For students from Sint Eustatius (Statia) and Saba, choosing whether to pursue further education in the Netherlands or the United States is shaped by a complex mix of personal and practical factors. In this three-part series the Caribbean Network explores the study experiences of students from the smallest islands of the BES – Statia and Saba. Part 3 examines the benefits of pursuing higher education in the mother tongue, even when this choice comes with a high financial cost – particularly for those who choose to study in the United States.
Lyieshah Peterson, who recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and is now pursuing a master’s in Medicine, shared her experience transitioning into the United States school system. “The transition was challenging because the curriculum here is more advanced. Some of the material I studied in school on Saba didn’t correlate at all to what I was learning here. It was all completely new, not just an extension of high school,” she explained.
Lyieshah explained that she did not choose the Netherlands because the language barrier would have prevented her from pursuing medical studies. She also considered other factors, such as the weather and the distance from home. “Tickets are not that expensive, it’s about $800 to get home, compared to the $2000 from the Netherlands.” She also took into account the longer summer break in the United States, which runs from May to August.
Burden on parents
She said the main downside of studying in the United States is the high cost. “It is a burden on parents, because you literally get no assistance other than study finance. I feel study finance shouldn’t be giving you a set amount. How about give me the money for the tuition and I pay it back, because it is a loan.”
She explained that in the United States, student loans usually cover the full cost of tuition and other educational expenses for the entire academic year. Unlike in other countries, where loans or grants may only cover partial costs or require separate payments for housing and fees. “They don’t decide to give them like $15,000 if the school is $20,000. They’re going to give them the whole $20,000.”
Local government
Lyieshah is now pursuing a master’s program, which she hopes to complete within two years. She said she requested assistance from the local government to help cover the cost of summer courses, which would allow her to finish the program more quickly. However, the only support available to her is a housing allowance of approximately $600.
Despite the high cost of living in the United States, Lyieshah said she plans to stay after completing her master’s. “I’m going to stay in the United States for a while to gain experience. If I go home, it’s too small, and I won’t get the full experience,” she explained.
Lyieshah will be able to work in the United States thanks to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which provides F-1 visa students with 12 months of temporary work authorization in a job directly related to their field of study. This allows students to gain practical experience either before or after graduation. Graduates in STEM fields are eligible for a 24-month extension.
Overall, Lyieshah is confident that she made the right choice to study in the United States. “I graduated on time, got my degree and now I’m in a master’s program. I got accepted into physician assistant school, which wasn’t easy,” she said.
Dutch housing crisis
Saba student Bea Durand, who recently began her studies in the United States and can relate to Lyieshah’s experiences with expenses, explained why she chose the United States over the Netherlands. She cited both the language barrier and the housing crisis in the Netherlands as deciding factors. “I chose the United States because housing in the Netherlands isn’t really good. It’s very hard to find a place to stay, and there’s a long waiting list,” she said.
Bea also felt that the application process for schools in the United States was much simpler than in the Netherlands. In addition, she explained, echoing Saba student Alma, that her chosen program, Early Childhood Education, was only accredited in Dutch in the Netherlands. “I didn’t want to study in Dutch because I never had a consistent Dutch teacher throughout high school,” she said.
Now in her first semester, Bea shared, “I feel more comfortable and at ease studying in the United States. Everything feels more organized. If I had gone to the Netherlands, I would feel lost because of the language.” She added that navigating life and school in the United States is easier overall since English is spoken everywhere.
Minority language
For parents in St. Eustatius and Saba, the key question is one of investment: should they send their children to the United States to study in their mother tongue, or risk delays and disrupted academic progress by sending them to the Netherlands? In today’s context, a transition from an English-dominant culture to a Dutch academic system is increasingly unrealistic. As our communities become more multicultural, Dutch is steadily becoming a minority language within this evolving landscape.
This concludes the Caribbean Network’s three-part series informing about the real life choices and challenges students from the smallest islands of the BES – Statia and Saba – make and face, while trying as best they can, to succeed in higher education.
