UK Young People going to Europe to study

For many years now, we have been used to UK universities vying to attract European and international students. How will the steep rise in tuition fees impact upon this market?

Well, it appears an increasing number of UK young people are concluding that now is the time to assert their European identity and head towards the mainland for their degrees. Last year 22,000 UK students were studying for their degrees in other European countries.

Most European countries continue to subsidise their universities so that the average annual fee would be around £1,500 compared to the proposed £9,000 at a UK university which some institutions have already announced they intend to implement.

Annual tuition fees at Maastricht University, for example, are around 1,672 Euros (about £1,450). Here, they are already processing more than 200 applications from the UK, six months before the deadline for the next academic year, and expect many more¹.

Across the continent, over 2,400 degree courses are available in English and this trend is set to continue. Moreover, in many European countries the University application process is fairly straightforward: The Studielink portal, Holland’s online application system, which works as UCAS does in the UK, does not require a personal statement. There is also less of a competition element at Dutch universities; designed to give a chance to a variety of students.

So, it is not just the low fees that can be attractive to UK young people. Unlike the UK, most European universities have low entry requirements followed by initial high dropout rates. For students who are bright and hardworking but who for various reasons did not do very well at school, European universities offer a second chance to shine.

At present the universities of Maastricht, Valencia and Milan are leading the field. Others will surely follow.

[1] The Observer, British students are learning that it pays to take their degree abroad, by Tracy McVeigh, 6^th March 2011

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