There are several options for somewhere to live in while studying at Saxion. Kate is a student physiotherapy and has lived during the start of her studies in housing provided by Saxion.
Hey Kate, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Kate and I am 22 years old. I am a physiotherapy student and currently I am in the third year of my studies!
Wonderful! Could you tell us a little bit about living in the Saxion student housing?
In my first year of being in Enschede, I used to live in the Saxion housing. The housing was near Rutbeek which was about 20 minutes cycling away from Saxion. When I lived there, I lived with 18 different people. We all shared a big kitchen and living room area but only had to share the bathroom with one or two others. The experience I had of living here was really enjoyable. I found that I didn’t have to stress too much about my own housing situation and that I could place more focus on settling in and starting my studies. I also had the amazing opportunity of making new friends. The people I lived with were also first years so we were all in the same boat in a new place. I’m still in contact with a lot of them and loads of them became really close friends even after we left!
Whereabouts did you find this housing option?
I found this option on the Saxion website. I saw that I could apply for a spot in the student housing as a first year and decided to give it a shot. I didn’t know anybody living in the Netherlands at this time and because it was such a big step I felt that it was the best option for me. I submitted my application for a spot in the student housing sometime around April, about 5 months before my studies were starting, in order to give myself the best chance of getting a place.
Roughly how long did the application process take you and did you use any other resources in the mean time?
In my case, when I applied in April it took about a month or maybe less to get a response. Fortunately in my case I was successful! For other resources I didn’t really look around this early in the first year but once I came to the end of my time in the student housing I found myself using Facebook, other private landlords with available spots and also local housing agencies.
As an international student, did you find any difficulties during the process?
In my experience I found that applying for student housing through Saxion was really easy. As I mentioned above I know I am quite lucky to have got it because there are a lot of applicant. Naturally if you apply quicker than you have a better chance of landing a spot. Also, if you’re from a country outside of the EU you have priority to get it.
Have you got any final recommendations for international students?
The first recommendation I would have is to find someone in the Netherlands to view a place for you if you are not here yourself already to avoid scammers. Also, make sure you apply for student housing if possible. While it’s not guaranteed, I think you don’t have anything to lose by trying!
