netherlands

Housing, Travel, Telephone, Overall, Nightlife, Food:

was more expensive than at home.

Accessibility of student needs

Second-hand text books

Second-hand household items

Computers / Internet

Administrative

Money from home

Personal comments

Go to Manamini, you will find very cheap second-hand furniture. Abn-Amro is the best bank for students, you can have a coffe while you are waiting... The public phones work with cards (you can find them in the super-markets: Albert Heijn, Super de Boer...), you can also get a strippencaard for the bus with ten trams

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN)

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