Universiteit Utrecht

I had previous experience with the German language, and that helped me out a lot with understanding written and spoken language. I still cannot speak Dutch much at all, but I could a little bit if I had to, enough to get by. Take a class offered to you if you can. The Dutch love it if you at least try to learn their language. It was a problem sometimes, not to speak Dutch, but just about everyone in Holland speaks English fairly well, especially the students.

There are always fees no matter what you prepare for or think, it will be more.

Do things with the ESN group there, get a mentor...its a great way to meet people at the beginning of your stay. Don't stick with people from your own country- go meet other international students if you can! You went there to get away from your own country and culture, meet and integrate with others! As far as traveling, train is great...but check out cheap airlines: easyjet, ryanair, etc...and Eurolines bus lines.

Tivoli, de Velour, Belgian Cafe, and Mick O'Connels on Tuesdays nights for meeting other international students.

I stayed at the UCU in Utrecht. It was a nice campus, a lot of green space, right in between the city center and the University. It was a nice way to meet people, but it was very expensive compared to other places within Utrecht.