{"id":94711,"date":"2019-02-06T10:18:38","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T09:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=94711"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:12","slug":"first-year-student-julia-you-could-see-the-lecture-hall-get-emptier-every-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/02\/06\/first-year-student-julia-you-could-see-the-lecture-hall-get-emptier-every-week\/","title":{"rendered":"First-year student Julia: \u2018You could see the lecture hall get emptier every week\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

She\u2019s certain. This is what she wants to do, says Julia Federowicz resolutely. So she had to stop at the end of January, because it wasn\u2019t likely Julia would succeed in getting all her credits. \u201cOtherwise I wouldn\u2019t be able to study Law at EUR for three years, and that\u2019s really what I want to do.\u201d Now she\u2019ll be allowed to start again in September. \u201cYou\u2019d see the Law programme lecture hall get emptier every week. A lot of students drop out before 1 February.\u201d Anyone who doesn\u2019t like their programme or is afraid they might not pass this year can withdraw before this date without having to repay their student finance or their student public transport pass.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTessa Hofland<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

As we walk to the bus, Julia adjusts her backpack, tightening the straps. \u201cAt the start of the academic year I always carried a nice handbag and an extra fabric bag for all the heavy textbooks and law volumes. That wasn\u2019t very practical, so I asked for a sturdy, handy backpack for Christmas.\u201d After a short bus trip we transfer to the underground in Schiedam heading towards Kralingse Zoom. Julia eagerly anticipates the new metro line that will connect Rotterdam with Hoek van Holland, but the Hoekse Lijn route is facing mounting delays. \u201cThen I would be able to board here and get off just around the corner from the campus. Do some reading and eat breakfast without having to rush or transfer to another line. Perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Someone in this programme should work no more than one day a week, and then preferably at the weekend\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

But that\u2019s not a journey she\u2019ll be taking in the next half-year, because Julia is no longer subject to mandatory attendance for the Law programme. At least not until September, when she will start her studies a second time. Why is she restarting her studies? Her study advisor offers some insight: Julia works quite a lot for someone enrolled in a full-time programme. She works twenty hours a week at FloraHolland in Naaldwijk, and she tutors for four hours a week. \u201cThe study advisor said it was just too much. Someone in this programme should work no more than one day a week, and then preferably at the weekend.\u201d Actually, Julia was determined to do whatever it took to pass this year, until a friend told her about the stricter rules applied to the compensation scheme: you\u2019re no longer permitted to compensate for an unsatisfactory grade if it\u2019s lower than a 5.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTessa Hofland<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Hoek van Holland<\/h2>

There\u2019s no doubt that Julia is disappointed. \u201cBut I\u2019m also aware that I\u2019m not the only one stopping now to try again in the next academic year. A lot of people I know have done the same thing, and in a way that makes me feel more optimistic.\u201d She has her parents\u2019 support, and Julia is very grateful for this. She plans to spend the remainder of this academic year mostly working. \u201cThat way, I won\u2019t have to work during the next academic year \u2013 and hopefully for part of my second year as well \u2013 and I\u2019ll be able to completely focus on my studies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t