Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Something that has been an adjustment for me is the change of moving from a small, very supportive, rural college to a large, urban university. The Colby bubble is real and seems especially pronounced now that I’m outside of it. I’ve realized that at Colby, especially without having a car, I rarely left campus and I rarely spent any money. I go to class, practice, clubs, dinner, do hw all within a 1 mile radius. Even if you count going downtown occasionally, that doesn’t widen the sphere significantly. I was thinking about this while I biked around the city yesterday to go to classes, pick up my registration permit, (finally) get my laptop back, and buy groceries. The sphere of what I do, and can do, here encompasses so much more than back in Waterville. I know that this is more of a city vs. country dilemma, but it’s also partially how Colby is constructed. With everyone isolated on campus the majority of the time, it’s hard to find new things to do and new friends to meet. Here, the anonymity is refreshing and I have seemingly endless opportunities. Every time I bike somewhere new I discover another piece of Amsterdam.
The other side of this is that I get a lot less support here than at Colby in many ways. For example, we weren’t given a tour of campus when we came, and were expected to figure out the confusing room number system ourselves. For example, HG-KC07 means that the class is in the main building (HG), in the large lecture hall (KC) on the first floor (0). I’m just very glad that I came with the IES program because during their orientation they showed us how to use the metro system, register with the municipality, get a residence permit, open a bank account, biking rules, cultural differences etc.
The VU, however, is very hands-off in comparison and this is also reflected in the academic culture. All of my lectures and exercise classes are optional. The homework is optional (with the exception of my Dutch class). Basically, it’s up to the student to use the resources provided in order to pass. There are also no check-ups to make sure people are on the right track, such as weekly quizzes. I think this has to do with the fact that failing a class here isn’t uncommon, nor anything to be ashamed of. One of my (dutch) group mates for my machine learning class said that if they failed one of their courses, they could just make it up the next semester because they have time. Obviously people don’t want to fail, but it’s seen as normal and nothing to be worried about. If failing is normalized (and I’m guessing that professors aren’t held accountable for students failing), there isn’t the same incentive to make sure your students understand the material.
Along the same vein, professors here aren’t given the same level of respect as American professors. This is not to say that people don’t respect being a professor as a profession, but more that students treat them as a peer instructor. Because lectures aren’t mandatory, people also don’t pay attention when they don’t think the material will be useful on the test or just when they don’t want to. It’s extremely common to see people on their phones or doing things on their laptops in the middle of a lecture. Students will also leave whenever they want to. It was very odd going into my first lecture and seeing people just get up and leave halfway through.
All this is to say, there are positives and negatives to both experiences, and I am very glad that I get to live both. Being here has already given me a bit of a different perspective and I am grateful for it. I have some homework to do, that I am making myself do, so I will update again in a few weeks.
Dag!