Hey Rogier!
Sorry I haven't replied earlier :? I've been a bit busy.
Yea, me too! I just got back from the University of Amsterdam (the other uni in Amsterdam). I had an appointment with one of the prof's who helped me with the final essay I had been working on for the past 9 months. He told me I got an 8! I'm sooooooo happy with that! Other good thing is that my vacation finally started today. Bad thing is that I'm officially not a student anymore... *ugh* I feel old...
The only unis I can go to are these:
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
- Universiteit Leiden
- Universiteit Maastricht
- Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen
- Universiteit Van Tilburg
They're the only ones offered by my uni, and all this Erasmus thing is organised through your own university and the ones it has agreements with around the world, so I'm afraid it would only be those. Oh, and I'm studying Law
Ok! I'll stick to those 6 then. Where shall I start. Every year a respected dutch magazine publishes an extensive survey in which students an professors of every uni are asked what they think of the uni they study/work and what they think is the best uni. According to them
Tilburg has the best law faculty. Nijmegen is second. So if you're just interested in getting the best education I'd advise those two.
If however you're also interested in some dutch culture, partying and shopping you might consider some others as well. I shall give you some info on each of the six cities:
AmsterdamCitizens: 750.000
University students: 35.500 (22.000 at the University of Amsterdam and 13.500 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2.000 at law faculty)).
More info about the law faculty: General:
http://www.vu.nl/English/index.cfm?home_subsection.cfm?subsectionid=0504F6FA-131A-4111-86F771EAC9EDB5B0Courses:
http://www.vu.nl/English/index.cfm?home_subsection.cfm?subsectionid=0504F6FA-131A-4111-86F771EAC9EDB5B0Capital and biggest city of the country. It's a great city, with lots of musea, cinema's, theatres, bars, restaurants, clubs and (coffee)shops. If you ever get bored in the Netherlands, it won't be in this city. There's always something to do here. It's really alive you know..., which unfortunately can't be said of the cities below.
Another positive thing is that it's near the airport and near the 2nd, 3rd and 4th biggest city of the country. The beach isn't far either.
GroningenCitizens: 170.000
University students: 19.000
Programmes: European Law, International Law & the Law of International Organisations, International Economic & Business Law, International & Comparative Private Law
More info about the law faculty:
http://www.rug.nl/Rechten/?lang=enGroningen has relatively much students. I haven't been there very often, but it's known for its (how do you say it...?) student-life? So for students there are lots of things to do, but it's not as alive as Amsterdam is.
Negative thing is that it's located in the north of the country and other big cities are quite far away (at least 2 hours).
LeidenCitizens: 120.000
University students: 14.500 (4.300 at the law faculty, which makes it the largest law faculty).
More info about the law faculty:
http://www.law.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=24&c=14Old city, quite nice. But I don't like the people who study here. Serious rich kids that think they're smart. *ugh*
The city is located near other big cities.
MaastrichtCitizens: 120.000
University students: Don't know but I think less than 12.000 (2.000 at the law faculty)
Programmes: Dutch law, Tax law, European Law School
More info about the faculty:
http://www.unimaas.nl/home_fdr.asp?id=307743D200U51UD6DID0&taal=enOld city with some nice architecture. Lots of restaurants, bars and such. Great place to shop.
Bad thing is that it's in the south of the country (near Belgium and Germany). Other big cities are quite far away (at least 2 hours).
NijmegenCitizens: 150.000
University students: 13.000 (2.000 at the Law faculty)
More info about the law faculty:
http://www.kun.nl/er/er/publicatie/chap4.pdfI can't tell you much about this city. I haven't been there since I was 3 or somthing. Never have I heard people talk about this city enthousiastically. It's in the east of the country. Quite far from where the action takes place.
TilburgCitizens: 200.000
University students: ? (2.200 at the law faculty)
Programmes: Dutch Law, Tax Law, Administrative Law and Public Administration, International and European Law and Law and Management.
More info about the law faculty:
http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/faculties/frw/Nice city with lots of bars. The people here are known for being friendly. The city isn't very beautiful though and there aren't very much musea. It's more than an hour away from the bigger cities.
I've to go now! I hope this was a bit of a help to you. Good luck on deciding to which country/city you go. If you have any more questions, let me know.
rogier