What does studying cost? Many students don't know. Or they think it is unaffordable for them, while they are entitled to extra funding. That is why Erasmus University Rotterdam, together with Foundation to Support Rotterdam Talents (STORT), has developed a tool: www.watkoststuderen.nl. All students in the Netherlands who want to study at a college or university can use it to create their own budget that provides insight into what studying costs and the possibilities of financing a study.
"Many students have no idea what studying really costs," says Rowan Huijgen, Transfer Coordinator at Erasmus University Rotterdam. "They don't know where to find the information and the information they find is often not clear enough." Moreover, a quarter of students who are entitled to a supplementary grant turn out not to use it. This makes their student debt unnecessarily high, even though many students already have a “fear to borrow".
More expenses than just tuition fees
For many students, it is also difficult to imagine how much money you really spend during your studies, if you have to include, for instance, travel expenses or costs for study materials. In the video below, passers-by in Rotterdam Zuidplein shopping centre and students and teachers at Rotterdam's Hugo de Groot secondary school talk about their doubts about the affordability of studying:
Going through the tool therefore involves the following questions.
- What does studying cost?
- What options do I have to pay for my studies?
- What does my own budget look like?
- How do loans and repayments work?
"With a good plan, studying is possible"
"If students make a conscious plan in advance, they start their studies much more confidently," says Jorian Waleson, coordinator of study information at Erasmus University Rotterdam. "The beauty of this is that people who thought 'studying is not for me' can discover with this tool that with a good plan it is possible." Reactions from secondary schools are also positive. "This is kind of what I was waiting for as a mentor, because it gives students insight into what their expenses are," says Marc van Osch, a teacher at OSG Hugo de Groot.
The tool can be filled in individually by pupils and parents/carers or used in class during lessons.
Would you also like to get started with the tool? Take a look at eur.nl/watkoststuderen