All in the family

Some families have several generations who all study at TU Delft. In this series, parents and grandparents discuss their student days with their children and grandchildren. Read the full version here.

“In our family, no student grant meant no study”, says grandpa Johan van der Lippe (Civil Engineering, 1946-1951). He kept careful note of how he spent his money. “I got 900 guilders a year. Of that, 300 guilders was spent on tuition fees, 60 on examination fees and 10 on enrolment charges.”

This led his eldest grandson Tim van der Lippe (Computer Science Engineering, 2013-2018) to conclude that his grandfather’s home was short of money. Grandpa: “In my day, many students came from well-off families – I didn’t. Every day, I travelled from The Hague and back by tram because my bike had no tyres – you couldn’t buy any after the war.”

His son Carel van der Lippe (Electrical Engineering, 1981-1986) was more fortunate. “I didn’t get a supplementary grant, but I had a part-time job cleaning windows. We did a whole house for 15 guilders. Later, when I was graduating, I was appointed at the Dr Neher Lab run by the PTT. Suddenly I was earning 2,500 guilders every month. It was unprecedented!”

Carel’s eldest son Tim was glad to receive the basic student grant. He did not take out a loan, preferring to earn money as a student assistant. His younger brother Stijn van der Lippe (Applied Sciences, 2018) is doing the same, even though he’s not even receiving a grant. “Thanks to my parents, I don’t need to take out a loan.”