Hi,

I'm a Malaysian student in The Netherlands and am enjoying it! Are there others around as well?

Not many people are aware that many 'big' international companies such as Shell, Unilever, Philips, ING etc. are actually Dutch.

Education here is definitely hands-on and you not only learn theory, you also learn how to apply it. Holland is relatively new to Malaysians but it's really starting to get popular. Why not differentiate yourself from Australian/American/ UK graduates?

Benefits:

i) very practical, you learn a lot of soft skills
ii) get experience with companies
iii) great student body, very international yet close at my school
iv) open people, English is widely spoken
v) central location, cheap flights to cities like London (bought once for 20 euro,return! sometimes can get for 5 euro...), Prague, Rome etc.
vi) study grants provided by some schools
vii) can start after SPM for certain courses (4-year courses. No use taking certain diplomas/SAM/Pre-U etc as you may not get exemptions)
viii) safe, very low crime rate

and particularly attractive for some Malaysians:

as a graduate from a Dutch uni, you are allowed to stay an additional 1 year to look for a job after graduation.

Cons:

i) no 2+1, 3+1, 2+2 or whatever available yet.
ii) Limited availability of English programmes
iii) Not many Malaysians here (this could be a pro as well!)

If you're already studying in NL or are interested in studying in NL, do leave a message here/PM me:)

Information on scholarships and courses can be found here: Nuffic

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Mar 2 2011, 04:29 PM

Er.. if you post in the Apple Iphone section, are you showing off?

The Netherlands is not a popular place for Malaysians yet so if people are studying there, it's nice to know there are other Malaysians around. Likewise, if someone is not aware of The Netherlands, they can actually ask questions here.

As I said, price-wise, it's similiar to Australia, maybe even cheaper. All-in expenses (tuition, living costs, rent, books, entertainment etc.) is about 10 000 euro.

I still don't see how I'm showing off. I'm funding my education by MYSELF. My parents do not contribute a single sen towards my tertiary education (which I don't mind as they are old and it's my choice to study abroad).

Hey Ultraman,

I'm a student at Arnhem Business School. It has a pretty good business programme. The IBMS (International Business Management Studies) is ranked at #1 for something like the 6th time already, but the others (Communication, Logistics, Finance & Accounting and Human Resources) are pretty good as well).

Medium of instruction is English.

Student population: +- 50% Dutch, 25% German, 10% Chinese, 15% everything else (I'm the only Malaysian at my school but another will be starting in September).

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 23 2010, 06:19 PM

kasutdidi: Compared to UK, much cheaper. I think UK is about 15 000 pounds per year. Non-EU students at my school pay about 10 000 euro (this is for an average quality of life). Some students share a room and spend less.

feynman: It might be harder to get an interview in Malaysia as employers are not familiar with Dutch degrees (I think Dutch companies should be quite open to it, though!) but I'm pretty sure that once an interview is secured, a Dutch educated student will have no problems in getting the job (Dutch schools emphasize a lot on soft skills).

Once someone has worked in NL, there's a possibility of working in the UK/Belgium/other European countries without visa issues as well. After 5 years with a work permit (maybe less, not sure if years spent studying will be counted), a foreigner will receive PR for the entire EU. Can also apply for citizenship lah but have to give up your Malaysian passport lor.

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Added on April 23, 2010, 6:55 pmEver thought of the possibility that there is NO Malaysian society as Holland is not popular with the Malaysian market yet?

Look kiddo, I AM proud I am funding the study by myself. You have no right to make me feel bad about that.

Now, please go do something constructive with your time.

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 23 2010, 06:55 PM

Well, actually, it was because my boyfriend is Dutch. I am not an excellent student, just average. I do receive a small student grant. At my school, non-EU students can get a small tuition grant (ie. tuition for 2010 is 6500 euro but students only need to pay 4000 euro, if they receive the necessary amount of credits lah but it's not hard).

Yes, it's in English. Some courses are only available in Dutch la. It depends on which course you are interested in. My school recently started teaching Automotive Engineering in English but don't know about the standard. Life Sciences is partnered with Universiti Malaya if I'm not wrong.

Sweden and Holland are not faraway (About 2 hours flight, 40 euro with Ryanair) but considered different part of Europe lah. Holland is in Western Europe, Sweden is in Scandinavia. Policy-wise similiar though. Holland is also a country with mannnnyy socialist policies;) Holland's direct neighbours are Germany and Belgium. Capital of The Netherlands is Amsterdam.

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Added on April 23, 2010, 7:12 pmYup, agreed. I am going to do my internship in Europe and hopefully Dutch employers will want to hire me when I graduate.

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 23 2010, 07:12 PM

Place is not hard to get. This is typical in European countries. Getting in is not hard as the policy is everyone deserves an education ,provided they have the necessary qualifications (in this case, means either an STPM or SPM cert lah).

The hard part is not quitting or getting kicked out. If you don't receive the necessary amount of credits, you WILL get kicked out (although someone I know hired a lawyer last semester and he managed to get in again...). My class of 33 lost 10 students in the first year. Out of about 270 students, only about 60 received all their credits within the first year. That sounds more difficult than it is but actually, it's nothing la. Malaysians shouldn't have a problem due to the different studying cultures.

Sweden's cool as well. My school exchanges with a few unis there (study abroad is required in the 3rd year. Lasts 4-6 months).

Yalah, money is always an issue. I worked as a maid (okla, not really maid but almost) for 2 years to help fund my studies

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 23 2010, 07:30 PM

Haha crazy, maid in Malaysia.. No way! Don't think can save any money hahaha plus can you imagine the abuse I would get...

I worked as a nanny in The Netherlands (and I still do it part-time). It's enough for me to pay my tuition and most of my living expenses. It's not easy to get a high wage but luckily my employer liked me and increased my pay to 12 euro an hour (which is more than Dutch people get) just for 1 child and zero housework (in fact, they cook for me! Can I just add that there is veryyy little/no hierachy in The Netherlands?). Really wonderful people and I am very lucky to have met them.

Frankly, I don't know how you can manage to save money hmm. Perhaps PTPTN loan? If you have amazing results, a scholarship might be possible. If you really plan on funding yourself and will receive no help, you definitely need to work full-time for a year or 2...

Credits is a unit of a study la. For example, Economics = 4 credits etc. (all depends on your school etc.)

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 23 2010, 07:57 PM

Medicine is in Dutch and quite difficult to get in. It's one of the few programmes with a quota. Tuition fee is around 15 000 euro per year (the 10k I mentioned is for my course+ all living expenses). I also couldn't find a Chem Engineering bachelor in English. There are masters available in English though (2 years). Tuition is about 8800 euro a year. More scholarships are available for Masters programmes.

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Added on April 24, 2010, 6:10 amHi,

Yes, it's 10k euro per year, including living expenses. This is for my course (business). Some courses are more expensive.

You can control the cost, especially in the 3rd and 4th year.

Ie.

3rd year (1 year=2 semesters)

Semester 1
Study Abroad (to save costs, choose a cheaper country like Thailand/Eastern Europe/Taiwan etc. instead of Stockholm, London or Sydney)

Semester 2
Internship (can do anywhere you want, incl. Malaysia)

4th year

Semester 1
School

Semester 2
Graduation Assignment (consultancy research at a company. Again, you can choose to do it a country of your choice).

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 24 2010, 06:10 AM

English programmes There you go. The Dutch govt is still subsidising part of the fees for non-EUs. Also the tuition fee is dependent upon the university and the programme. One uni I was considering before I chose ABS is Universiteit Utrecht (Utrecht University) but it's 8000 euro+ per year, just for tuition.

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Added on April 24, 2010, 5:53 pmYes, as you said, there are 2 kinds of universities. It all depends on what you want to do, what is available (in English), the fees (the research unis are more expensive) etc. Perform a cost-benefit analysis lah.

Technically, research universities programmes last 5 years (entrance requirement: STPM/A-Level's) and students graduate with a Master's. The new system is students can graduate with a Bachelor's but again, the same people who will look one kind at graduates from Universities of Applied Sciences will also look one-kind at the people who graduate from the research unis with a Bachelor's because they feel like the student didn't finish the course, so it would be best to graduate with a Master's ! The papers also published studies that prove HBO (Appled Sciences) graduates are more attractive than WO (research university) graduates. Obviously this all depends as there are so many programmes out there (I mean, if a company is more likely to hire a business grad for a MKT position over someone who graduated with a Women Studies degree). If someone wants to do Engineering though, I definitely recommend the research unis (ie. Delft University of Technology).

In my case, I was torn between Utrecht University (research) and ABS (Applied Sciences). However the higher tuition fee at UU plus the programme (Bachelor of Arts) wasn't practical (IMHO. It sounded really interesting but would I be employable with this degree....). ABS is surprisingly practical and seems to enjoy some kind of 'status' for business programmes (apparently IBM recruits here and so far some of the internships my coursemates have done seen quite interesting!). That all said and done, if you are considering doing your MBA in NL, choose Nyenrode. That is a private business school, is ranked in the Financial Times, bloody expensive (60k euro per year) but also reputable and you can build a really good network there.

P/S: BTW, it is possible for HBO graduates to enter the research unis to complete the last 2 years for a Master's degree. Another option is to do the first year at a HBO institute and continue at the WO uni.

P/P/S: The quality of Applied Sciences schools differ widely so do your research/ask me (or other students) to see which ones are considered 'good' by companies

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 24 2010, 06:19 PM

Just checked and it looks like it is not recognized by MMC, which is interesting when many Dutch universities rank much better worldwide compared to some of the unis on the list. In any event, it is possible whoever who decides to enter a Dutch uni will have to request the uni to 'register' with JPA but yeah, can imagine why no one would want to take the risk;)

Not many Malaysians I know here. I'm the only one at my school (1 more joining in Sept. Found him at the FACON Education fair last year ^^). Heard of someone studying (business as well, if I'm not mistaken) in Friesland (rural area), 1 Malaysian girl doing her PhD (biomolecular stuff) in Rotterdam (this one is amazing, wish I could be that smart! bachelor and 1st masters at imperial, 2nd masters in Holland, now Dutch govt sponsoring her PhD studies) er... yep..that's all I know (who're still studying). Know a few more who studied here and are working here/EU also.

Most of my friends are Dutch, unfortunately. I like them, I really do but sometimes you just want some Malaysians to gripe and eat nasi lemak with:P

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 24 2010, 09:04 PM

Nyenrode has a very good rep in NL. It's considered an 'elite' school, Erasmus is considered a normal research uni. Don't ask me why, I don't know, this is just what I found out when I spoke to some Dutch people. I think Nyenrode also has a better 'network', more ex-students are in powerful places etc.

Mind you, ERASMUS isn't bad either, but it's just more like :

A: "I graduated from ERASMUS"
B: "Oh, good lah"

A: "I graduated from Nyenrode"
B: "Wahhh, Nyenrode!"

Well, I suppose it's people I mingle and come across. If you say you wanna do MBA, most people won't say "ERASMUS" (eventhough according to the FT, it is better), Dutchies will advise you to go to Nyenrode if you can afford it. I know a few MBA grads from Nyenrode and they all seem to be doing really well. All did the FT MBA though, they said it cost them 120k guilders (60 000 euro), incl. living costs. This was about 10 years ago. They said they basically ate, studied, did everything together because you had to. Most students lived on-campus because the courseload is so heavy that to live elsewhere is a waste of time lol. A lot of them married classmates.

I think in the end, it doesn't really matter. Want to work abroad, choose ERASMUS (but then, in this case, why not pick INSEAD or LBS). Want to work in NL (Nyenrode was started by some big Dutch corporations like Philips, Shell etc. so probably easier to masuk those big companies) and have the stereotypical European student life (Nyenrode has a castle on campus), then choose Nyenrode.

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Added on April 24, 2010, 11:05 pmHaha ya betul. Heard the average might've increased again to 1.84m or so. If you're over 2m, no one will look at you funny.

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 24 2010, 11:07 PM

Hi Seiryu,

I have never heard about Tinbergen Institute but I'll ask around to see if it's well-regarded in NL.

Amsterdam is probably the most expensive Dutch city.

My estimate:

Room: 400 euro/month (unfurnished but inclusive utilities)
Groceries: 200 euro/month
Average student meal out: 20 euro
Chinese takeaway (the kind in those cardboard boxes like American movies): 5-6 euro
Beer: 2 euro
Student insurance: about 550 euro a year
Movie ticket: 10 euro
Dinner date: min. 50euro (cheap 3-course meal and a glass of wine each)
Transport: public transport can be quite expensive. Better buy an old bike for 50 euro, but don't forget to spend just as much or more for very good locks;)

Hi,

You can find scholarships/bursaries here: Grandfinder

Regarding working part-time, non-EU students can only work 10 hours a week (or FT during the holidays).

After graduation, it shouldn't be too hard to find a job (this obviously depends on the student and on the degree etc. It's very difficult to find a Journalism job). Many companies are international and utilize English at the workplace.

I'm still studying so I can't comment on the actual process but I know a few people who speak zero Dutch, working FT in big companies here (big companies are more likely to use only English).

Please check the Grantfinder website. Not many scholarships are available at Bachelor level.

Some schools offer a grant (ie. my school gives a 2500 euro grant per year which means tuition is 4000 instead of 6500 euro per year).

I don't think much about Dutch food but I do enjoy the cookies/dessert/chocolates and omfg FRIES. Can eat everyday:P

Hi Azwan,

I was referring to post #52. Anyway, here's the link again, just for you;)

Grantfinder

As mentioned, it is very difficult to find a full scholarship at Bachelor's level. If you want to study here, have no money and cannot get a scholarship, all I can help with is: get a job, work and save like crazy (ie. no life for a year or 2) or get people (parents/family/bank/govt whatever) to sponsor/lend you money. Sorry, don't really know of other options!

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Added on April 27, 2010, 2:13 amUseful websites:

Nuffic

Wikipedia-The Netherlands

Dutch Immigration

Dutch Embassy in KL

Rooms for Students -in Dutch only

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: Apr 27 2010, 02:13 AM

Yeah, that's a pretty good budget. Euro's quite low now (was about RM5 for 1 euro, now RM4) so even cheaper now;)

Haha if Spain falls as well, maybe RM3 to 1 euro, then how?

Haha I read already. That's OK. It's a small community. As mentioned earlier, not many Malaysians here;)

Hey,

As mentioned, there are very few scholarships for bachelor (in other words, first degree lah)degrees available. Click http://www.grantfinder.nl to see your options.

Some schools offer a small grant (not scholarship and it only covers part of the tuition).

This post has been edited by meiiseenei: May 11 2010, 01:42 AM