Differences between studying in the USA and the Netherlands

Of course there are a lot of differences between studying in the USA and the
Netherlands. Every university has its own rules and guidelines for both social
standards and academic reputation. The standards that the universities in the
USA uphold are quite different from the standards that the universities in
Europe uphold.

One of the most notable differences between higher education in the

Netherlands and the USA is the price of attendance. While there are currently
measures in some European countries to increase the price of tuition for college
students, the prices are still significantly lower than the price of the average
tuition for a university in the US. And that also applies for our country, the
Netherlands. College education is something that most people are expected to
have yet it is still something that a significant portion of the population simply
cannot afford without going into massive debt with student loans. Some
students are graduating college with a 150.000 dollar student loan that they will
have to pay off. On the other hand, students In the USA have the opportunity to
receive a scholarship. A scholarship is an award of a financial aid to further
education and is based on various criteria. These criterias are for example
based on academic, artistic or athletic results.

The next difference is the ranking of the universities in its country. In the
Netherlands, all universities are about the same level while in the USA there is
more difference between the universities. Especially the Ivy League universities.
The Ivy league is a group of eight worldwide highly ranked universities located
on the Eastern seaboard of the United States. Although the term officially refers
to an athletic conference, it has grown to have much wider connotations,
because the members of the group compete academically as well as
athletically. However, the universities focus is still on academics above all else.
The top three from the Ivy League are at number 1: Harvard, second: Yale and
third: Princeton.

The final difference between the countries is the admission procedure for a
university. In the Netherlands students only need a certificate to get into a
university while at the most universities in the USA students need to take
different tests. An example of a test is the SAT test. The SAT test stands for the
Scholastic Aplitude Test and is required for most college admissions in the US.
The SAT consists of three major sections: Critical reading, Mathematics and
writing. Each section receives a score on the scale of 200 to 800. So the highest
score you can gain is 2400. To get in one of the universities from the Ivy League,
and then especially the big three: Harvard, Yale, Princeton you must have a
score around 2100 / 2200. Where the universities also look at is your GPA, which
stands for grade point average. Nowadays most universities in the US have
more interest in your SAT score than your GPA because the GPA standards
differs at each High school.

Harvard

Now I am going to tell you something about the wealthiest and most prestigious
university in the world: Harvard. The university was founded in 1636 in
Cambridge, the state Massachusetts and is private university (so not funded by
the state). Nowadays Harvard is one of the most famous universities in the
world. The university has really high entrance requirements and high tuition
fees for students, but on the contrary after graduating from Harvard University
students have a really great opportunity for a highly paid job.

Harvard university consists of eleven main academic departments, in which ten

different faculties and the Institute for Advanced Study. Since 2007, the private
university is investing a lot of money in financial aid for students from
disadvantaged families so these students will also have the opportunity to study
at Harvard. For a four-year study program without scholarships or other financial
aid a student will pay a total of 36000 dollars or even more, 52000 dollars if
they rent a room on the campus.

Many of the appointed professors at Harvard come from all around the world.
They spend a lot of time in conducting their own investigations as in teaching.
The number of pupils per class is under forty and that is to ensure that there is
enough space for one on one time between teachers and students. Besides
that, living on a campus also stimulates contact between the faculty and
students outside class hours.