Zexuan Yuan, China

Why the UG and why Groningen?

The first two reasons that brought me here is the English teaching environment and the top 100 ranking of the university. I believe the most important thing of the university education is its quality, and the top 100 ranking was really attractive to me. Although the official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, most programs here are in English. On the other hand, the tuition fees in the Netherlands are also reasonable compared to other English-speaking countries. Another reason is that compared to the high living cost in the west of the Netherlands, such as Amsterdam, living in Groningen is comparatively cheaper. In short, with the high-quality education, relatively low cost and English taught program, University of Groningen is an excellent choice.

My questions before I came to Groningen

1.     Can I follow classes well in English?
When I was in high school, most courses taught were in Chinese, so I was a bit worried about my language proficiency. Fortunately, that is not the problem at all at RUG. Most professors speak English quite well and it is easily understandable, there are also a lot of chances to practice. There are many international students in the city and Dutch people also speak English very well, so as long as you wish, your English can improve dramatically within a short period.

2.     Is it difficult to make friends here?
This, also, luckily, is not a problem at all in Groningen. Groningen is a large student city, so it does not matter if you want to hang out with Chinese students or also make international friends, it is always possible.

3.     What if I do not understand Dutch at all?
As I mentioned before, most Dutch people can speak English very well, so it is not a problem at all if you do not speak Dutch. On the other hand, the language center at the university provides free Dutch courses up until an intermediate level, so if you want to learn some basic Dutch, it is for free.

Biography

My name is Zexuan Yuan, and I am from Taizhou, Jiangsu, a south-east city in China. In my high school I majored in science track and I am now in the third year of the bachelor program Econometrics and Operations Research at University of Groningen.