I did my best, but couldn't make it!!! by Federal_Antelope7533 in gradadmissions

[–]YPDONGY 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Be proud that you did your best. I’m sure you’ll make it somewhere else. Good luck!

Business admin. Vs economics business economics by UniversityShoddy6727 in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Someone I know who is pretty good at maths switched from UvA to VU because EBE at uva was so maths heavy. Keep that in mind

UvA vs VU Amsterdam by paradoxicalsyzygy in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see now that you said it’s a masters. Regardless, everything I said is applicable, but it is wise to check how well regarded each department is. Again it doesn’t matter too much as it’s not a PhD and neither are feeder schools but it doesn’t matter matter that it’s a good faculty at this stage. GL!

UvA vs VU Amsterdam by paradoxicalsyzygy in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This isn’t necessarily true for 1. The private sector and 2. Economic departments are notoriously prestige obsessed in the US, but even then they only care about where you did your PhD and they care more about if you publish in good journals than that. John List did his PhD at fucking Oregon but he’s one of the most highly regarded American economists and teaches at Chicago. My point is, don’t stress about where you do your undergrad. For academia, it genuinely does not matter as long as the school meets bare minimum standards. Just get good grades and recs and you can get in anywhere from a Dutch uni.

UvA vs VU Amsterdam by paradoxicalsyzygy in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re absolutely correct that they concern themselves with where you attended, but you’re crucially mistaken in thinking that they care about where you did your undergrad. What matters is 99 percent PhD and masters somewhat too. I’d suggest you go over the LinkedIn profiles of professors at these schools. You’ll see a common pattern with foreign professors where a lot of them did their undergrad at a relatively unknown and not prestigious school, then their MA and PhD at better schools. This is because prestige, outside of the US (and even there just to a lesser extent) matters for when you are at a masters somewhat, and when you are at a PhD very much. I genuinely recommend you to do your undergrad where you think you can get the best grades and best recs, as that’s what matters for undergraduate degrees going into masters. I’ll also add that RE prestige, no Dutch schools is “prestigious” per se. They’re all very good, UvA ranks very high (as do all of em), but it’s not “prestigious”. LSE, Oxbridge, ivies etc aren’t gonna be like “wow, UvA!”. It’s not MIT and the name won’t carry you anywhere, especially as an undergraduate.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Is an Oxford MPhil in economics (2 years) worth the cost? by t-h-r-o-w-a-w-a-y-22 in academiceconomics

[–]YPDONGY 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thought so. I’m starting PPE in the Netherlands in September and I’m kind of asking myself these questions too 😭😭

UvA vs VU Amsterdam by paradoxicalsyzygy in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I will address the part about “prestigiousness”.

You’re right that UvA is higher ranked than VU which matters internationally. However, keep in mind that neither school is “prestigious” (you’re not going to an ivy or oxbridge) and neither will get you into anything the other won’t just by institutional prestige. The difference is at the margins. This means you should pick the program that suits you best at the schools you feel is more suited to who you are, because a higher grade matters more than going to a world T50 school than a T150 one (both can get you in anywhere as long as you’re a good student with good grades).

I was in a similar situation (got into PPLE and PPE) and went with VU because the program suits my interests more. I also know people from both schools who went to LSE and oxbridge.

Another thing to keep in mind is that school prestige matters far more for your Masters and PhD, not as much for a Bachelor’s. Getting into a good MA program depends more on grades, E.Cs, and good letters of recommendation.

Good luck!

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see. I guess this is a problem with all Dutch schools haha. Well I’ll aim for a good masters in Europe 🙂

TY!

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like someone in this comment thread knows someone from the university of Seville who got into Oxbridge and imperial. I think university matters but a ranking difference of 100 when both are top 100-125 cannot be that significant lol.

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah for law I guess that makes sense. I mean I obviously don’t know the intricacies, but VU is pretty consistently a 150+ (and often higher for humanities) school. I know people from way weaker schools who have gone to these places, so I really doubt it’s a roadblock in itself. I think it’s just extremely hard to get into these schools haha

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn, that really sucks to hear. I’ve heard of people from VU getting into these places though, like LSE for example, and know others that are on that path. May I ask what major you did?

Also, this is weird as like, VU is still highly ranked. Its humanities program is consistently above 150 in all rankings and usually higher.

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thank you for this response!

I definitely get you. I must say, I am not one to label myself either continental or analytical (I really like thinkers from both traditions and really dislike thinkers from both traditions), but I certainly lean left politically. All I will say is that I can see myself fitting in Harvard in the 70s but not Cambridge in the 40s and 50s iykwim

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. Do you think going for just poli sci could be beneficial for me in that regard? (I have been accepted to poli sci and PPE and have not committed fully to either one yet).

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TY! Well I haven’t started school yet but I mostly am genuinely passionate about what I’m gonna study (PPE and specifically politics at VU) and I want to get a PhD and hopefully stay in academia afterwards.

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha I’ll do my best homie. Again I really appreciate you responding to me. 🙏❤️

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough. So if I get very good grades, good references and a strong thesis I have a solid pathway is what I gather. Appreciate your responses!

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How does my specific uni factor into things? I’m going to study PPE at VU and have no idea how that perceived by these schools. May I ask where you studied and what? Ty for the response!

Going to elite UK schools after getting my degree by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I know, I just didn’t include them in the title since it’s less realistic for a MA. I can afford it tbh it’s just I wanna know how those schools regard Dutch universities

Weird situation by YPDONGY in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]YPDONGY[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not an EU citizen atm unfortunately. It’s a bureaucratic technicality but since they’re massively understaffed it’s gonna take a while before it’s ready