Marina is highly capable, full of integrity, and delivers on promises. Plus she is just a good person. I highly recommend working with Marina. We had an excellent experience

Two of our daughters studied and played field hockey abroad with the help of Marina who was very professional, approachable and has an impressive network of hockey coaches and universities. One daughter went to Harvard in Boston, and the other is currently studying and playing field hockey at UBC in Vancouver. If you are interested in studying and playing sports abroad I would certainly recommend Marina to support you in the process.

We highly recommend Marina Meijer and UStudy if your child wants to play sports and study in America. At every step in the process, our daughter was very professionally guided. An individual client-oriented approach is given in which our daughter could contribute all her wishes, questions and feelings; Real customization. Whether it was practical matters, study questions, or coaching our daughter for conducting conversations and contract negotiations with the future coach. Everything went smoothly. It was wonderful to see how our daughter grew throughout the entire process and arranged her own affairs with increasing maturity. And we as parents have been increasingly comfortable being in the background. Marina has an enormous network and a lot of knowledge about both the academic and the sports world. That has been of great benefit to us. Marina easily builds a deep bond of trust and is always enthusiastic and accurate. Even now that our daughter is in America, she knows Ustudy will help if she is stuck with something. Despite Covid 19 and the limited physical contact possibilities, we have experienced the super good guidance as very personal. We look back on it with warm feelings and look forward to what happens next. Go Cards!

Marina and her team gave excellent guidance to our daughter during her trajectory for studying and playing hockey in the USA. We were looking for a great combination between these 2.

If you want to study and do sports in the USA, then absolutely do not try to arrange everything yourself. There is a lot of unclear administration which can be hard to sort out yourself. Many tasks, many questionnaires with sometimes unknown terms. The help from UStudy was for us indispensable. Marina and her colleague Amy have helped us really well with the whole process. Clear lists with the steps needed and very fast responses to our questions. Also, the knowledge that Marina has about the different colleges and universities was a big help when it came to choosing the right place. Our daughter had a blast, in short, we definitely recommend UStudy.

After the information evening in November about playing hockey in the US, everything was done so that in August I could go and play and study in America. With success!

In particular I had a lot of help with applying to universities (writing letters, preparing resumes) and communicating with the hockey coaches!

If you are interested in studying abroad (USA, Canada, UK) and are looking for someone to guide you through the entire process, I can highly recommend Marina. She has a great knowledge of the educational system in these countries and has a great network. This has proven very valuable to us, when we were looking for a suitable college and soccer team in the USA. During the preparation she helps you with the smallest details that have to be taken care of (from writing essays, interviews with coaches to getting the student visum at the consulate). She helps both students (our son who went to Cornel College IOWA) in taking their responsibility in the process and parents with the (many) practical things. With Marina you are in great hands.

In summer 2018 our daughter Cato mentioned that she would maybe like to study in America. The combination of studying and playing hockey in a sports-minded country like America really appealed to her. Based on a few good references we decided to meet with Marina Meijer at UStudy. The orientation meeting quickly revealed her enormous knowledge and experience in something that was still unknown to us. Different educational institutions, scholarships, and admission requirements were discussed. It became apparent that this was a serious, intensive, and time-consuming process requiring expert guidance. But the meeting was also a chance for Marina to get to know Cato, I noticed that she really paid attention to that. To learn about and understand her, both from a sports view but also on a personal level, so that ultimately she could find the right place for her. What followed was a year in which everything took shape, and we were literally and figuratively embraced by UStudy. There were a few events where general knowledge and experiences were shared, but above all there was specific support for Cato. Soon the large network of UStudy and Marina in particular showed to be fruitful, and contact was made with a few beautiful universities.  Video calls were arranged with the various coaches who had shown interest in Cato and we were advised by Marina how to handle these. Meanwhile Cato was paired with Amy McGriff who is an Application Specialist at UStudy, and she guided her on everything related to application/admission requirements, both generic (TOEFL/SAT/ACT), but also university specific. This is a whole separate subject, and we were incredibly happy with the support of Amy. November 2018 was decision time. At Marina’s suggestion Cato had visited 3 universities and eventually fell head over heels for the University of Virginia, and luckily the feeling was mutual. With a great scholarship offered she flew back to the Netherlands to complete her exam year and get ready for her big adventure in the US. Behind the scenes we had to arrange things like insurance, housing, visas etc. It was great to have UStudy there to help with such things. Now, April 2021 and Cato is in her 2^nd year in the US. We facetime regularly and visit her as often as possible. And yes, it is a long way away, but her constant smile makes up for a lot. Her adventure in Virginia enriches, it fits. We are now more experienced and know that America is a country of many possibilities, but also great diversity. It is a thin line between a match and disappointment.  For us, even more reason to recommend the expertise of UStudy, an organization where inhouse knowledge, years of experience, the right network, and personal attention come together. 

Good guidance and always available! Marina found a school that fitted me perfectly, thanks!

Marina and her team gave great guidance to our daughter in her plans to study in the US. That began with the orientation; what the options were and what to pay attention to. They remained realistic in outlining the alternatives. Our daughter is now having a great time and that is partly thanks to UStudy.

UStudy has given excellent guidance to me. No question was too much for Marina, and together with her colleagues, they kept a close eye on planning and what still had to be done. I am so happy that I chose UStudy and would definitely recommend them to others. My dream has come true, and I am very grateful to UStudy.

I can only give praise for Marina and her employees at UStudy. After hearing positive stories from acquaintances, we contacted Marina as our daughter was interested in studying and playing hockey in America. The initial contact was when our daughter was still in VWO 4, and as a result there was plenty of time to prepare. Good sports and personal resumes were written, and many tips received on how to make a sports film. In addition, UStudy arranges gatherings a few times a year, and during these you receive important information regarding insurances, financing, and possible pitfalls. At these meetings there were old students and their parents, who would share their experiences; we benefited greatly from these events. In this way it created the total picture of the wish to study and sport in America. Marina contacted various universities and paid good attention to the wishes of our daughter regarding the sort of university and hockey level. During meetings it was already clear to us that all students have different wishes and that it is really a personalized plan. Marina’s focused approach quickly generated enthusiasm from coaches who our daughter then had numerous skype meetings with, and at the end of VWO 5 she made the choice between 2 Ivy league universities. This was followed by many administrative tasks with deadlines, exams, essays, and many forms to complete. Also, help from teachers and management at school was required, often in English, and I am certain this would not have happened without the help of UStudy. In a few months it will be time, and our daughter will leave for Princeton University. To study at such a good university is a fantastic opportunity and our daughter is thankful to Marina and the other staff at UStudy for making it happen. But what also gives us peace, as parents, is that during her stay in America she can fall back on UStudy. Even then Marina and her co-workers are there for her!

Yesterday during a telephone conversation with my daughter (who is fully enjoying hockey and her study at American University in Washington DC), I also thought about the early days, the recruiting, the conversations with Marina. The characteristics that came to mind were her knowledge and expertise, which ensured a quick and adequate service. Marina was very pleasant to deal with, once again thanks.

Marina really helped us with her network in the United States and her guidance in the Netherlands finding the right university and sport team for our daughter (the college of William & Mary was a real success in both areas). She studied and played her sport for 2 years with great pleasure and results. Ultimately you have to do it yourself once there but it is essential in the beginning to make the right choices with someone who in addition to having a lot of knowledge is committed and remains involved, even after the deal is closed. 

Sometimes the passions and future aspirations of kids makes you enter a situation that poses unfamiliar challenges. Our daughter played in the national league for field hockey and decided at the early age of 15 that she intended to move to the United States after graduating high school. Although Google is sometimes your best friend it became apparent that it was a difficult process. We met Marina and UStudy, and since that initial meeting we totally relied on Marina during the subsequent process. At the time it appeared to be the right choice, and with the benefit of hindsight it certainly was! Marina was able to clear the roads; she moved all the obstacles thus paving the way for our daughter into the USA by means of creating the right contacts. UMO, Mount Olive (NC) and coach Daan Polders contributed to an amazing time for our daughter, and we are grateful that Marina helped facilitate this. I really recommend Marina and UStudy.

Marina has excellent knowledge of University and College life in the USA. She has up-to-date knowledge and gives great advice in this sometimes difficult to understand environment, which is very different from the Dutch education system. All the people we have sent to her have ended up at the college of their choice, at the level they wanted to be.