Being a student is sometimes not as easy as it may seem to be. And let’s be honest, sometimes it sucks. Since I have moved to Groningen for my studies, I’ve received many questions regarding this topic. The most frequent question was, why I chose to pursue a bachelors degree abroad. Usually, a very interesting debate followed, from which I collected a few most used phrases. Those made me wonder if a school is really worth something. Let’s go step-by-step…

“School doesn’t teach me anything!”
If I got a euro every time I heard this statement, I’d probably have a very nice amount of money on my account. But you know what? I don’t believe you! You can learn from everything. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about a primary, a secondary school, or a university. Maybe they won’t help you solve mysteries of the universe, but at least you’ll become more responsible. Trust me, just the fact that you’re trying to pass, which is especially important during the first year of studies at Dutch universities, will help you realise that if you want to reach your goal, you need to do something for that. If nothing else, at least work on your time management. Time is very precious and that’s why it’s important to know how to distribute it. Dedicate part of the day to work, part to relax and part to have fun. You’ll definitely be thankful for this lesson later on in your life.

“School doesn’t give me anything!”
One of the major things I have learnt abroad is that it’s not about what school can give to you, but what YOU can give to the school. Sounds weird, right? Schools love interesting, innovative, and creative solutions. If there is a problem, it definitely has a solution. You need to browse through websites and look for different projects and extracurricular activities you could be a part of. There are also many student associations or program committees, for example within NEXUS or ELSA Groningen, you could be interested in. However, it’s very unusual that both the school and the association themselves would ask you to cooperate (as long as you’re not one of those extraordinary students). If you want a change, find the way to be part of the transformation.

“School is impractical!”
This is another phrase often used to support the thought that school sucks. Everyone would like to become a CEO right after school and earn a crazy amount of money. Though, it’s not that easy. It’s true that it’s a big benefit when you have any experience. However, it doesn’t mean that the school is completely irrelevant. The school should provide you with all the theory you can later use in practice. No one said that you can’t gain any practical experience during school. That’s why we have internships or part-time jobs. It probably won’t make you a CEO, but at least you can be sure that you’ll get a much better position than when you’d do nothing besides the school.

Many schools also use a so-called DIY System and so does the University of Groningen. Almost every subject is structured the way that you have lectures first followed by the working groups. The lectures give you the guidance and then let you choose your way of applying it. Sometimes you really need to be like Sherlock Holmes. Why? For example, we were supposed to write a research paper for European Law and with every paper, we were assigned a different position (Advocate General, Judge etc.). Maybe it seems easy because we’ve read hundreds of pages of that. But the opposite is true. Even though teachers will help you understand part of the problem, the entire analysis and structure are up to you and only you. And that’s where the struggle begins. However, I have to say that such an approach is also very helpful. You’ll learn how to work with the information and how to select the ones that are important. This will definitely make a much better impression on your future employer.

Maybe we should blame school less and look at it from a different point of view. Think of what YOU can do for the school and for YOURSELF. The school is not here to teach you everything and to hold your hand your whole life. It is here to show you different ways and to open your eyes. But if you still feel that your school sucks, maybe it’s time to think about change (you shouldn’t stay at the place, which slowly destroys you).

- Sara Turkova, Slovakia, International and European Law LLB student