During semester 3 of the programme we had the opportunity to study abroad in the Netherlands. At first I was not interested because the Netherlands as a country did not interest me a lot. But when student who had been there told us their experiences and why they had gone on exchange studies there it was no doubt in my mind that I also had to take this opportunity to go as well.

Application

When you have received your nomination from KI for exchange studies to Leiden University, you need to make an official application for the university. The application is filled with all the necessary information and send to the university, which will send back an acceptance letter which you sign and send back if you still want to go.

Accomodation

When you have received your acceptance letter a good thing would be to start looking for accommodation. Leiden University has its own housing service which can help you find a room in a dorm though it is not guaranteed that you will get one. The rooms that the housing service provides have a rent of 500 euros/month.

If you want a cheaper alternative you have lots of facebook groups such as: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leiden.housing/?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/40628214075/?fref=ts

In these groups there are lots of people that want to rent out there room/apartment and usually for cheaper prices than the housing service that the university provides. But be aware of scammers! I almost got scammed by a person because I was desperate to find accomodation. If the person is abroad and they do not want to meet in person and want pay in advance before you have the keys most likely it is a scam.

You can also check the local housing agency’s in Leiden which has a lot of ads. The con is that the agency issues an agency fee on all deals which is usually one month’s rent. Agencies in Leiden is listed here: http://www.pararius.com/real-estate-agents/leiden

Lastly It is much easier to find accommodation if you are in Leiden looking because you can then go on viewings yourself and that is usually what the landlord want because they want to meet the person first.

Flight tickets

The longer you wait to book your flight the more expensive it will get. The cheapest flight I found was through Norwegian and SAS (Ungdom). Norwegian is pretty straight forward you can’t get a discount on the prices, but SAS has cheaper flights for youths. The only thing that you need to do is register an account and you will also be able to fly cheaply with them as well.

Other

Before you leave Sweden have your EU insurance card with you if something happens. If you do not have an EU insurance card it is very easy to obtain. Just contact “Försäkringskassan” and order one.

Orientation week Leiden(OWL)

The orientation week costs 60 euros and what I know of is that it is mandatory (or at least that is what they say). OWL starts the week before your studies begin. During the orientation week you get to meet the exchange student that will study with you as well as other exchange students. You will be divided into groups of ~15 and have guides which will show you around the city and LUMC, there will also be lots of activities such as pub-crawls, barbeques and much more. I highly recommend that you attend OWL because it’s so much fun and you get to meet a lot of new people especially the one that you will study with.  

Schipol

When arriving at the airport it is very simple to get to Leiden since it is only 30 min train ride. Just go to the help desk and they will help you with the train ticket and which platform you need to be on. The trains go regularly so it does not matter at which time you arrive.

Leiden

When arriving in Leiden there are two exits from the train station one that will lead to the LUMC where you will conduct your studies and the other exits leads to the city centre. Outside there will be a city centre office where you will need to confirm your arrival at the desk and you will receive your registration card for your studies and handy information about Leiden and living in the Netherlands.

If you are not sure where your accommodation is, a solution would be that someone meets you at the station. Otherwise you could do as me and use google maps or a regular map to find your destination.

Registration in town hall

They will tell you to register at town hall but it is not necessary for EU citizens to register. This will save you time which can be better spent doing absolutely anythingh else. Only register if you want to open a Dutch bank account.

CSN

You will be able to apply for money at CSN. Loan and contribution amounts are the same as in Sweden. You can also apply for “merkostnadslån” if needed.

Erasmus

As an Erasmus exchange student you are allowed to apply for a grant which is about 10000 sek. You will also receive money when the travel report is handed in.

Living in the Netherlands

Except from accommodation expenses everything else is cheap in the Netherlands compared to Sweden. All groceries are cheaper than in Sweden the alcohol as well. Food in general is very cheap over there and eating out is very affordable if you do not like cooking.

I highly recommend that you buy a bike because the city is too big for walking and too small for taking public transportation. There are bikes sold in the accommodation groups listed above and there are also other Facebook groups targeted at just second hand stuff where you can buy one. There are also second hand bike stores in town and during the OWL you will be able to buy a second hand bike. I suggest that you buy two locks because a lot of bikes get stolen in Leiden, so one lock for the bike and the other one to lock the bike to something such as a lamp post etc.

Maestro card

For some reason the Dutch people do not take visa and MasterCard in major parts of the Netherlands. The ATMs everywhere take visa and MasterCard so you can either get a maestro card from the Dutch bank or from “Ica banken” in Sweden. What I did was that I just took out money from the ATM and bought everything with cash.

Accomodation

I got accommodation from Webster University which is located in the city centre. It was very expensive and costed 975 euros a month for a studio apartment. But I would recommend getting the room (if offered) from housing service that cost 500 euros. Because trying to find accommodation that is cheaper is just a hassle and if I would go back I would just take the room because it just relieves a lot of tension and stress.

As I said before look on the facebook groups and agencys if you want to find cheaper accommodation.  

Studies in Leiden

Studies in Leiden are more orientated towards theoretical learning and less practical learning as we are used to in KI. They also put a lot more responsibility on the student to read the course book and do assignment in-between lectures and seminars. If you do not have good study habits as me then it will get pretty hectic for you. Usually I am the guy that studies the week before the exam in Sweden. But in the Netherlands that is not a great idea because it is not about how much information you can remember for the exam but how much of the information you understand. This is the major difference between studying in the Netherlands and Sweden.

In the LUMC there a couple of group rooms where you can study but usually they are taken because of seminars and workgroups. In short there is limited spaces to study at the LUMC. You can also study at the Plexus which has a lot of places for you to study but this is an environment where you need to be quiet because it is a library so if you like to talk when studying this is not the place for you. There are a lot of cafés in the city where you can study if you are that type of person who likes that kind of enviroment.

The culture is very similar to Sweden if there would be any difference it is that the Dutch people is more direct and honest with you.

Everybody speaks English and it is not a problem if you do not want to learn Dutch during your exchange.

During the 3^rd of October there is a big party which the whole city takes part in.The city celebrates the relief of the Spanish siege in 1574 which is celebrated with a lot of musicians playing around the city. The whole city turns into an amusement park and there is a lot of drinking and partying for two days.

ISN

The ISN is the international student network Leiden which has a lot of activitys for students. If you like cooking, travel, playing music etc. they have everything and you can be a part of that if you want. They arrange trips to Brussel, Prague during the semester which everybody that is a member of ISN can join.

USC

The USC is the sport centre and is about 10 min bike ride from the station. It is very affordable 100euros for a semester. There they have a gym and a lot  facilities. If you become a member you get to partake in all of the activitys they host such as: a lot of dancing classes, martial arts classes, football, basketball you name it and they have it and the best part is that it is free if you are a member.

Other

There is always something to do in Leiden lots of pubs, restaurants, museums which you can visit. You can also travel to other cites, the Hague is 15 min by train Amsterdam is 30min by train. It is very easy to travel when in Leiden to other cities because it is well connected with all the trains in the Netherlands.

Travelling to Leiden was a great experience and I learned so much not only during the studies but the interaction between all the other exchange students and their culture making it an invaluable experience.

Living abroad also helped me with making me more confident in speaking English and just living abroad in a different country will help you in the future with the people you have met and interacted with since the biomedical field is very international I think this will prepare you for your later studies and work in the biomedical field.