r/AskEurope • u/amfoolishness France • 6d ago
Education What european country has the best higher education system for neurodivergents?
I guess you can already answer without reading, I'd rather get your first answers than none at all because you decided it was too long to read ^^' but if you care to, let me explain: I live in France, I'm not French.
TLDR; How are the education systems and culture different? in terms of flexibility, assessment, pedagogy & interactiveness, counselling...
I came to study: I finished my bachelor's in France, completed a Master's program but because of a very shitty internship and tutors, I didn't get my Master's diploma, so I haven't been able to work in that field. I'd like to validate that diploma. However, my experience with French uni (and workplace to be honest) has been... a bit traumatic, it really took a toll on me. Might be culture shock, idk. Very traditional, hierarchical, square... Last year I realized a lot of my difficulties came from actually having ADD, so those 3 adjectives are particularly difficult for me to fit into. I am currently medicated so I have gotten better about things, strategies and stuff, but I don't see myself going back to French uni, going through their crappy pedagogy (lectures, lack of participation... - sorry, i work in uni too now, i see it first hand).
I was wondering about studying somewhere else in the EU, ideally an English course I guess, (I do like learning languages, I speak 3 and am learning a 4th, I just don't know if I'd get to another academic fluency - already in French people say I write the way I speak and while it's correct I indeed am not great with formal syntax). How are the education systems and culture different? Example the Dutch have good studying opportunities but I heard they can be very brutal with feedback. The Germans... scare me a bit? x) with their deal with punctuality and such I'm worried they can also be rigid... Sorry for these examples, I admit I don't know that much about them so it's just impressions and worries that maybe you can help dispel :)
Sorry for the long context question. Thanks for reading.
(optional reading) As a tangent : I have a temporary visa, I hope to get citizenship in like 3-4 years. (Been living here for 11, 6 of which as a student, the rest as a partner, only been married for 2, need to be married for 4-5 to ask for nationality that way, so I'm waiting) My question on this tangent, just in case anyone knows, is if I study somewhere else in Europe, will my visa status allow me to benefit from european uni fees and not be labeled non-EU therefore paying thousands? Or am I right in waiting until I have citizenship.
34
u/Ok_Necessary_8923 6d ago edited 5d ago
Honestly, you are just describing the ADHD experience with academia / universities in general. If you find the French experience a bit much... the Dutch and the Germans aren't going to be any more forgiving. Both are very rigid, in the box cultures in my experience (have lived in NL, have had a good number of friends living in or from DE over the years).
If you move out, you'll likely no longer be able to count that time for citizenship. I'm not familiar with the French naturalization rules, but that's usually how it works. Or there is a de facto max time out of the country before it counts against you, etc. It really depends.
Can't say on the EU/non-EU fees. If your residency is through your partner and are considered an ordinary resident, then maybe. That is certainly the case in Spain with many things, it's resident vs non-resident, as opposed to citizen vs non-citizen, but you'd have to check the specific university/country/residency arrangement.
I'd sit tight if I were you. Do an online program if you want exposure to somewhere else, or a summer program within whatever residency limits won't affect your naturalization application. Get your EU citizenship. Then consider other plans.