Schengen visa: Travel dates slightly mismatch with available documents

Question

Please bear with me while I explain my clumsy situation in detail. I need to apply for a short-stay Schengen visa to The Netherlands. It is for study purposes (2 month internship), and the invitation letter from the Dutch university mentions dates as 15 June to 15 August. Whereas, my university in its no-objection certificate mentions it as 12 June to 15 August. This is because the dates were not exactly finalized when my university gave the letter.

Question 1: Would this slight mismatch be any problem?

Since I would be starting my program in the Dutch university on 15 June, I want to go a week in advance - to familiarize myself, and not waste any of the next 2 months in that!

Question 2: Can my visa get rejected because I intend to reach on 8 June, while the university letter mentions 15 June? How can I explain them my intention?

I am asking because I saw this question, where the German consulate was very particular about the dates.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Would this slight mismatch be any problem?

It seems unlikely. The actual start date of the program is later than the date from which your university has indicated in the certificate of no objection.

Can my visa get rejected because I intend to reach on 8 June, while the university letter mentions 15 June? How can I explain them my intention?

They're more likely to give you a visa valid from 14 June than to reject it altogether. But if you present an itinerary arriving a week before, I suppose they're likely to find that reasonable and issue the visa accordingly.

Another question you didn't ask:

Will they grant the visa for 8 June even though my university's certificate of no objection mentions 12 June as the program start date?

If the other applicant's experience with the German consulate is any indication, this could be a problem, although I suspect it is not actually very likely.

Presumably if the university has no objection to your being in the Netherlands on June 12th, they have no objection to your being absent from their own campus for a day of travel on the 11th. You can also include a copy of your university's academic calendar or other evidence explaining why your presence is not required there between the 7th and the 11th.