I’ve studied at University College Roosevelt from 2014 until my graduation 2017. During my application the idea was thoroughly presented to us that in the liberal arts and sciences any idea or belief can be questioned and debated upon freely in class and that facts and hard knowledge was permitted to debate.
After two years of studying I had to come to the conclusion that was not true(anymore) except for one or two professors who permit it in class.
Culture
The culture at UCR is the most profound thing that I have an issue with. There is a promoted culture of left-liberal, leftwing, and cultural-Marxist oriented ideology. It basically means that positive aspects of Western and Dutch culture, free market capitalism, masculinity, conservative ideologies, growth, and stoicism are condemned as ‘hate speech’.
It makes it hard for people who have stronger beliefs in conservatism, patriotism, family, and freedom to come here and enjoy constructive debates or building a deeper understanding of the material unless one keeps his mouth shut and not dare to express their true feelings or beliefs in order to have a healthy discussion.
Quality of courses
The courses themselves vary greatly depending on the teachers. In my opinion most of the other professors are lacking factual information and present the courses in an unstructured way. I took classes in politics, sociology and psychology and was astounded by the incredible hateful resentment to western culture and in particular the United States of America in all of those cultures by the teachers. It is as if UCR selects these kind of teachers only. As long as students actively engage in class and are present during class hours it is not hard at all to fail a class unless you don’t do any of the work or show up.
Middelburg
Finally, living in Middelburg is a very special experience as it is a beautiful city in rural Netherlands where one has great access to beautiful nature for walks and cycling runs. In the summer the beaches are plenty and there are many fun and challenging jobs that a student can do (bartending in the trendy nightlife, harbor work in Vlissingen, or driving a cab driver). The nightlife itself is pretty awesome with many fancy bars and fun locals to interact with.
On the flipside, many students have a hard time engaging in the local life and rather stick to themselves in their public and private spaces with friends within UCR. They prefer to stay in their ‘bubble’ where the especially strong political ideologies rule and no intermingling with locals takes place who may have other opinions that they are not used to. Many students don’t interact with locals or attend local parties, events, or bars because they are too anxious to meet locals. I’ve seen so many students who over the entire 3 years of studying did not meet at least a single local at all and therefore have a sort of resentment against the inhabitants of Middelburg. Many inhabitants of Middelburg that I spoke to over three years that are aware of the UCR student’s attitude and find the UCR students snobbish and rude.
And don’t get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at UCR. I got the opportunity to develop my own ideas, meet some really cool people, had great experiences in History courses, felt in love, partied greatly, and have grown tremendously as a person. It’s just that I want to inform parents, students, and teachers about the climate here. If this is something you support than by all means do it. But If you have questions about it or are hesitant about the climate at UCR, then by all means please skip it as there are way less political colleges and universities in Europe.