The advantage of our one-on-one matching is that you and your buddy can decide for yourselves how much time you want to spend together. When, how often you meet, and what you are going to do, it’s all up to you!  Next to this, we organise weekly activities which you can join with or without your buddy! These events are very informal, no strings attached. It would be nice if you join us during these activities, but if you can’t make it to one of them that’s fine: we’ll just see you at the next one!

BuddyGoDutch works with the standard semesters used at the Dutch colleges and universities. We make matches for the periods from September to January (the fall semester) and from February to June (the spring semester). Most of the time, the internationals are here for one semester, after that they will go back to their home country. However, our goal is that you and your buddy have become great friends by the end of the semester and that you guys will stay in contact after your buddy has gone home. Occasionally there are international students who stay for both semesters or for multiple years! If this is the case, even though you still have your first buddy, you can of course sign up for the next semester as well, as it is a great way to meet more people!

You don’t have to pay for a membership of BuddyGoDutch, so being a buddy is completely free!
We do have activities for which we have to ask a small fee to cover the costs. Often these activities are discounted for our buddies. You are free to decide which activities you would like to participate in!
If you’re having difficulties with online payment you can contact us.

Our program is intended all students or recent graduates over the age of 18. Everyone currently registered at an educational institution, or who has been registered in the last academic year, can sign up to become a buddy.

Our program is intended all students or recent graduates over the age of 18. Everyone currently registered at an educational institution, or who has been registered in the last academic year, can sign up to become a buddy.

The best board

Of course! It’s a good opportunity to get to know other students!

No, for none of our activities you are required to join. However, we would love to see and meet all of you on as many activities as possible! 

You don’t need to be a buddy to visit our activities, you’re always more than welcome to join us. Our activities are a great way for you to meet people from all over the world! If you are a buddy, you are also more than welcome to bring along your roommates or friends who are not part of our program.

It is not possible to get a refund for a ticket. If you cannot come to an activity anymore, and would like to sell your ticket, you should seek another buyer for the ticket yourself. You should let the board (preferably Secretary or Head of Activities) know whom you have sold the ticket to, so the attendees list can be updated.

In special cases we are able to provide a refund please contact, [email protected]

If we do provide a refund we will deduct 1 euro for administration costs

We understand that financial constraints can be a barrier to participation. If you find yourself in this situation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to engage in our activities, and we are committed to making this possible wherever we can. Contact us directly to discuss your situation, and we will explore all possible options to assist you. Our aim is to ensure that our activities are inclusive and accessible to all.

We strive to make our activities as inclusive and accessible as possible. If you have concerns about mobility or accessibility for any of our events, please reach out to us at [email protected] with your specific needs. We will provide you with detailed information about the accessibility features of the activity in question and discuss possible accommodations to ensure you can participate fully and comfortably. Your enjoyment and safety are our top priorities, and we’re here to support you in any way we can.

The sign-up for the buddy program starts two months prior to the start of the semester. This means that you can sign up for the fall semester in July and August and for the spring semester in December and January. When the sign-up is opened, you can sign up by clicking on the ‘Sign-Up!’ button on the website and filling in the form. Once the semester has started and we have made the matches, it is unfortunately not possible anymore to sign up to be matched for that semester. However, you can always join our activities and meet some great people there!

The sign-up form for the spring semester is open until the 14th of February 2024. The sign-up for the fall semester of 2024-2025 has not started yet. We expect the form to be available at the start of July. 

If you cannot be a buddy anymore, you can opt-out by contacting [email protected]. NOTE: after each semester you are automatically signed out for the buddy program, as we will make new matches for each semester. If you want to be a buddy again, you need to sign up again.

You will get confirmation in your email.

You can get your tickets for the Matching Event by going to the shop at our website and selecting your ticket there. If you’re an international student, please make sure you buy an “international” ticket. If you are a Dutch student, please get a “Dutch” ticket. Otherwise we will be unable to match you correctly.

Yes! You will be matched based upon the interests and preferences you have filled out in the sign-up form for the buddy program. The matches will be announced two weeks after the Matching Event. 

The Matching Event is always at the beginning of the semester. See the activity calendar for the specific date.

The Matching Event is approximately 2 to 3 hours. However, usually there is an unofficial afterparty in the city center if you want to hang out longer with your new friends and the board. 

When you sign up for our buddy program, you will need to answer a few questions, such as your hobbies and specific preferences. This way, we can match the party animals to other party animals, the bookworms to the bookworms and the sporty types with other sporty people. If you attend our Matching Event, you are able to fill out a top three of people you have met during the event, with whom you would like to be matched with. Unfortunately, we can’t always match you with your first choice, but we do try to find a good match for everyone!

You’ll know who will be your buddy within two weeks after the Matching Event. On the date of the announcement of the buddy matches, you will receive an email with the information about who your buddy is and how you can contact them. Feel free to meet up yourselves, but you can also meet your buddy at our MeetYourBuddy Event, which will be about two weeks after the announcement of the buddy matches.

We have some trouble with our mailing program which causes people to not receive some of the mails. We are sorry for this and we are working on the problem. If you did not receive the information on your buddy we advise you to check your spam folder. If the mail is not in your spam folder, send an email to [email protected].

We are sorry to hear that you cannot get in touch with your buddy! Unfortunately, it happens more often. You are always allowed to come to our activities, even if your buddy cannot come, you have the opportunity to meet other people there! However, if you do really want a buddy you can sign up for our second round of matching. This round of matching will be in October for the fall semester and in April for the spring semester. We will send you an email with the form for this. Did you not get this information? Send an email to [email protected]

We are sad to hear that your match did not work out! If you would like a new buddy you can sign up for our second round of matching. This round of matching will be in October for the fall semester and in April for the spring semester. We will send you the info about this. Did you not hear from us? Send an email to info@buddygodutch.nl

When you’ve signed up to be a buddy, you’ll automatically receive emails with invitations and newsletters to keep yourself informed during the semester. You can also find lots of information on our social media; Facebook and Instagram and the website, so make sure you check them regularly!

At the bottom of the mails you can find an option to unsubscribe. Be aware: when you unsubscribe this way, you will not receive any mail from us in the future, even if you sign up to be a buddy again. You can also ask [email protected] to manually unsubscribe you.

We have a Facebook group for all the buddies of this semester. You can find the link to this group in the buddy announcement email.

We have a Whatsapp group for all the buddies of this semester. You can find the link for this group in all the emails.

If you still have some more questions, you can contact the board of BuddyGoDutch via [email protected] or use the contact form on our website. We will contact you as soon as possible!