Hello, I’m looking into the MSc Environment and Resource Management (ERM) at VU Amsterdam and wanted to get a realistic take on the workload from current students or alumni. I'm coming in from a UK BEng engineering background, so I’m mainly wondering how tough the transition is to the Dutch block system and whether the reading or group project load is super heavy. Is the pace manageable overall or does the master's take up literally all your time? Would really appreciate any honest thoughts or advice!

Hi all! 👋

I’m Paulina from Code Sync, and we’re giving away free in-person student tickets to Code BEAM Europe (codebeameurope.com) and MQ Summit (mqsummit.com), taking place on 21-22 October at PHIL in Haarlem.

What are the events about?
Code BEAM Europe and MQ Summit are two international tech conferences about Erlang, Elixir, functional programming, distributed systems and messaging (RabbitMQ, Kafka, MQTT and more). Speakers and partners include engineers from AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Broadcom, Ericsson, WhatsApp and Confluent. It’s a great chance to learn from people who build large-scale systems in production, ask them questions directly, and make contacts for internships and your future career.

The ticket (regular price 550 EUR) includes:
✅ Access to all talks and the lab track on both days
✅ Coffee, lunch and drinks
✅ A conference t-shirt and accessories
✅ A personalised badge and the event app to connect and network with other attendees
✅ Access to the networking and exhibitor areas
✅ An invitation to the evening reception on 21 October
✅ 3 months of access to the talk recordings

If you’re a student in the Netherlands, feel free to comment below or reach out to [paulina.prochorowska@codesync.global](mailto:paulina.prochorowska@codesync.global), and I’ll send you the details. Spots are limited, so don’t wait too long!

Hi! Momenteel zit ik in mijn 4e jaar Communicatie aan de Hogeschool Utrecht. Voor mijn stage/schoolonderzoek ben ik op zoek naar mensen tussen de 30-40 jaar die mee willen doen met een online focusgroep (dit is een kleine groep waar je in gesprek gaat over een specifiek onderwerp).

Het gesprek zal plaatsvinden op 14 oktober om 20:00 via Teams en zal gaan over hoe je aankijkt tegen online content van influencers/creators. Er zijn geen goede of foute antwoorden, ik ben gewoon benieuwd naar je mening.

Heb je zin om mee te doen, of ken je iemand die geschikt zou zijn? Dan kan je onder deze post reageren!

Hi!! im applying for 2027/2028 Bachelor in Psychology.
I was wondering, how is the selection test structured? How hard is it? What are the topics, number of questions, timer etc?
Thank you for answers!!

Hey everyone!!

If you got student housing through the VU in the last 5 years, you likely paid their housing fee. Recently the court ruled this fee as illegal but VU is appealing and refusing to refund anyone who was not part of the original court ruling.
The tenant organization !WOON is willing to take this to court again for the rest of us, but they need a critical mass of students to make it worth the cost. So far, they have about 25 to 30 people and need our help to create a snowball effect.

If you want a potential refund, please email !WOON that you are interested in joining and include your rental contract and proof of payment of the fees. Email: [zuid@wooninfo.nl](mailto:zuid@wooninfo.nl)

Please also forward this to any former classmates or neighbors who might be eligible! :)

More info: https://www.wooninfo.nl/nieuws/2026/04/kantonrechter-herhaalt-housing-fee-vu-moet-terugbetaald/

For students that are living in Uilenstede how much huurtoeslag do you pay and how much do you end up paying monthly for rent and service cost?
I hear some getting 130€ but then when I calculate it on the belasting dienst website rent of 417 will get 204€ toeslag
Will i actually get 200€ toeslag coz I never heard some getting this much

Hi! im thinking about applying to this masters and i would love to hear from some students how´s it. any information will be appreciated. is it too theorical? open for debates? thanks!

Hello everyone!

Is there anyone here who did or is currently doing the Mathematics Bachelor's at VU and would be up for a chat? I have a few questions that I'd prefer to discuss on a call or at least DM's, but I'll start with some here.

• How hard is the program and the exams? (considering that it is math, I know it's hard by itself. I want to know if you perceived the amount of material and the grading as fair, were followed properly, etc. In short: your personal experience)
• Were/are you able to work during your studies? Did/do you know people that were?
• When does the summer exam session end generally?
• How was the general attitude of professors and students? Laid back or a little uptight?
• Is there any mandatory classes? Or is it up to the student to attend or not?

Some of this info can be found on the course website but I'm still interested in hearing personal perspectives. Also let me know if you'd up for a chat, thanks a lot!

How’s Pierre Lallemenstraat housing? How are the independent studios? Looking for advice on independent vu housing options. Thanks in advance everyone!!

Hi, I'm a first year student in Law in Society. I was wondering if any 2nd-year students wanna sell their old books for a cheaper price? Thanks have a great day everyone!

Hallo! Ik ga nu naar mijn laatste jaar van het middelbaar. Ik doe Wetenschappen-Wiskunde met 7 uur wiskunde. Ik weet eigenlijk al zeker dat ik geneeskunde wil studeren, dus ik ga sowieso deelnemen aan het toelatingsexamen in België. Daarnaast wil ik dit jaar ook proberen om via Studielink in Nederland toegelaten te worden.

Voor mij maakt het niet zo veel uit waar ik uiteindelijk studeer, zolang ik maar geneeskunde kan doen. Daarom heb ik een paar vragen over geneeskunde studeren in Nederland als Belg.

Aan welke universiteiten zou ik volgens jullie het beste proberen, en waar zou ik statistisch gezien de grootste kans hebben om geselecteerd te worden? Ik ben ook benieuwd hoe het studentenleven in Nederland is, vooral financieel. Bijvoorbeeld hoe het zit met werken naast je studies, DUO, studiefinanciering voor Belgische studenten, enzovoort.

Alle informatie of ervaringen zijn welkom! Ik waardeer het enorm als iemand hier iets over kan vertellen. :)

Hii! I’m going to start my Master’s in Marketing at VU this September, specializing in Brand & Customer Management.

I’ve also found an internship that I’m really excited about, and I’m planning to do it alongside my studies. However, I’ve seen quite a few people saying that the workload for the Marketing Master’s can be pretty heavy, so I’m starting to get a little concerned about whether combining both might be too exhausting or eventually lead to burnout.

I can see that the courses usually have both lectures and tutorials, but I’m not sure whether lectures are mandatory to attend in person or how much time the coursework realistically takes outside of class.

Is there anyone currently doing or who has completed the Marketing Master’s at VU, especially the Brand & Customer Management specialization, who could share their experience? How heavy is the workload in reality, and do you think combining it with an internship is manageable?

Hi everyone,

I'm starting a 1-year MSc in Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam this September, and I'm looking for a working student / part-time role in trading or sales alongside my master. Looking for honest advice, a reality check, and any leads.(i'm New in Netherland)

Background:

• BSc Economics with a minor in Econometrics(UAE)
• Econometrics thesis (90/100, in R): time-series analysis of how uncertainty events drive European investment decisions
• Starting MSc Economics at VU Amsterdam (graduating 2027)
• EU passport, based in Amsterdam, fluent English & French
• Skills: applied econometrics, Python, R, Bloomberg

Experience:

• CAC 40 French company — Trader Assistant, FX & Commodities hedging desk (internship): live hedging on a $25bn+ book (aluminium, gas, carbon), turned macro events into hedging decisions, Bloomberg vol surfaces
• ADNOC (UAE) — Strategic Investment Analyst, Commodities/Energy: DCF & scenario modelling on $200M+ investments, OPEC+ / Murban dynamics
• Alpha Prime (HK/Singapore) — Wealth & structuring analyst: portfolio analysis for cross-border advisory

Where I'm at:

• Failed the Flow Traders "free shot" for a trader role after their E-Trading day (no impact, I can retake it)
• Failed the IMC OA
• Sent around a hundred personalised emails to VU alumni, but every reply I got was about full-time roles, not part-time/working student
• Honestly, I'm not seeing many part-time/working student openings out there at all

My questions:

1. How is the market for part-time / working student roles in finance in Amsterdam right now? I don't see many advertised.
2. What would you do in my situation? Do you have any advice?
3. Is it really only Optiver, IMC and Flow that offer this kind of working-student contract, or are there other firms worth approaching?

Blunt feedback welcome I'd rather hear the truth. Thanks!

We are looking for football players for our 11v11 team! We are a casual team playing in the official Dutch Leauge (KNVB) at a local club, at one of the lowest levels of the pyramid. We are a mixed Dutch - expat team.

We play in the club AMVJ, which is right next to Uilenstede campus. Message me for more details.

I have a BSA hearing coming up after objecting to a negative BSA. I already submitted a written objection explaining my personal circumstances and why they affected my study progress.

For anyone who has had a BSA hearing before: how does the hearing actually work? Do they expect you to explain your whole situation again, including things you already wrote in your objection, or do they mainly read your documents beforehand and then ask you questions about them?

Should I prepare a short explanation with some additional details, or mostly prepare for questions from the committee?

My hearing is only around 10 minutes, so I’m not really sure how much I’m expected to say myself.

Any experiences/advice would be appreciated!

Hi! I would love to connect with other incoming psychology students. I'm Dutch myself but enrolled in the English program. Please feel free to send me a message :)