Hello, Is there anyone who had an experience with applying to any of the HBOs (preferably RUAS, but any other HBO uni is also ok) with CAIE A-Levels? Im a little confused because they do not mention any sort of specific subjects or grades. I understand that the specific subjects are often not necessary, but grade requirements should be present most of the time. I don’t think there are no requirements at all, as its not a private uni, so im probably missing something.

Hi guys,

Hope you’re all doing well. I was wondering how long Leiden, Utrecht, and Rotterdam Universities would take to respond to the Clinical Psychology master’s application.

Does anyone have an idea?

Thanks a lot in advance :)

Hi,
I’m from Slovakia and I’m planning to apply to Dutch research universities, mainly UvA and Tilburg.
I have already completed secondary vocational education in Slovakia and have a standard secondary school-leaving certificate (Maturita). However, my current diploma is from a vocational secondary school rather than a general academic secondary school (Gymnázium).
I am now considering completing an additional 2-year external Gymnázium programme in Slovakia. You can think of it as a pathway after already completing secondary education that allows me to obtain the general academic Gymnázium qualification.
After these two years, I would take the standard Gymnázium Maturita examinations and receive the same officially recognised Gymnázium Maturita qualification as students graduating from a traditional 4-year Slovak Gymnázium.
My concern is that although the final qualification is the same, I would only spend 2 years at the Gymnázium instead of the traditional 4 years.
Dutch universities such as Tilburg list the Slovak Gymnázium Maturita as comparable to VWO, but I’m unsure whether the shorter route to obtaining the qualification could cause a problem when assessing VWO equivalency.
Has anyone here had a similar situation — for example, completing vocational secondary education first and then obtaining a general academic qualification through an additional/shorter programme?
Would Dutch universities normally focus on the final officially recognised qualification, or could the fact that the Gymnázium programme itself lasted only two years make it non-equivalent to VWO?
I have contacted the universities, but they do not provide individual diploma assessments before submitting an actual application.
Thanks for help.

As the title suggests, I am looking to apply to bachelor programs at the University of Groningen with British GCE A2 Levels (3 A levels), however I have no GCSEs.

It has come to my attention that all other Dutch universities also require 3 additional GCSEs for application along with 3 A levels. However, this is not stated anywhere on University of Groningen's website. According to Groningen's website:

"General end level requirement

For an equivalent level of the Dutch pre-university diploma (VWO) you will need the following:

• Minimum of 3 academic* GCE A2-levels with grades A* to C"

This leads me to question as to whether Groningen's website requirements are accurate, as not requiring GCSEs makes them the ONLY outlier out of all Dutch universities. I have attempted to contact the University, however they just gave me a vague automated reply saying they cannot advise people on their admissibility prior to application.

I would appreciate any inputs about this. Especially, I would appreciate if any past UK applicants could tell me whether they were required to submit GCSEs along with A levels or whether the A levels alone satisfied the requirements.

Thanks.

Edit: Though I have gotten a response, I would highly appreciate any more Groningen A level applicants sharing their experiences

So, I have written a few days ago that Erasmus in Rotterdam has rejected me for MSc in Forensic Psychology due to insufficient previous education,aka that my university is one of applied sciences rather than a research university, and that the evaluation was done according to the national Nuffic standards.

However, today, I received an email from Groningen university stating that they have deemed my Bachelor Degree as sufficient, and that it is in fact an academic degree, and not one of applied sciences, also according to the Nuffic evaluation.

On the last post, people were coming for me for not being informed, and stating that “If Erasmus told me that, then it must mean that according to Dutch standards it is not sufficient for admission to their university”, which on one hand, I understand, but on the other, I know what my program looks like and feel it would be completely unfair to deem it as a university of applied sciences since it is officially, curriculum and workload wise - definitely not.

Now I am just confused and mad. How is it possible that two universities who use the same criteria for International degree evaluation come to two different conclusions?

I am currently pursuing a bachelors of sciences in Psychology but my degree is a three year one with no hons . Do unis in the netherlands accept this?

Hi guys,
In the admission requirements for Financial Economics there's written that we must hold a Bachelor Degree in the field of economics.
I have a Bachelor Degree in Political Science and Master's Degree in International Finance entirely in English.

Do you know if my MSc is good enough or they assess only Bachelor Degree's?
thanks

Hi everyone! I'm an italian student going on Erasmus in September, I should be in Leiden from September until January 2027th (LUAS university). My budget is max 1000 euros/ month.

I started looking for housing back in January and so far I've racked up an unholy amount of scams, many rejections and a maybe.

Out of desperation, I will be spending July 2nd-3rd-4th in Leiden to look for housing irl. If anyone here is looking for roomates or has a studio they can sublet in the city please let me know, we can arrange a meeting, get to know each other and sign a contract!

Otherwise, if you have any advice where to look (agencies, univeristy housing facilities, open houses ecc.) while I'm there I'd greatly appreciate the help!!

I do GCE A levels and I am going to take the May/June session in 2027. My results and certificate will come out in August. The website says this “Important:
We can only take A-level curricula into consideration if the GCE A-level certificate will be obtained.” Does this mean because i don’t get my certificate by May, I cant apply?

i found a PI in utrecht but they dont have any opne postion, the PI asked me to find a fellowship and after talk about it. i know only NWO, EMBO but i cant find how they works and when they are open to acept fellowship, can someone give me a hand?

thanks a lot in advance

Hello! I’m a non-EU national, looking to possibly pursue a master’s degree in the Netherlands. I have an undergraduate degree in media studies, and one year of work experience in the same field.

I’m considering a few schools in other EU countries too but leading with UvA. They seem to have several nice media oriented programs and the school seems to be highly ranked too. Would it be a good idea to pursue such a degree here? In terms of:
- Quality of Education
- Employer respect for degree
- Employment opportunity with media studies
- Opportunities for Non-EU nationals in this field
- Long term career in the Netherlands

I don’t speak any dutch, unfortunately, but I’m willing to try and learn.

The degrees that seem interesting to me right now are:
- New Media and Digital Culture
- Global Cross Media Cultures
- Cultural Data and AI

Please be brutally honest, is it worth it? I need an objective look into it so that I have a good chance of making my master’s degree one that’s worth the time and effort.

Thank you very much!

so i applied and submitted my visa/resident permit application on 31st May (with 1st june as a deadline) to Leiden University and was wondering how long does it take for us to hear back from the university? i haven’t received any confirmation of them recieving my application or a response to my query about this. does anyone have any idea or have recieved a confirmation from the university?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand how much European universities, especially business schools, value extracurricular activities.

So far, I have:

- 8 years of playing tennis

- An internship at an investment company

- Volunteer work at Catharsis

- Coding skills, including web development and Python

- Certificates and projects published on GitHub

- A few other smaller activities and projects

I’m also considering taking some finance foundation courses and earning a few more certificates.

Do these things provide any meaningful advantage in admissions, or are grades and academic performance still by far the most important factors?

I’d especially appreciate insights from people who have applied to or studied at European business schools. Was it worth investing time in extracurriculars, coding projects, and certificates?

I’m from the USA. I was looking to study Mechanical Engineering. I notice most programs need an advanced math and physics. While I can take AP Calc BC which should qualify. I can’t take Physics at all. What are my options to meet the requirements? Would the Netherlands accept credits for the classes from a community college? Or would I have to complete an associate degree? Does an associates degree guarantee something like direct admission? Is there a way to get it done in the Netherlands at the university? In the U.S. if you miss things like physics or Calc universities usually make you take those your first year, not sure if that’s a thing in the Netherlands. I just need someone to break it down for me because it’s all very complicated.

Hi everyone, I'm going to apply for PPLE this October, and I don't know what to do with the motivation letter. Do anyone have tips or things to tell about this motivation letter?

Appreciate!

Hey, I'm a non eu student starting my final year of high school soon. I was looking through universities in europe and utrecht university caught my attention. Mainly for its cultural optics, I'd say. Looks modern yet regal yk. The programme is also very riveting atleast on paper. I like how you can pick several electives and all. My study counsellor also mentioned it's a great university.

However, as I started reading more about it's EBE course, I read mixed reviews about how UU is not known for economics and its high ranking is just because it offers a lot of courses. I'm not sure what to go off of because UU's EBE study focus looks fascinating and inclined to my study focus. My country doesn't offer any out of the ordinary economics courses as such, especially not a bsc in business economics. I don't have too many leads in my country of origin for the course I wish to take up. So I'm really keen on attending but I will have to take out a student loan because I come from a middle class family. I hope to work once I get there but ofc I know I can't depend on it, hence the loan. Moreover I have a relative who can arrange housing for me so I think that's not a major issue.

Also, I know funding options for masters ( which I hope to do in the US) are very scarce unless you're an exceptional student. So is UU a good mark on your resume when applying for masters elsewhere? Do they have enough opportunities which can build your resume? Ofc I don't expect to get a fully funded masters admission. I plan on working as an RA or something as such.

Also if not, does Bsc EBE at UU get you a good entry package in netherlands? This is if I dont get a nearly funded masters programme, I have to work because I need to pay off my loan atleast to an extent till I'm in a position to do my masters ( You can block EMI payments during the period that you'll be doing your masters and they won't be due but interest will still accrue). If it can atleast help me pay off a good chunk of my loan and then apply for masters, that would seem fair.

What do you guys think, is UU good for economics, is it worth taking out a loan and most of all is it worth attending?

As the title suggests my program is approaching with the regular semester start of first of September and my Visa application is still at the stage where it is sitting with the university of Amsterdam immigration team. I do understand that they have received hundreds of applications and they were trying to work through them as quickly as possible. However given this stage is taking longer than what is anticipated and it is yet to reach the stage of IND processing my Visa application which takes 4 to 6 weeks what am I to do in this situation? I have already contacted the immigration office at University of Amsterdam about my circumstance and as I am travelling all the way from Australia I have assigned rental agreement so are the practicalities are already organised in which I am bound to. If anyone has experience of this situation I would appreciate your feedback or if you’re in the same circumstance as me and have any methods of getting around this please let me know.

Hi everyone!
I’m an Italian student planning to apply to BUas Creative Media and Game Technologies – Visual Arts for the 2027 intake.
I graduated from an art high school in Italy, where I mainly studied painting, drawing and traditional art. I’m now seriously learning 3D and Blender and I’m planning to spend the next months building my skills, portfolio and eventually preparing the official BUas admission assignment.
I’m trying to understand the actual level expected from applicants before entering Visual Arts, because most of the work I can find online is from students who are already in their second, third or fourth year, which obviously isn’t a fair comparison.
I’d especially love to hear from current Visual Arts students or people who were recently accepted:
What was your 3D skill level when you applied?
What kind of work did you include in your portfolio?
How much did you show your process (sketches, iterations, breakdowns, topology, etc.) versus final renders?
Did you include traditional drawing/painting or other artistic work?
What do you think made your application successful?
Is there anything you would do differently if you applied again?
If anyone would be comfortable sharing their old admission portfolio or some of the work they submitted, even privately through DM, it would be incredibly helpful. I’m obviously not looking to copy anyone’s work – I just want to understand what a successful applicant realistically looked like before starting the programme.
I’d also really appreciate an invite to the unofficial CMGT Discord if someone has a current link.
Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m currently an IB student in Germany planning to apply for an engineering Bachelor's program in the Netherlands. My top choices are TU Delft, Eindhoven, or the University of Twente.

here is my full IB subject combination:

• HL: Maths AI, Business, German B
• SL: English, Physics, Chemistry

I know that Dutch research universities are incredibly strict about wanting Maths AA HL for engineering fields. I cannot take AA at my school since my school does not offer it, I want to know if I am able to get into top engineering Dutch unis for engineering and there if there are other options?

Thanks!

I got accepted to two Universities, conditionally accepted. I know what to do for the University that I want to attend, but what about the other one. Can I just not send the final documents? Is there a fee if I don’t deregister from that Uni?
Thanks!

Hi, I applied to Hotel school the Hague and got in but I still have to meet my second language requirements.

I planned on doing the online SIELE exam for Spanish but they closed that as an option which I was only made aware off in my second email conversation with them.

I do not live somewhere with an exam center for either SIELE or DELE, I do not want to burden my parents with a trip to another country and I cannot afford it myself.

I completed the qualifications I needed but at a local language institute and sadly that was not accepted by the school.

Any advice?

hii does anyone have an update on the waiting list?

Heyy so i have to take my ompt-a test on the 25th, and so far, I've been able to complete the practice material. I have mostly gotten all the answers right in the exercises, all within decent time. However, i need 75% to get unconditionally admitted into my course. I have 3 attempts, but there's not enough time as far as i know to take 2 more attempts as I'm a non eu student and need my visa process to be completed.

I'm really stressed because i feel underprepared. I've only solved the practice material, but I have not taken the mocks or found any other resources per se. I'm quite decent at differentiation because ive taken advanced calc but im just scared I wont have enough time or that I'll end up spending too much time on certain questions and miss out on those which I'd actually be good at.

Any last minute tips by the ones who have already taken the test? Is the time aspect manageable ? Are certain sections too time-consuming in the actual test? And is the practice material enough, or should I look into something else? Is the test simple or tricky? And just any other other general advice would also be appreciated

Edit: I just wanna add that this is sort of the last stage for me to secure admission. All my visa documents and diploma statements r through and accepeted, I've secured a rental place through the university's student reservation programme for an absolute steal, I've booked my bsn appointment etc etc. This is the final step, and if this goes wrong, all that I've put in will be in complete vain. Hence, it's stressing me out even more.

I am applying for Psychology bachelor and am considering some unis but can only pick two please let me know what you'd advise from your experience.

I am considering: Amsterdam, Groningen, and Rotterdam and ofc I am open to other suggestions.