'A challenging, but interesting programme'
Marleen van Kalmthout, student Econometrics
'When I finished high school, I knew I wanted to study something involving mathematics, but less abstract than a full education in mathematics. I still wanted to see a connection with the “real world”.
A teacher recommended Econometrics and to this day, I’m very glad he did. I started the Master's this year. I think it’s one of the most exhausting programmes (my friends studying something else don’t have such a busy programme as I do), but it is also really interesting. During the courses, you not only learn a lot about econometrics skills, but there is also a lot of behavioural economics, which I find very interesting.
But the part I like most about the Master's is that due to its intensity, you get really connected with your fellow students. We have to do a lot of assignments and almost every day we gather in the canteen to work on them together. And believe me, after a full-time week of studying, drinking a nice cold beer with all the people you’ve worked with non-stop feels so much better than after a week of sleeping!
Since there are only few people studying Econometrics, we also have good contact with our lecturers. They are very motivated to teach us everything and they know us all by name, so for help or questions with your assignments, you can always drop by. When I finish my Master's this year, I’m planning to apply for a job as a strategy consultant. The financial world is not really my thing, and the analytical project work in teams you get working as a consultant really appeals to me. But first, I’m going to pack my bag, take a plane and travel through South America for a while.'