Every university in the Netherlands has a campus. However, the purposes of the campus vary. The campus of the University of Twente is the only one that offers student housing for students from all faculties. At University College Twente, the ATLAS community is central, and for that reason it is a residential college. And the ATLAS students cannot get enough of the great campus experiences. There are a couple of reasons why living on campus is preferred by the majority of the ATLAS community.
For all the prospective students out there, we as ATLAS students have all been in that period where you are right now. Busy choosing a bachelors programme, and thinking of all the other changes that come along with starting a bachelor at a university. You are moving out, and suddenly you have to do everything on your own. For some people this is all really exciting, for others there might arise some feelings of uncertainty. How do I organize my whole life when I am also new at this university? How do I juggle all the different balls of studying, socializing, extracurricular activities, and self-care at the same time? This can all seem quite overwhelming or difficult.
In ATLAS however, we make sure that first year students don’t have to go on this adventure of the next phase of your life on their own. First year ATLAS students live with other (first year) ATLAS students which enhances the community feeling.
First of all, ATLAS students are obviously all doing the same bachelor which is experienced to be really reassuring since it emphasizes the fact that they are not alone: they are all in the same boat. Living together with fellow peers is not only mentally comforting, but also really beneficial for the personal academic development. Not only because they understand the content of each other’s academic challenges better, but also because ATLAS students can always reach out for help in the community. The different types of help people ask for are in quite a big range. For example, someone asks for extra explanations for theorems of calculus because they are struggling, or someone needs a pep talk from an experienced second year student who had the same difficulties last year. Another student is needs inspiration for a cheap but delicious recipe for dinner.
Besides study related activities, there are undoubtedly also a lot of fun activities going on within the community to make your time at university even better, like having communal dinners with your house, and celebrating Sinterklaas with your do-group from the introduction period. There is one Dutch word that cannot be translated well, but is commonly used to describe the community. Therefore, it is great ending to this article to state:
University College Twente offers a unique bachelor’s programme, Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences, to top students. Visit the University College Twente website for more information about the college and Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences website for more information about the bachelor program. Or visit us during the open day, a student-for-a-day or an insight-day.
