Former RSC president wrote a book about his student days: ‘Only afterwards I realised what aridiculous time it was’

After seven years in Rotterdam, three degrees and a year as president of RSC/RVSV, former student Guido van Winden has pretty much conquered student life in Rotterdam. He has written the book De Studentenbijbel, containing seventy tips in which he shares the knowledge he has gained. How do you get the most out of your student days?

Why did you write this book?
“The longer I had been done with my studies, the more Irealised what a ridiculous period your student time actually is. And it is a phaseyou are hardly prepared for at all. After secondary school, you are releasedinto the wider world and have to figure it out for yourself. I found itvery interesting to write a book about that. What can you expect during yourstudent days, and what opportunities will present themselves?”

What makes you such an expert on student life?
“I think I made a fairly thorough effort in all areas of student life. I studied in Rotterdam for seven years,completed a bachelor’s in International Business Administration and Tax Law andobtained a master’s in Finance & Investment. I served on all kinds ofcommittees and spent a year on the board of RSC/RVSV (the biggest student society in Rotterdam, eds.). I wrote analmanac… Actually, I never completely left student life behind, because if you walk into my shared flat in Amsterdam, it could easily be an RSC house.

“Besides drawing on my own experiences, I also looked for scientific explanations for a number of social phenomena in student life. For example, I write about pluralistic ignorance, a term from research by American scientists Prentice and Miller. They saw that an enormous amount of drinking was taking place on their campus. When they spoke to students individually, it turned out that almost all of them thought they were the only ones who did not really want to drink that much alcohol. But they all conformed to a norm that they were collectively keeping in place. You see that kind of thing in student societies too.”

What is the best thing about your student days?
“That the world is your oyster. You have the freedom to develop yourself in so many different areas. Your degree, minors, internships, exchanges, part-time jobs, committees or a board year. One moment you are battling away in the university library for an exam, and the next you are organising a festival weekend for 400 people. But socially too: you develop enormously when you live away from home or have to work intensively with a study group.”

Are there difficult aspects to student life too?
“The pressure to perform. Especially in Rotterdam, where you have to earn 60 credits in your first year. Students start internships sooner, enter the workforce sooner and start taking things seriously sooner. On the one hand, that is a good thing: it prompted me to do a second bachelor’s. But it is also important to keep questioning yourself. Do you actually enjoy what you are doing? Is there another degree or placement that might suit you better? Give yourself the space to keep looking around you. And do not simply run with the crowd in search of the next prestigious internship to add to your resume.”

Which tips from your book should prospective students definitely follow?
“First of all: relax, because you are going to make amess of things anyway. A lot will go wrong during your student days. You mightas well make the best of it. Also: join a student organisation! It really does not haveto be the student corps or a student society. Rotterdam has more than a hundredsocieties for sport, culture, study and more… It is important to find like-minded people with whom you can discover the city, party, study and also fall flat on your face. And finally: do not live in Kralingen, because that’s not the place to be.”