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What’s the deal with Dutch people studying until they’re like 25/26? What’s the reasoning? The amount of times I tell people my age here that I work fulltime it’s like they’ve never heard such a foreign concept. “How did you finish your bachelor so early?
....I mean I just did my exams and graduated on time?
Don’t tell me the argument it’s “no stress” for teenagers here. It’s all about enjoying student life etc etc but that argument doesn’t hold it for me quite frankly. Firstly because students in the rest of the world>
Don’t tell me the argument it’s “no stress” for teenagers here. It’s all about enjoying student life etc etc but that argument doesn’t hold it for me quite frankly. Firstly because students in the rest of the world>
Continue their studies after high school, still enjoy student life (as they know it lasts only 3 years) and graduate around the age of 23 if they go to grad school. I lack to see the reasoning to why Dutch students study for so long. Is there no eagerness to get out and work?
For me a big driving force in finishing my degree was for that purpose: to enjoy those 3 years and then focus my way up the career latter early in and progress. This does not seem to be the culture here at all and there is a much more relaxed approach to it as well.
I am not arguing the approach here is wrong, possibly a culture thing and maybe better for students well being. However when I compare it to friends in the UK where I studied — career progression goes better for those who start early doing internships, get graduate roles and so
It’s just a surprising cultural thing for me, I am turning 24 this year and been at my fulltime job for almost 2 years by the end of this year. I am the youngest in my team and so far anyone I’ve met at the company as well.
If you look at the same office in London – my age is average if not younger. I remember I even dated a Dutch guy my age here a while back who kept complaining about how “unreasonable” it was to work 5 full days a week – how he missed student life and so on
Common factors seem to be the following: high acceptance rates in to higher education combined with changing courses mid way + a cultural thing of “no stress you’ll figure it out”. Gap years I don’t really count as an argument but interesting discussion nevertheless.
Student well being maybe increases? Less stress? Only thing that doesn’t go well for me is the high acceptance rate might make higher education seem like something you can change and do whenever you “feel” like it. Instead of filtering people out early on
This goes to say, if you have stricter acceptance rates than maybe people will be a lot firmer in what they choose to study? In Sweden we have a fairly strict acceptance rate policy which makes it that people either study straight after HS or later when they know for sure
However the grass isn’t greener on the other side. Many teenagers don’t need to know when they’re 18 what they want to do, they could also come from homes where they lack support and have a lot of stress which in turn lowers their grades and then they don’t stand a chance
This thread was never a form of criticism but rather a rant to form a discussion to why it’s so common here to study for so long but also almost long for student life for so long. It’s still surprising to me, but so many good reasons behind it as well.
