Erasmus Rotterdam / Essays / Prompt 2
Erasmus Rotterdam: EUC Q2: Why EUC
counts toward the ~600-word total; English; provided template
I want to study Liberal Arts and Sciences at EUC because I am looking for a program that is broad on purpose and still rigorous, and the structure here matches that better than the single-subject degrees I considered in the US and UK. I have read through the EUC course offerings, and the combination of a major I assemble myself with required academic core courses and a capstone is exactly the scaffolding I need; I want freedom, but I know I work best with some structure around it. The small cohort and seminar format also matter to me. I learn most when I have to defend an idea out loud and revise it in front of people, which a 300-person lecture does not allow. Living and studying on one international campus in Rotterdam appeals to me too, not as a postcard, but because I want to be somewhere applied and unpretentious where students are expected to do things, not just discuss them. I am not coming to EUC to avoid choosing. I am coming because I want to choose deliberately, across fields, with people who will push back.
Why do you want to study Liberal Arts and Sciences at EUC specifically? They are testing whether you understand and genuinely want this program, not just any degree abroad.
This is the heart of matching. EUC wants students whose expectations fit what the program actually is. Showing you understand the self-built major, the academic core, the seminar size, and the Rotterdam setting proves the fit is real and you will not transfer out.
Name a specific structural feature of EUC (self-built major, academic core, capstone, seminar size) and why it suits how you work.
Contrast it honestly with the single-subject path you are turning down.
Explain what the Rotterdam and one-campus setting gives you, concretely, not as scenery.
“EUC is a prestigious, world-class institution with an international environment that perfectly fits my goals.”
“I want a program that is broad on purpose and still rigorous, and the structure here matches that better than the single-subject degrees I considered.”
- 1States fit immediately and shows the applicant did comparative homework. Naming the alternatives (US/UK single-subject degrees) makes the choice of EUC feel deliberate, which the prompt explicitly rewards.
- 2References specific, real program features (self-assembled major, academic core, capstone) to prove genuine research. Tying them to a self-aware need for structure shows fit grounded in how the applicant actually learns.
- 3Pivots cleanly to a second concrete EUC feature, signposting that the fit argument is built on more than one element of the program.
- 4Connects the seminar format to a personal learning style with a vivid contrast. This is specific fit, not a compliment any school could receive.
- 5Pre-empts the cliche of praising the city, then redirects to a substantive reason (applied, hands-on culture). The self-aware 'not as a postcard' keeps the tone honest and plain.
- 6Reframes the common worry about liberal arts (that it is indecisive) into a statement of intent. Ending on 'people who will push back' echoes the seminar-driven culture and lands the fit argument cleanly.
- Which single-subject degree did you almost apply to, and why is EUC's model better for you?
- Which exact EUC feature (self-built major, core, capstone, seminar size) fits how you actually learn?
- What does being in Rotterdam, on one campus, give you that another city would not?
- I named concrete EUC features, not generic 'international' praise.
- I explained fit through how I work, not through prestige.
- I addressed the location without writing a travel brochure.
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