How do these new students experience their first year? Part 2: the first bits are done

Siri (25, master design for interaction)

“This is the right place for me, I truly enjoy my master programme. While I am studying, the thought continually recurs: this topic is really interesting! I am not just learning to pass my exam. The program is very autonomous, they simply say: do what you want to do, research what interests you, learn what you want to learn. That suits me just fine. A bachelor programme is much stricter.

I had worked for a while as a UX designer. This work experience is coming in really useful now, it helps me to determine better what is relevant for me. The only aspect of working life that I miss is being able to turn it off after 8 hours of work to enjoy my free time. When you are studying, work and life are far more intertwined. But it’s only for two years, so I’m giving it my all.

In three weeks’ time I’m off to Norway for the holidays, where I grew up. Lots of skiing and petting the family dog… I’m looking forward to being briefly at home again. I’ll return just at the start of the semester. And then I’ll continue looking for a new place to stay. It takes so much energy to do that alongside my study programme. Hopefully, in January a lot of new flats will become available. Until then, my boyfriend will be coming to visit me almost every weekend from Kortrijk, Belgium.

I’m having lunch every other week with people I met during the IP lunch. Next week I am hosting a Sinterklaas evening for them. I’m preparing a PowerPoint presentation of the history of the tradition, we’ll put out a shoe, and there’ll be pepernoten and chocolate letters.”

IJsbrand (17, bachelor molecular science and technology)

“I’m about to get in the bus going to the rehearsal weekend for Krashna Musika. We’ll stay in a house for a couple of days and just rehearse. I’m in the choir, and we rehearse every Wednesday evening. That fits in well with my schedule: I attend a lecture in Delft on that day. You see, my study programme is partly in Delft and partly in Leiden.

I already know that I shall be choosing the applied specialisation at TU Delft. A week ago I heard that I have a room in Delft, a friend of mine found a house through contacts, right near the train station, and asked if I would like to share.

Currently, it takes me 1 and 3/4 hours to travel to Delft, while Leiden is half an hour less. Getting up so early was occasionally a challenge, especially when there were train delays and strikes. Now I’ll have a chance to go to the drinks evenings and parties at Krashna Musika. I haven’t been able to go so far because the last train home leaves before 11 pm.

I’m also a member of the Freshers Committee of my study association. We organise an event quarterly. The first event was a lunch after an exam. For the second quarter we are still deciding what to do.”

Aqdas (22, master civil engineering)

“I’m doing really well. My studies are going better than I expected. The assessment procedure is very different here than I was used to in India. The focus of the exams here is not to just memorise stuff, but to make you think and apply certain concepts. That’s been a really exciting way of learning, and one that fits me better.

I joined the Muslim Student Association. They have weekly prayers on Friday which I have volunteered to lead. I also joined U-Base, which is the student association for my master track of structural engineering. I’m part of the education committee, for which we hope to evaluate all courses offered in the track.

In between I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to learn Dutch, which I really want do by the end of the two years that I’m here. Everybody here knows how to speak English, that makes it harder to learn Dutch.

Initially, I was dreading having to cook, but now I’m doing it at least twice a week. It is a way to stop thinking about anything for a moment. I though I would cook more non-Indian food, but it turns out I feel comfortable making the dishes I know. If something goes wrong, I can just call my mom.”

Dorsa (19, bachelor computer science and engineering)

“For me, the first quarter was quite difficult. I suffered from imposter syndrome. I felt that I didn’t belong here, that everyone else was much smarter than me. But I am aware that the feeling is not true. As long as you work hard, you deserve to be at the university, you just need to keep at it.

I know that I have definitely passed two of my three subjects. The third subject was much more intensive than I expected, I don’t think I passed that one. It was very intensive, but I am happy and proud of myself. Because it is really a different universe at university: the environment is different, the tempo is different.

If the trains aren’t running, I sometimes think, “If only I had a student room!”, but I do not regret living at home. It’s only half an hour with the train, some people come from much further away. At some point I do want to move out and learn to live independently, but that does not have to be as soon as possible. Nor have I joined  a society. I have my own hobbies: I read a lot, play guitar. That is the way I destress.

This year I want to focus on getting a positive binding study advice. I consider this a me-year, I’m in a relationship with my study programme. Once I have that positive binding study advice, things are going to change around here!”