A study by the Mobile Bank N26 has revealed that for all our complaining, the Netherlands is actually a very safe, privileged place to study and live.
Mobile Bank’s research intended to unveil the cost of studying at 50 different universities, the cost of living in 100 different cities worldwide, and the future salaries of the university’s graduates.
That way, students can figure out where they get a greater value for their money across different countries before committing to a university. Phew!
Where does the Netherlands stand?
Despite its recent crowning as Europe’s most expensive city, the city of Amsterdam managed to rank third, following Prague and Tokyo when it comes to the cost of living and livability:
| City | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Prague | 100.00 |
| 2. Tokyo | 96.20 |
| 3. Amsterdam | 96.19 |
| 4. Madrid | 95.08 |
| 5. Reykjavik | 94.88 |
| 6. Berlin | 94.72 |
| 7. Edinburgh | 93.61 |
| 8. Tallinn | 93.60 |
| 9. Vienna | 93.43 |
| 10. Copenhagen | 92.84 |
What do cost of living and livability mean exactly? Well, N26 took into account the prices of student accommodation, student catering, along with the nightlife and smart mobility (or public transport) of each city to determine these results.
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And while the Hague might not feel like the best place to walk around alone at night, the city did rank 10th in terms of student safety:
| City | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Reykjavik | 100.00 |
| 2. Singapore | 98.20 |
| 3. Helsinki | 97.10 |
| 4. Dubai | 96.70 |
| 5. Tallinn | 96.50 |
| 6. Copenhagen | 94.20 |
| 7. Oslo | 91.90 |
| 8. Zurich | 91.70 |
| 9. Vilnius | 90.80 |
| 10. The Hague | 90.50 |
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Not only that but the Netherlands as a whole ranked 8th for its “Top Universities Score” — in other words, the overall quality of the country’s higher education.
The countries with the highest costs for one year of university started off with the USA at the top (no surprises there), and saw the Netherlands occupy the 28th position.
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How were these rankings measured, you might ask? The 50 countries selected were all famous for having “good universities”, and the degree subjects chosen for examination in the data were medicine, nursing, law, civil engineering, software development, and teaching.
Do these findings reflect your experiences studying in the Netherlands? Share your thoughts in the comments below!