Details

• Netherlands
• MAECO-22
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

Book accomodation as soon as possible, as it can be hard to find something last minute.

2. Accommodation

I booked a room at UM Guesthouse (recommended by the university) 5 months before the exchange. You can meet many exchange students there, but you also need to know that it is highly overpriced and the conditions of the rooms are not necessarily good. I would encourage you to check rooms at other places as well (you can find much cheaper ones and keep half of the money that you would spend at UM Guesthouse).

3. Academic life at host university

They have great campus infrastructure and modern classrooms. I really liked the problem based learning approach. Compared to traditional teaching, you can learn much more this way. It was also nice to participate in small group sessions. You are usually together with full time students from the university, so it is easy to connect with them. Overall, the courses I took were very interesting. I took the following classes, all of which were very doable and interesting to attend: Cognitive Psychology of Decision Making, Consumer Psychology, and Organizational Learning.

5. Every day life in the host country

- Basically everyone rents or buys a bike. I can recommend Swapfiets (you can rent a bike at a good price with a monthly subscription). Try to get one within the first two weeks; they often sell out after that, and it can take up to a month for new bikes to arrive. They used to offer ESN card discounts, but I think they stopped that at the end of 2025. - Get the ESN card, as it gives you many discounts (for example with Ryanair as well). - The country is very clean and safe. You can also join student organizations or sign up for sports courses easily.

6. Testimonial

The country is expensive and can sometimes feel a bit cold, but overall it was a great experience. You have to study a lot, and professors treat you like a full-time student, but you can still have plenty of fun and spend time socializing and traveling.