My name is Arjun Alberts and I am currently studying Sports Management and Business in Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HVA). I have just started my second year of my course over the four years in total.
I firstly chose this course due to the fact that the sports business industry is rapidly booming hence why I felt that landing a job in the future in the sports industry would be very accessible after studying this course. Moreover, the sports management course in HVA gives you the opportunity to do two internships over the four years which excited me as I was looking to broaden and create my network in the sports industry before actually diving into it. Apart from my obvious interest and love for sports, I chose to come to Amsterdam firstly due to me being half dutch which made things slightly easier but also because the tuition fees being much lower than the UK, especially for an international student. This also results in saving your parents a lot of money. Besides, Amsterdam itself is such a diverse city which really attracted me to living in Amsterdam. Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English making your life a lot easier.
To apply for courses in the Netherlands, you will need to use Studielink which gives you access to all the different courses in the Netherlands. Requirements depend on what course you apply to but be prepared with at least a motivational letter and your grades to show, like any other uni. Moreover, most Universities in the Netherlands require you to sit for an entry exam regardless of whether your course is in Dutch or English.
One major key that boosts your motivational letter/personal statement is showcasing who you really are as an individual and supporting it with something you have achieved or experienced in the past. It doesn’t necessarily have to be winning the world cup, but universities like seeing your ability to express your qualities even if it’s from a small accomplishment, as long as you feel it has impacted you and there has been a change from then on. In my case, I used my story of having need to overcome a whole string of terrible injuries which inevitably ended my hopes of taking my football career to the next level. I showcased that regardless of what happened, I was able to be resilient and get back up on my feet to find new opportunities which, in fact, has turned out very well considering the current situation I am in.
Another important aspect of getting into my university was keeping close contact with my university which showed them I was interested and keen to study their course. Although my grades weren’t as good as they could have been, I feel me being open and showing my interest definitely played a role at making up for that.
In all, it is totally fine if you are lacking in your academics or are uncertain of which university suits you best in terms of living there or the course itself. The best advice I can give you is to carefully consider and question yourself on how studying in that specific university will benefit you in the next four to five years as after university, you are going to be thrown straight into the real world, and this time the real, real world.
My names Arjun Alberts, 19 years of age and I’m from Holland but I have lived most of my life in Malaysia. Quite frankly, I love living in Amsterdam and I couldn’t ask for anything better.