Hey antaeusguy,

Looks like you had a good time there;)

Most students go out on Thursday evenings (yes, we DO have school on Fridays). It's fun, although I haven't done it for some time now;) Sudah tua... It's of course, also possible to party in the weekend. Alternatively, one can also visit other countries or other Dutch cities, go to the zoo, play football, shop or whatever. Mind you, shops are only open til 5pm on Saturday and close on Sundays (except for the 1st Sunday of the month).

Regarding the train, I totally agree with you. It is quite confusing initially. Most students live close to school so they only have to walk or cycle.

Hey,

Of course nothing is 100% but at least the environment is open to non-Dutch nationals. While it's probably easier to get a job in Australia (since everything is in English and in NL, you're limited to the mid-large companies due to the language), the competition from fellow foreigners MIGHT be less. Mind you, there are lots of foreigners here but ones which speak GOOD English, not so many lah;)

What's even better is once you get Dutch citizenship or PR, you can live and work anywhere within the EU as well.

Hi vsn,

Requirements vary. It depends on the course you want to do, the kind of university you want to attend and so forth. As a guideline:

you need an SPM diploma for HBO (University of Applied Sciences) institutes (bachelor- 4 years)

or

STPM/A'Levels for entry to VO (research universities, bachelor's degree- 3 years)

As mentioned, results do not really matter (except for certain courses such as medicine) as Dutch/European policy dictate that everyone deserves a spot in a tertiary institute provided he/she passed high school. If you fail at uni, then you keluar lah.

just to bump this up! was busy with projects and exams the last few weeks. now: 2 months of freedom;)

Dutch language, try asking the embassy? If your course is in English, no need to waste money and learn la:D Whatever you learn won't be much and Dutch people can speak English.

No diploma programme. At most, you can take the first year at institutes of applied sciences. This is called the propadeutic year and it's like a foundation la.

What kind of communication are you interested in? More Corporate Com/PR or media stuff?

You have quite a few options for Media Communications.

Erasmus University is a research university and not too expensive (about 6500 euro a year, I think) : http://www.eur.nl/english/prospective/bach...nication_media/

Webster is also a research uni but it's 12500 euro per year. Lagipun, don't know why la (eventhough it IS a research uni) but it's somehow not very famous in NL. http://ispacsearch.nuffic.nl/viewarticle.a...5E77533FB&fid=6

Then you have Hogeschool Utrecht which frankly is like the NL's most embarassing excuse of a uni of applied sciences haha but it's cheaper la (4000 euro, I think). http://international.hu.nl/Study%20Program...nd%20Media.aspx

I should warn you that if you choose a uni of applied sciences (which honestly isn't bad for what studies like communication, business etc.), try to pick one with the province/ city's name because that means it's public (Hogeschool Utrecht for eg. is also a public one but that's the worst la. Rest are pretty good, esp Arnhem, Groningen (Hanze) and Den Haag. Don't pick INHOLLAND (this one is the most teruk, heard ada fraud etc. there) or all those semi-private ones like van Larenstein etc.

You have to understand that in NL, people don't really care about schools. They only care about level (at most). Most of the schools are around the same level. Regarding scholarships and stuff, usually this is given out by private grants and is not dependent on university. Best place to find out about grants and scholarships is Nuffic.

What kind of engineering are you interested in? Aerospace, Biomedical, Chemical, Marine, Computer, Civil etc. which?

Besides TU Delft, you can also check out TU Eindhoven and Universiteit Twente. Actually, any research university pun boleh. Engineering is one of the degrees which you should get from a research university.

Check out the HSP Hujgens, UNESCO, UNDP, World Bank, StuNed scholarships. There should be a few more out there.

Better check the admissions requirements also. If you graduated with a bachelor in engineering from schools like Curtin/INTI/ Uni of Windsor etc., sometimes they will ask you to do a 'bridging' year before you can masuk the Master phase. I heard the authorities might be changing this though so that it's more standardized.

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Feb 27 2011, 09:55 PM

Why not? They have pretty good unis here and a lot of big international companies have their headquarters in NL too. However, if you can, try to go for the full course (at research universities, the course ends with a Master so when someone graduates with a Bachelor, it's macam a bit halfway). To enter, you need A-Levels or equaivalent. You graduate with the title "Ir.".

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Feb 27 2011, 11:31 PM

Nope, not if you want to enter a research university. There is another possibility: do your first year (propadeutic) in a HBO (applied sciences U) and then go to a research uni. Don't know if they have an English engineering programme though.

No probs. When you're more sure about coming here, let me know. Can give you more advice;)

Hi,

Thanks for your message!

I think the best thing about studying here is the lack of spoon feeding. You are given a task and you interprete and do it as you see fit. This makes me feel as if they are really preparing me for the real world. Yet, help is always available if you ask for it. For example, many lecturers actually provide their phone numbers or are reachable by email or can be asked a question in their office. It's also nice that teachers are generally very objective. The relationship is somewhat closer- students can have a night out or beers with lecturers but the lecturer won't leak an exam question (I notice this is sometimes a problem in Malaysia.. for eg. sometimes some teachers..when they like a student a lot, they'll say..arrr you better pay attention to chapter 6 ar) and will judge your paper objectively.

Also, it is relatively easy to make friends. The kind of friends is up to your personal preferences and in a way, perhaps depends on luck as well (depending on which dorm/apartment you are assigned to). I hang out with mostly Dutch students. The other Malaysian in school mostly hangs out with Asians (Indonesian or Chinese). It's not like anyone hates any group.

Whoops, totally went off topic there haha. Right..to answer your question about the entry requirements to a Dutch research uni, IB & A-Levels shouldn't be a problem. STPM should be OK as well but you'll have to do more legwork since most universities are not familiar with it. Alternatively, you can do sort of like a foundation (propadeutic year which is technically the first year of HBO) after SPM at a uni of applied sciences and then hop on to a research university. In addition, students need TOEFL/IELTS/equaivalent.

Don't think they have a proper education representative in Malaysia. You can try contacting Nuffic (I think they have an office in Indonesia). Actually, I know they have hired some agency (at least I THINK so) but... dunno lah..I don't believe in agencies and the guy I saw at an edufair was kinda weird. If you need information, just ask me lah.. I don't get paid for giving advice haha.

I think Germany is going to impose a 1000 euro per year tuition for non-EU students soon. I guess uni tuition in Germany is cheaper but don't forget that students have to learn German fluently (i.e. expensive courses) and from what I've heard from a Malaysian family who has a son in Germany and another in Holland, cost of living in Germany is also higher.

TU Delft - top 50 in the latest TIMES World Reputation Ranking. TU Eindhoven also OK. Actually, universities in NL do not differ all that much (if you look at it from Dutch eyes).

Sorry, can't think of any in particular.

In general, accountants aren't paid that much here though...

It is of course, easier to arrange interviews and stuff. International students at my school often do their internships abroad.

If you can't find anything in a country of your choice and try this:

i) Find a good job in NL (min 30 000 euro per year or you can't stay)
ii) Stay for 1 year
iii) Apply for European Long-Term Residency (PR)
iv) Find job within the EU (no visa required. However the European PR is not valid in the UK and 2 other countries..possibly the Scandinavian ones.)

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Mar 27 2011, 02:29 AM

This one is quite famous in NL: http://www.artez.nl/

Aiyah, they're not that strict one la if you're an international student. I'm guessing you only need this for your visa/student application right? Not that strict. When you need a photo for your residence permit, just take when you arrive lah.

DikkieD: Glad to hear you're enjoying your time in Malaysia.

It is true that until recently, there were no degrees in English. Even now, bachelor degrees in English are limited but that is slowly changing.

I do not have any regrets studying here and although the European economy is pretty lousy at the moment, I am pretty sure I can get a job (without being able to speak Dutch).

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Dec 17 2012, 09:13 PM

My (Malaysian) friend who studied architecture at an Australian university says TU Delft's masters architecture programme is top 10 worldwide. Perhaps you can try there?

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Added on December 18, 2012, 4:28 pmFriend gave me the link: http://www.graduatearchitecture.com/ARCHSC...schools_en.html

TU Delft is listed at number 6 worldwide here.

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Dec 18 2012, 04:28 PM