Senior Max Nye will go to university overseas. Nye will go to university in Europe, specifically the Netherlands, a decision made a relatively long time ago.

“I think it was maybe two years ago, when I even realized it was an option. My mom brought up the idea. And then we went over for a trip. And one of my family members who had just graduated was telling me that I should. And so the more I thought about it, the more appealing it seemed to me, and then I finally decided that’s what I was going to do,” Nye said.

Nye was born in the Netherlands and has always loved the country, but his love has been growing over the years, something that strengthened his view on his decision.

“I moved when I was really young, and then we tried to go back almost every year.  The more I grew up, the more I realized there was to do, and just the more appealing it became overall and the more I learned Dutch, too,” Nye said.

The plane ride to the Netherlands is about 6 hours, and the time difference is 6 hours as well. Being so far from home could be daunting for some students currently applying. Nye explained that he was comfortable being so far away from home for a long period of time.

“I was born there, and I have a lot of family there, so I have a lot of people I could turn to. It also helps that I do speak a little bit of Dutch,” Nye said.

As many people know, the deadlines are just about over for students applying to schools in America. But for schools in the Netherlands, the deadlines are different.

“You don’t apply until January or so for some programs, and the other ones you don’t apply until about March,” Nye said.

Nye mentions how there’s also a difference in how competitive schools are overall, and how hard it is to get in for international students.

“For some programs, there’s only a certain amount of people they can let in. And so you have to take an exam for the course you want to take. But for others, you don’t need to take a course and they let you in as long as you meet all the requirements, which if you’re applying from the US are to take a bunch of AP classes and get at least a three on the exam,” Nye said.

In addition, Nye discusses how the Netherlands colleges application itself is a smaller burden compared to American colleges.

“You don’t need a college essay like you have here. But you need what’s called a motivation letter to say why you want to pursue the program you’re applying for. For the programs that are already full of students, you would need extracurriculars.

Nye is applying to two schools, one near Amsterdam called Delft, and one further up north called Groningen.

In the Netherlands, you have to choose what you will study before you attend school. Nye expressed his love for science and went on to talk about how he wished to pursue something similar.

“My main goal is to study biomedical engineering. And to get to that I’ll need to take a different science course. So for Delft, I’m thinking I will take nano biology first, and then get my Master’s in biomedical engineering,” Nye said.

His experience while at the school will be slightly different than what he would experience in America too.

“They have a lot of social clubs, they’re called. A lot of them are for sports, so you can join a social club for soccer or any other sports. And then there’s some for hiking or traveling,” Nye said. “It’s also three years to get your bachelor’s degree. And then five years In total for your masters.”

Nye will be in the Netherlands for at least five years, but he discusses what he may do after he graduates.

It’s hard to tell now. I would have to see after actually living there since I haven’t really lived there since I was a couple of months old. As of now, I don’t see why I wouldn’t stay,” Nye said.

Although Nye doesn’t know what he will choose to do in the distant future, he expressed how he remains excited and optimistic about what’s to come.

“I think it will be a good experience for me, and it’s something I’ve been excited about for a while.”