Hello and welcome dear freshmen to the big RUG family!

Very soon the next academic year will start and most probably you are already very excited about what student life will look like for you. You imagine yourself passing exams with best grades and proudly showing them to your family and friends; you dream of parties that´ll go the whole night and your first time being on your own with no supervision of your parents; and lastly you definitely think of all the memories that you are going to make during your time here, which in the future you will call “the good old days”. I wholeheartedly wish you that all the dreams and thoughts come true. At the same time, I would like to also give you some tips, which I think are quite useful for a good start. So, fasten your seatbelt- here we go: 

General

1. Get a bike. In Groningen everything is quite close and reachable within a couple of minutes. This is especially true if you have a bike. To bike every day everywhere is one of the first steps on your journey of merging into the Dutch culture. (After you purchased the bike) this method of transportation is free and keeps you healthy. In Groningen you can pick between renting and buying. For renting you can visit stores like swapfiets, for buying you can either go to a local bike-store (more expensive) or search for a “fiets” on Facebook marketplace (cheaper). After you bought your steel-companion, don’t forget to buy some lights- police may fine you if you don’t have them! 

2. Get a raincoat and a bag rain cover. While Netherlands and Groningen are simply gorgeous and beautiful, the weather on many days is not. You can expect quite a few days of rain and greyness. Exactly for these situations always keep a raincoat and bag rain cover in your bag to protect you and your belongings against any mood-swings of nature.

3. Before University starts visit KEI-week and ESN introduction week. Both introductions give you a great opportunity to get to know the city and what it offers. This is also the time and place to meet your first friends, with whom you will share the ups and downs of the student life. For both things you will need to register ahead, so keep an eye on that.

4. Join a study/student association. While it may not be that widespread in other countries, in Netherlands associations are very common. These are organizations where people of the same study or same interests find together. They organize study related events, such as workshops or other activities, like theme parties. Here you meet a lot of interesting people and develop new skills by joining committees, which organize various things and events. Additionally, membership in associations often gives you discounts for study-related books, at stores or even cafes. Also, straight at the beginning of each academic year, these associations will organize their own “introduction weekends”. Participation isn’t obligatory, but I would 100% recommend going there- even if you are afraid of all the readings that you will need to catch up on later in the block. You go on these weekends with the people with whom you will spend a lot of hours at lectures or seminars. It’s nice to know them on a more personal level, outside the academic surrounding. 

5. Explore the city. Although being small, Groningen has a lot to offer. Take your time and go on an adventure, explore this city and find your favorite places. Where is the best place to study? Where can you find the best coffee in town? Where is the most romantic place to go on a date? However, after you went on all these trips from time to time don’t forget to call you parents and grandparents and tell them of your experiences- they will appreciate!

For studying

1. Find out where the office of your study advisor(s) is. If during your studies you face any difficulties or you have any questions, the first person you can/should contact is the study advisor. Each study has their own advisors to whom you can talk. It doesn’t cost anything and you will get an answer to (most) of your questions. If they cannot answer it, they will help you find the person who can. 

2. Plan ahead. Student life is full of things you will want to do, to try or to experience. At the same time, you are here for a reason and there will be things that you will need to do- like assignments & exams. To combine all these things, you need to plan ahead. Look at what parties you want to go to, what cities or museums you want to visit and try to balance it with your studies. In the beginning it is difficult to calculate how much you will need for studying but after a while you’ll get better at this. Don’t rush yourself, you will have at least 2 ½ years to attend all the events which are offered in Groningen. The 7 weeks block structure with concluding exams is tough but manageable, and in the end also comfortable, because it keeps you in a continuous rhythm. 

3. Don’t read articles from top to bottom. In University you will have a lot of readings assigned. It might happen that in the beginning you simply will not have enough time to read all the weekly literature. That´s not a problem, but you will need to work on improving your skim reading skills. Furthermore, every brain loves to have a structure. Thus, before you read any text try to first get some info about it: look at the abstract, at (online) summaries, at the headings and subheadings- literally everything that allows you to create a structure in your head, so that your brain can prepare accordingly. Secret tip for academic journal articles: read the abstract, introduction and conclusion. In majority of the cases this will already allow you to know all the key points of the article. Then you can proceed and read the remaining parts which will give you more in depth details. 

4. Take study breaks and do some sports. University students study for many hours every day. Although the exact time varies from person to person, the brain itself can only function properly for a certain amount of time- after the productivity decreases. Medicine against this decline are breaks in between the study sessions. Most probably you heard about the “pomodoro technique” where you have 25 min of work and then a 5 min break. However, you can decide on your own how long you want to work. I quite like to work for 50 min and then do a 10-12 min break- but again it’s up to you. During the breaks let some fresh air into your room, do some physical exercise, respond to messages, or simply watch a YouTube video. Important is that your brain can switch-off for a bit and recharge energy for the next study session. On top of that, reserve at least some hours in the week for sport. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the gym, rowing, football or handball. With sport you can calm down after the daily stress and regain the focus needed to hit your high goals.  

5. Do as many practice exams as possible. When preparing for an exam, good students will look at lecture slides and their summaries of the readings. Great students, however, will also look at the exams of last years and practice with them. They imitate the exam before it takes place, which allows them to know exactly what to expect and how to prepare. Overall, this practice gives you a calmer feeling when you actually take the real exams.

I hope this helps, good luck and hope to see you soon at our RUG!

If you have any questions please contact me here.