Open Day: 'What's the right degree programme for me?'
Leiden's city centre, bathed in autumn sunshine and teeming with visitors. On 14 October, several thousands of students and their parents came to visit the University's Open Day. We spoke to a number of students at the information fair in the Pieterskerk; each of them had their own questions, doubts and considerations.
Max (16), 5 WO, from Delft
‘Today I'm exploring a wide range of options. The programmes I want to visit are Medicine, Criminology, Psychology and Astronomy. It's great that you can find out about a lot of different programmes all on one day. I'm just going to see what the day brings. The first thing that strikes me is that Leiden is a lovely city.'
Eva (16), 5 VWO, from Rijswijk
‘I want to take a look at a lot of different programmes today. I'm taking Philosophy already at school and I really like it, but I'm not sure I want that as my main subject; maybe I could do it as a minor. I've just been to the Political Science presentation; it was more interesting than I expected, particularly the international part. I'm thinking I may well want to go abroad later, so that would be a good combination. Deciding to study in Leiden was easy: my brother and sister are already students here, and I hear a lot of good things about Leiden.'
Dex (17), 6 VWO, from Hoorn
‘Luckily I already know more or less what I want to do next year. It will be something technical, but I'm torn between Molecular Science & Technology, Computer Science and Physics. I'm better at Chemistry and Physics, but I have a clearer idea of what Computer Science involves. I also want to take a look at Delft, but that's not so convenient for me in terms of travel. I've heard that in Leiden works together on technical subjects with other universities, so that could be a good solution.'
Lori (15), 6 VWO, from Nijmegen
‘I've been thinking for some time that Criminology or Law would be good to study, and both programmes in Leiden have a good reputation. Last time, I didn't manage to reach a decision, so I'm trying to explore broader options. That's why I'm looking at programmes like Security Studies and Linguistics today. I think it's great that you get the chance to talk to students of these programms. At the moment, I like Security Studies. It's a bit like Law and Criminology, but you focus more on how to resolve issues.'
Sam (18), gap year, from Voorschoten
‘Last year, when I passed my exams, I didn't really know what I wanted to study. I wasn't really ready for university. Now I'm interested in the academic teacher training programme. I think it gives you more options than with a standard teacher training programme. I also think it suits me better than Education and Child Studies, mainly because I want to do something practical during my studies. I imagine the content of programmes is more or less the same everywhere so I haven't really looked at other universities. Leiden is the easiest option for me because of the travel time.'
Nadine (15), 4 VWO, from Zoetermeer
‘Actually, I'm interested in everything, so I'm here to get an idea of what all the possibilities are. I'm looking for something technical because then you can do some practical problem-solving, but right now I'm just exploring the options generally. I think Leiden is a really beautiful city and there's more than enough choice.'
