Erasmus University Rotterdam from Dila Naz
About accommodation, does the university have any dorms for students or do students have to find accommodation on their own? If the university has the accommodation opportunity for students, is it easy to get into the dorms? If the student has to find on his/her own, is there any easy way to search it such as site, application or anything else.
University sends an email about the housing options and they are also available on the exchange website. Other than that, there are some facebook groups but you should be careful about scams.I did my reservation through SSH which was one of the platforms suggested by the university. SSH is the only housing agency which provides on campus accommodation. You should follow the notifications because there is limited space and all rooms are booked in a short time. SSH might not be the cheapest option but it is the most convenient one, in my opinion.
For students, in order to have no problem while they are going to university, which places would you recommend them to find room?
Kralingen is the closest and most popular student neighborhood. Also, Oostplein and Blaak are 15 min away from the campus.
According to classes in Koç University, do you think the university you went was harder or not? How many courses you recommend them to take to prevent any difficulty?
Faculty of Social Sciences was following a system called Problem Based Learning (PBL). This system was very different than usual because it was very student centered. Firstly, a semester is divided into 5 blocks and in each block it is recommended to take only 1 course. A block lasts for 5 weeks and you only focus on 1 course at a time. Each course requires 2 tutorial meetings and 1 lecture a week. Tutorials are mandatory and in tutorials you should actively participate in the discussions. In each tutorial group you create learning goals for the next tutorial and you study for these learning goals using the reading list. It is a very demanding system and requires attendance.
Do you think the campus utilities were satisfied? Why?
Campus was modern and had many facilities such as gym and food court.
As a student who live in the city that the university is located, how is the life around the city?
Rotterdam might not be as popular as Amsterdam but in terms of social life and activities, it offers many things to do. It is a diverse city with people from many nationalities and that’s why it feels very welcoming. With its central location, it is easy to travel to other cities and countries.
What do you think about students clubs? Did you join any of them? Which one is your favorite?
ESN was the organization for international students. There were many social and cultural events organized by ESN such as city trips and parties.
Could you tell us about the cafes and dining centers in the university? Did you find any Turkish Restaurant next to the university or in the city?
Rotterdam is one of the cities that you can easily find Turkish food. Surprisingly, there was a kebap restaurant even in the campus.
How was the library? Is it easy to find a spot in average day or in the exam week? What kind of utilities has the library? If anyone wants somewhere except the library, what would you recommend them?
When I was there, the main library was under construction, that’s why Polak (other library) was very crowded. Because the university’s system encourages self-study, library was and will be full of ambitious student all the time :) But with the renovated library, it should be good now.
Does the university have any sport clubs? What kind of sports are famous and fun to play in the university? Is there any swimming pool?
Erasmus Sport was very good in terms of its facilities and the courses. There were boxing, pilates, cycling, zumba courses and many more. I don’t know much about clubs but there were tournaments among international students which were organized by ESN.
If anyone wants to play instrument, could they find any place easily? Is there any instruments that are taught during the semester?
There were music nights organized by ESN where you could sing and play an instrument in front of an audience. Other than that I dont know about any other opportunities.
For the courses, do we need to buy books or is it any cheaper way to get it?
Most of the books were provided in the library, that’s why there is no need to buy the books.
Is there any health clinics in the university? What can students in case of emergency or injury?
It is mandatory to have a health insurance in the Netherlands and after you get your residence permit you get registered to a family doctor. If it is not an emergency situation, first you need to consult your family doctor and then he/she sends you to a specialist. In the university there is only a physiotherapy clinic and you can go there without referral from your family doctor.
Is there any bank automat in the campus? What does a student do if they wanna have bank account? Does it necessary? Do locals in the university area mostly use credit card or cash? Is it necessary to bring some cash with us?
You can easily open an account from Ing. There are some places which do not accept Visa or credit card, that’s why it is convenient to have a Dutch debit card.
During the Visa application, do you have any recommendations or something that is not easily found online that you may share with other students to help them out in this long process? Which parts do students need to focus on?
You need to send the requested documents to the university by email and then the university will submit your visa application. After you get your approval, all you need to do is to go to the consulate and get your passport sticker. In the application, university will ask you to show that you have sufficient financial funds for your living expenses, such as 800 euros per month. As a proof, they may ask you to send the total money to their account and tell you that they will transfer it to your future Dutch account. You can get the money back approximately in one week after you open your Dutch account.
