Background

Hello, my name is Armita! I’m from Romania, but I have both Iranian and Romanian citizenship. I finished high school in 2024, took a gap year, and I’ll start my first year of college in 2025! I applied to three Dutch universities and got into all of them, but ultimately, I will attend the University of Groningen, following a Bachelor in Arts, Culture and Media. This is my journey!

Extracurriculars

I attended "Alexandru Vlahuță" Theoretical High School in Bucharest, following a humanities track, which deeply supported my interests in civil rights, education, politics, and social services. High school was unique for me due to the pandemic because my first year was fully online, and my second year hybrid. However, despite the limited extracurricular opportunities, I remained active from home.

Founding a Book Club and MUNs

I joined the school’s newspaper, writing articles remotely, which supported my passion for writing. Later, I co-founded a Book Club that focused on exploring various genres, especially classics. I also became active in Model United Nations conferences, where I participated, chaired, and received multiple awards, including Best Delegate and Best Advocate.

Volunteering

My volunteering experience spans education and community support, especially for children. In July–August 2022, I volunteered at a summer school for Ukrainian refugees. I taught Romanian, assisted teachers, played with the children, and supervised them during a 5-day field trip. That same year, I involved my Book Club in a charity book sale. I coordinated volunteers, managed a stand of over 100 books, and spent five days on-site. I also reached out to bookstores for donations, and we secured 20 children’s books from an antique bookstore, and all sold successfully! The proceeds supported a student in need of a prosthetic arm.

I also volunteered in schools, teaching children about climate change and assisting with homework. In addition, I contributed internationally: in Karaj, Iran, I taught English to underprivileged preschoolers and volunteered at an elder daycare center, where I spent time with the elderly and filmed an educational awareness video in English for their YouTube channel.

I think these experiences really shaped my commitment to social impact, education, and advocating for them, especially for children and marginalised communities. 

RSL Founding

When I got to 11th grade, I realised I wanted to do more than just volunteering. But my high school was tiny, as there were more middle schoolers than high schoolers, and few activities were available. I’m a very active person, so I had to improvise, and I began joining clubs from other schools, like the LAZAR language club, where I studied Spanish every Monday after school. That experience opened my eyes to the possibilities I could create within my own school.

So I began reaching out to the principal, vice principal, and teachers, and with their support, I founded the first Romanian Sign Language (RSL) club. It was open to students, teachers, and staff, free of charge, and promoted the learning and use of sign language. The goal was not just to teach signs but to raise awareness about the lack of accessibility and interpreters for Deaf Romanians. Our aim was to get students to a beginner level of RSL so that they could communicate a bit and make a bridge between communities. 

Before proposing the idea, I researched thoroughly. I already knew some American Sign Language and wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before. While LAZAR covered spoken languages, I thought: what if we focused on sign language and made it Romanian? I discovered a university professor in Bucharest, Florica Iuhas, who teaches RSL. I reached out to her, explained my idea, and she kindly agreed to help. With the school’s approval, we launched the club in my senior year.

It was more successful than I could’ve imagined. Students from every grade joined, and even teachers participated.

The club became more than just a language course. We learned about Deaf culture, community issues, and accessibility. Our initiative was recognized by members of the Deaf community, especially through online support, and even received national media coverage on Edupedu, an online Romanian publication which promotes education.

What began as an idea turned into something truly meaningful and I’m so proud of what we built!

My Passion for Films

However, when I look back on my childhood, my first true passion was filmmaking. The moment I was handed a device with a camera, I began creating stop-motion videos with dolls and directing homemade films with friends. My idea of a fun playdate with my friends was shooting short movies: I’d hold up a mini iPad and say things like, “Okay, now you say this,” while guiding them through scenes. I loved every part of the process: directing, editing, storytelling. It was more than a hobby, it was how I expressed myself, and I cannot see a future in which I don’t create inspiring movies.

As I grew older, this passion evolved into something more serious. I started submitting my work to short film contests. In 2023, I made a short film in Iran that was selected by the Persian Educational Film Festival in London, placing in the top 100 out of 2,100 entries! Though it didn’t win, it marked an important milestone for me.

Later that year, I participated in a national video contest organised by the U.S. Embassy in Romania, titled “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.” I earned 3rd place, representing my high school.

Filmmaking has always been a way for me to combine creativity with meaning by telling stories that matter and raising awareness about the topics that I present. Right now, I’m working on another short film.

Learning Languages

Learning languages is another one of my passions. Alongside film, languages have always been one of my biggest passions. I started learning German when I was 9, and since then it’s just grown.

I speak Romanian and English fluently. My parents are Iranian, so we speak Farsi at home (that’s another language I’m fluent in). Then there’s German, which I also speak fluently. I am at an elementary level in Spanish and Romanian Sign Language. As for Korean, I started learning it when I was 13, and I’ve been at it for about six years now. I took lessons with different teachers, but mostly through a Korean language institute which is actually funded by the Korean government. It's kind of like the Korean version of the British Council or Cambridge, but for Korean. They have an 8-level structure, and I recently completed Level 7. I’m not fluent yet, but I’m conversational and can hold discussions comfortably. I’d say fluency will take a few more years of practice.

Since my university allows a semester abroad, I’m planning to do my semester abroad in Korea, possibly at Yonsei University! That’s one of the options I’m seriously considering! It’s known to be academically challenging, so I’ll have to think about that, but it would be a dream opportunity.

Tips for Language Learning 

Try to incorporate the language into your daily life. Don’t make it a separate task, make it part of your routine. Listen to music in that language, play podcasts in the background, and watch shows in it. One trick I use: if you’re watching a show in a language you already speak, put the subtitles in the language you’re learning and you’ll subconsciously absorb structure and vocabulary.

But honestly, the best advice ever is to speak to native speakers and make mistakes. You won’t learn if you’re afraid of messing up. Some people might laugh, but they’re not worth your energy. Language learning doesn’t go well with anxiety, and I learnt that people who are too scared to speak usually advance the least.

With German, it was easier because I studied bilingually in high school and even went to German camp. But with Korean, it's harder to meet native speakers in Romania. So, whenever I travelled and heard someone speaking Korean, I’d just go up to them. I'd say something simple like, “Hi, I’m learning Korean and I’d love to practice.” They were always surprised, but appreciated it. Maybe it seems weird, but the intention is clear, and they get it. It always turned out to be a great moment!

Why I Took a Gap Year

The reason I took a gap year was because, at the end of my senior year, I was going through a lot personally and wasn’t sure what I truly wanted to pursue further. I had many interests, but I was mentally exhausted and confused. At first, I planned to study law in Romania, but the admissions exam is extremely rigorous and requires months of preparation. I didn’t have enough time, so I took a gap year to study and prepare. I began private lessons.

During that time, I went on a short two-week trip back to Iran to visit family. While there, I planned to make a short film about my cousin’s immigration to Romania which was a very personal topic for me. The year before, I had made a film in Iran that was selected by a film festival in London, and I loved the process. While filming again, I realized how much filmmaking meant to me. When I came back to Romania and went to another law lesson, I couldn’t stop thinking: Why am I doing this?

My teacher even told me I had the best chances of getting in with high marks, but I felt torn between what was expected of me and what I actually wanted. I realized I didn’t want to become a lawyer, but I wanted to tell stories. 

The gap year gave me the space I needed to realign. I focused on volunteering, founding Fundraisers for Falastin Romania, organizing events and campaigns for Palestinian families. I participated in several MUNs conferences, continued studying Korean, and worked part-time as a Customer Service Agent in German. Most importantly, I gave myself time to breathe and figure out what mattered to me. I don’t regret taking this gap year.

Why I Chose The Netherlands

In high school, I always had this goal of leaving Romania for my studies. Only later did I realize: Okay, maybe I can't go, I'm going to have to stay here. So what would I like to do here? I always had this passion for political science and international law, so it seemed very logical to study that. All the adults around me would tell me that I should become a lawyer, so when that didn't work out, I was considering my options. I didn't want to study film in Romania because film school in Romania is not that good. So I just decided I'm gonna leave, not just because I’m looking for a better shot at making it into the film industry, but also searching for more diversity. 

I got accepted to the University of Amsterdam, University of Utrecht, and Groningen University. These are the three I applied to, and I got in all of them. It's not that hard to get into Dutch universities, but it's hard to graduate from them. The criteria to get in isn't crazy. You can get in, just maintaining your GPA is the hard part in the Netherlands.

I also wanted an affordable option. The Netherlands is pretty affordable compared to other countries in Europe. I also have some friends studying there, and I know it's a very international student-friendly country. And I wanted to study in English.

A Bachelor in Arts, Culture and Media - Worth it?

I chose Arts, Culture and Media because of my deep passion for filmmaking. Moreover, after dropping the idea of going into law school, I actually took an acting class because I wasn't sure if what I liked was being in front of the camera or behind the camera. I realized I like being behind the camera. And so that's why I chose film, because it was just something I'm hungry for. I can't see a future where I don't make films.

This Bachelor's program offers students a comprehensive analytical, historical, and theoretical foundation in the arts. We will develop expertise in two chosen art forms, selected from film, music, theatre/performance, visual arts, or literature.

Some courses for my first year would be:

• Introduction to Audiovisuals Arts;

• Sociology of Arts;

• Philosophy of Arts;

• Arts and Cognition.

  We also have many optional courses to choose from, such as Film, Literature, Music, Theatre etc.

Admission Process

Honestly, the admission requirements weren’t that many. I needed my past bacalaureat (basically the Romanian SAT equivalent) and an English language proficiency certificate, like IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge. I already had my IELTS. You also need to submit a CV that includes your extracurriculars, volunteer work, languages you speak, basically all the activities you’ve been involved in throughout high school. Then there's your high school transcript, and all of these documents need to be translated.

I actually didn’t have to write any personal statements or motivation letters. I know that’s surprising, but there wasn’t a requirement for that. No interview either.

I applied to all three universities in January. Groeningen was the first to respond, as it only took two weeks. The other two took a bit longer, maybe up to a month. But by the end of February, I had answers from all of them. Funny enough, Groeningen was my least favourite at first. But after comparing the three, I actually ended up liking it the most. I think applying early really helped. The earlier you apply, the fewer applicants there are, and the university sees you as more committed.

Tuition fees & Living costs

I was told that there's a housing crisis and I should be very careful with that, because I've heard cases of people getting in, but they couldn't go because they couldn't find a place to stay. I booked my room the second it was available on May 15th through a renting website. If you do it early, you have a chance. The people who can’t go, I hear, are the ones that wait until summer, but if you do it in springtime, you're good.

I didn’t apply for a scholarship since the tuition is already really affordable for EU students. All Dutch public universities have the same fee if you’re an EU citizen: €2,601 per year. If you're from outside the EU, though, it’s a lot more, I think around €8,000.

Rent is actually more expensive than tuition in the Netherlands. I think €1.5K should be enough per month as total expenses, with 500-800€/month for rent only. The first month might be more expensive since you’re settling in, but after that, it should be manageable.

Preparing For the Next Chapter

One thing that’s really important to me is getting a part-time job once I’m there, just to ensure as much financial stability as I can. So, one way I’ve prepared for that is by starting Dutch lessons because having some Dutch skills could make finding a job easier and help me integrate better.

But to be honest, I think the harder part of moving abroad is actually leaving your home country. For me, that’s been more emotionally intense than the idea of arriving somewhere new. For instance, I founded a fundraising group earlier this year, and it’s been a major part of my life. Leaving that behind feels huge, but I’ve been working on making sure there's a team in place to keep it going.

Logistically, I’ve started planning how I’ll move my things, where I’ll get a bike, and how to settle in smoothly. My major is in Arts, Culture, and Media, and back in May I joined the university’s Q&A session to learn more. Since then, I’ve also looked into film clubs, cultural centers since those are things I want to stay involved in.

Future plans and expectations

I haven’t made any close friends there yet, but I do have some friends who live in Groningen and are attending the same university as me, which is really comforting. Someone from the dorms managed to find a few emails and started a small group chat, which I joined. 

I have a few goals already. I’d like to continue organizing fundraisers, stay politically active, and join student initiatives, especially anything film-related, like making short films or participating in creative projects. Academically, I want to get good grades and stay on track with what I’ve already been doing in Romania.

The Most Important Skill

I’d say the most important skill one needs to have when applying abroad is research.

Don’t treat all universities or countries as if they follow the same criteria. What works for U.S. admissions won’t work for Germany, or the Netherlands, or any other country in Europe. You need a different strategy for each because each place values different aspects of an application. Learn what each university or country is looking for and then tailor your application accordingly. Reflect that research in how you present yourself and make the university feel like you genuinely chose them for a reason.

Also, make yourself stand out not by just ticking boxes, but by being intentional. If you’re applying for something related to film, art, or culture, show your authentic path into it, how you found your own voice. It’s not just about being the “perfect” candidate. It’s about being the right one, with a story that’s both unique and relevant.

Advice for any High Schooler

This is what I tell every high schooler who asks for advice: If the thing you want to do doesn’t exist, create it. Be the one to take initiative. Don’t wait for an opportunity to come to you. Make your idea real and something others can also be part of.

A lot of the projects and clubs I was involved in? I started them myself. That’s the mindset: Invent what’s missing. Be creative. Be bold. If you want something enough, figure out how to make it happen.