Studia na Hulanda

Information about studying in the Netherlands for Antillean and Aruban students.
Each year around 1,000 young Antilleans come to the Netherlands to study at a research university or a university of applied sciences. At www.studychoice.nl you can compare all accredited study programmes in the Netherlands. There is also a Dutch language version: www.studiekeuze123.nl.

The website offers a wide range of practical information on studying in the Netherlands, the Dutch higher education system, facilities at research universities and universities of applied sciences and what makes it attractive to study in the Netherlands.

Visit the directory Choose your Bachelor's or Choose your Master's to find out which study programmes are taught in English.

The Netherlands offers a range of English-taught Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes, and is a frontrunner in Europe. English is very prevalent as a second language in the Netherlands, making it easy for foreign students to study here.

Studiekeuze123 has created a brochure specifically to help prospective students choose a study programme, available in both English and Dutch.

The student finance foundation Stichting Studiefinanciering Curaçao (SSC) provides grants and loans to enable students from Curaçao to enrol in senior secondary vocational education (MBO), higher professional education (HBO) or academic higher education (WO) study programmes in the Netherlands. The SSC provides financial assistance that is separate from the student grants and loans issued in the Netherlands. These are two different systems. If you apply for loans through both systems, you will build up student debt with both authorities. The SSC head office is situated in Willemstad Curaçao, and has had a division in the Netherlands since January 2005. The SSC also provides students with guidance during their studies in the Netherlands, and mediates in matters such as finding accommodation. The SSC has issued a special brochure on accommodation in the Netherlands.

The S4 Foundation assists students from St Maarten who go to the Netherlands to study. The Foundation provides information on topics such as accommodation, student grants and loans and insurance.

Fineb is an organisation that helps students from Bonaire with information about student grants, loans, insurance and accommodation.

Student grants and loans in the Netherlands
The rules that apply to students from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba sometimes differ from those that apply to students from the Netherlands. For example, the application process for student grants and loans is slightly different for students from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. For further details, see the brochure issued by the Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO, Department of Education) in the Netherlands: Student Finance for students from Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

If you are under the age of 30, will be studying in Dutch higher education on a full-time basis and have Dutch nationality, you are entitled to Dutch financial assistance for students, which includes a basic student grant, possibly an additional grant (depending on your parents' income), and a student public transport pass. Assistance is provided in the form of a performance-linked student grant. This means that the grant is paid out as a loan. If you earn your diploma within ten years, this loan is converted into a grant. If you do not earn a diploma, you must repay the loan. In addition to this performance-linked assistance, you can also apply for a student loan. This loan must be paid back at the end of your studies.

Students wishing to receive financial assistance must apply to the Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO, Department of Education) using the form entitled Aanvragen studiefinanciering voor studenten van de Antillen en Aruba (only available in Dutch). You can download the form from www.ocwduo.nl or order it by calling the DUO information line on +31 (0)50 599 77 55. Please be sure to submit your application for financial assistance at least three months in advance to ensure that you receive your money and student public transport pass in time.

On www.ocwduo.nl you can also find calculation tools to help you calculate how much financial assistance you are entitled to receive and how much debt you will have on completion of your study programme ('berekenen studiefinanciering' and 'hoe duur is lenen' (only available in Dutch)).

Enrolment
The process for enrolling for a study programme via Studielink.nl is also slightly different. Visit the Frequently Asked Questions page for more information, or read the brochure: Student Finance for students from Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

Student associations for foreign students in the Netherlands
There are various student associations for foreign (and also Dutch) students in the Netherlands.
Passaat
Siaa 
Leiden University
Echo-Net
The New Generation Foundation (in English)
Hexagon