Although I'm originally French, I largely grew up abroad, and wound up in British/International School systems. After graduating high school in Brussels, I went on to study Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology.
After getting my Bachelor's degree in February 2024, I continued with a Master's degree, which I expect to graduate around March 2026.
Admission at TU Delft Aerospace Bachelor's was done via a placement exam. At the time I took the exam, we were tested in math, physics, first-year Aerospace content (which the TU provided study material for), and a motivation questionnaire (where the 'correct' answers were based on the answers of previous successful students). Then, admissions are offered to the top 440 students. If someone is offered a place, but decides not to study at the TU Delft, their place is offered to the next person on the list.
I did the IB Diploma Programme in high school, and I was surprised to see that there was no grade requirements for admission - I just had to get my diploma. However, there is a catch: the bindend studieadvies (BSA). Essentially, you must pass 45/60 credits in your first year at the TU, otherwise you cannot continue your studies. The number of students who don't get a positive BSA is not public, though I've heard numbers ranging from 20% to 50%.
From an academic standpoint, my Bachelor's degree was a small disaster. I thankfully passed all of my first-year courses, meaning I was not under pressure for my BSA. However, things went downhill in my second year, which coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I ended up in an awkward position, where I would have had to wait several months to re-take second year courses that I'd failed. I ended up doing many things on the side, including taking part in the TU Delft's rocketry association and working as a technician at Dawn Aerospace. I graduated in 5½ years with a GPA around 7/10, which I'm not very proud of.
Although I was quite disappointed with my academic performance in my BSc, I had many fun moments, and I'm thankful for my time as an undergraduate at the TU. If you're interested in studying aerospace engineering, Delft is probably one of the best places in Europe, and I would highly recommend that you apply!
Looking for academic redemption after my Bachelor's, I decided to continue with a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering. Thankfully, since I got my Bachelor's at the TU, I was able to start halfway through the academic year, meaning I could start with no delay.
I followed the 'Aerospace Structures & Materials' track, as the mandatory courses were quite broad, which allowed me to build a tailored profile with electives. The coordinator for my profile also happened to be the supervisor for my Bachelor's graduation project, which helped with my transition to the Master's.
I loved the freedom that we were given in the Master's - I was essentially allowed to take any course as an elective, including courses from other faculties, so long as they were technical. I have some strong opinions on the courses I took in my Master's, to the point that I ranked them in a tier list.
After a year of courses, we have a 15 ECTS Internship (10 weeks of full-time work, which must be done outside the TU Delft) and a 45 ECTS Thesis project. In practice, very few companies will offer internships as short as 10 weeks, and delays are common durring the thesis. As a results, only about half of all students graduate within 3 years, despite the nominal duration of 2 years of full-time study. I was very lucky to find a 12-week internship at the Space Research Organisation of the Netherlands (SRON). I also found a thesis topic & supervision team early on, which (at the time of writing) gives me a chance to graduate on time.
I've been slowly leaning towards electrical engineering through my studies, and I hope to fully go into this field.
Deciding to pursue a PhD is not a straightforward decision. I'm treating it like applying for a job - that of a researcher in training. I'll talk a bit about my motivations below.
I want to continue with research in electrical engineering
I like teaching - though I've never done it on a large scale. I'd be curious to teach at a university level - I'm sure I would learn a lot from the experience
Long term: I'd like to pursue a career in research, in academia or at a research institute.
It would make a lot of sense for me to stay in Delft. I've somewhat settled into my life here, the PhD salaries are not too bad relative to other countries in Europe, and the research of the THz Sensing group and the MS3 group are quite close to my interests. However, I do also want to see new places, both culturally and academically, and I would be keen to live in a country where I speak the language. As such, I'm open to moving around.