My Exchange at The University of Groningen
I found out about the 360 international exchange program through my own research as I knew I wanted to do an exchange based on all the good things people had said.
When I first arrived in The Netherlands I was a little intimidated and nervous about being somewhere so different from home but I quickly got use to it and made heaps of friends so that didn’t last long. One of the reasons for this is that my student accommodation was full of other exchange students so meeting people was easy.
Groningen University was good but very tough academically, we take UoA for granted! Orientation was clear and it took no time to get used to it and the courses were very similar to UoA, lots of content overlaps. Life on campus was very comparable to UoA.
Groningen city was very nice, I don’t think I could have picked a better city to do my exchange in in terms of the quality of life. It’s a student city so the nightlife was off the charts and we were always doing fun things. Plus it’s one of the safest cities in Europe and riding bikes everywhere is so much fun. Cost of living was very similar to Auckland in terms of accommodation, food and drinks etc tend to be a bit cheaper. The food was good but Holland is not renowned for it!
I didn’t have much time for extracurricular activities as I was travelling around Europe as much as I could but I did get a membership for the sports facilities so me and my mates went there many times a week to play squash/volleyball/football among other things.
The biggest highlights of my exchange were meeting people who I know will remain lifelong friends – I already have some coming to NZ next year to visit. The number of backgrounds people come from all around the world is fascinating and really gives you a new perspective. I also loved travelling around as much as I physically could just exploring Europe – doing ski trips, watching Formula 1, going to countless beaches, seeing all the different cultures and so much more.
Challenges included the university workload for my specific university – I was hoping to not have to work much to be able to focus on travelling and having fun but when it came to exams I had to study more than for any UoA exams! Also just getting used to how things work in your exchange city like transport, setting up tax numbers and banks etc, the ‘admin’ takes some time.
My biggest advice is to DO IT. You’ll never regret doing it, you may well regret not doing it. It also doesn’t actually matter where you go that much so don’t get too caught up in it, everyone ends up having an awesome time.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
Dutch universities are very academic by nature so it’s much less practical and more intensive than UoA which I personally didn’t like. Groningen University itself is a very good top 100 university but it was not as much fun as here.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Join ACLO!!! The ACLO sports facility membership is definitely the best part about Groningen University. Also make the most of IKEA.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
1. ACLO membership.
2. Sort out SSH student accommodation ASAP, its life saving and will help you meet hundreds of people.
3. Groningen is waaaay better to live in than Amsterdam so enjoy living there and just visit Amsterdam.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
Ideally, you’d want about 8-10k spending money not including accommodation to have a good time and travel as much as you can. So total 12-15k plus flights. It’s 100% possible to do it and have a great time with less than this (I did) but literally the more money you have the better.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
Europe is definitely the ‘real world’ and if I could pass a law that meant everyone from NZ had to do an OE, I 100% would. It just gives you such a different perspective on the world and helps you meet so many people from so many different backgrounds. You really realise how small NZ is.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
Make the most of being surrounded by other countries. Experiencing the different cultures is super interesting and it’s something we can’t really do living in NZ.
