Yu Chen, China

Why the Netherlands?

When I decided to go to study in the Netherlands, a common question always raised by my Chinese friends is why you want to study in the Netherlands, since the Netherlands has never been a popular study destination for Chinese students compared to America, United Kingdom etc.

Honestly speaking, my initial thoughts about why I would like to study in this country are quite simple and straightforward, namely, 1) acceptable living and tuition fees; 2) high-ranking universities.

Specifically, studying in the Netherlands is not that expensive, compared with other English-speaking countries such as the UK or US. Dutch higher education is subsidized by the government and tuition fees are relatively low. With the country’s renowned standard of education and comparatively low cost of living, studying in the Netherlands will give you true value for money. Annual tuition fees for a degree program or course at a Dutch higher education institution start at approximately €1,900 for EU students and €6,000 for non-EU students, depending on the institution. Further, if you decide to have a job alongside your studies, you can also declare these expenses, and get some money back from taxes. In addition, many Dutch universities offer grants and scholarships that can reduce or fully cover the tuition fees of study programs. For example, if you study a research master or a PhD program in the Netherlands, you can be more likely to obtain some scholarships or grants to cover your tuition and even living expenses.

Regarding the universitys’ ranking, although the Netherlands is not a big country with a large number of universities, like the US, it is very amazing that all research universities in the Netherlands are high-ranked (at least top 300) and well known around the world, which provides international students with high-quality education and research programs. Also, it is worth noting that the Netherlands have a very multinational and intercultural environment, especially for the Universities. Most of the Dutch universities can provide very excellent English education and students do not need to struggle with any language barriers here once you master English well.

Of course, after I come to study in the Netherlands,apart from the above two aspects,I have found that this country has a lot of attractions that make me like it even more, such as friendly people, cozy living environment etc. But I do not want to give more details here as I would like to let you explore this country deeper by yourself!

Overall, this is an amazing country, vote it!

Why Groningen?

Before coming to Groningen, I had studied my bachelor in the Netherlands for 3 years in another Dutch university, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Compared with most Dutch big cities such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht etc, Groningen has neither good geographic distance (i.e. in the northwest of the Netherlands and relatively far away from the central of the Netherlands) nor bustling street (i.e. the population of the whole city is approximately 300,000). However, a more important point attracting me to come here is that Groningen gives me a very cozy living atmosphere and I feel very comfortable when living here. The living expenses are relatively low in Groningen. Also, this is such a beautiful city and I always feel like visiting the garden when staying outside my home. Moreover, Groningen provides students a very convenient life, such as supermarkets are always reachable in the city, a lot of student apartments/ studios prepared for only international students etc.

Why the University of Groningen?

The reasons why I chose the University of Groningen are as follows: firstly, the University of Groningen has a very international study and working environment, and I believe that international students can always feel at home here. As I mentioned previously, Dutch universities are normally quite international. Among the Dutch Universities, the University of Groningen is one of the most international Dutch universities indeed and its internationalization is much higher than the average of Dutch universities; secondly, the University of Groningen is the top 100 university and does very well in both education and research. More importantly, the University of Groningen keeps a very good relationship with the universities from other countries and thus provides students good opportunities to study abroad and gain richer international study and working experiences; Last but not least, in 2019, I was very honor to be admitted by the research master program of economics in the Faculty of Economics and Business as a full scholarship recipient. During my master study, I gained a lot about how to become a standard researcher, and I felt very at home at the faculty and received a lot of valuable guidance from experienced researchers within the faculty. Thus, I truly hope that more and more prospective students can benefit from studying in the University of Groningen, a friendly and warm university.

Biography

I am from China and I was born in Zhanjiang City of China. I have been studying in the Netherlands for five years and currently doing my PhD in Economics in the Netherlands as well. My research interests are behavioral and health economics, and I am currently working as a coordinator of an international research collaboration between the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and Guangdong Medical University in China. Apart from research, I have been involved in the team of board members of the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars in the Netherlands (ACSSNL) since 2017, and currently I am the Vice President of ACSSNL. In my leisure time, I like travelling, watching different documentaries and some kinds of sports, such as basketball and swimming.

I hope to keep in touch with prospective students and I am happy to answer all your questions and help you.