Anyone with a DC at a Uni in the EU?

[dylexicdementor11]

We’re years away from uni applications but I’ve been looking into universities in the EU.
The lower costs and undergrad course taught in English are appealing! I have my eyes on the Netherlands and Noway.

If you have DC at EU universities how are they getting on? Any words of wisdom?

No advice as such but interestingly I know someone who sent their child to uni in Amsterdam because it was cheaper. I suspect it might start to become more common as we all wise up!

Ireland tuition fees are circa 3kEUR per year,, but high cost of living, or Dublin has. Very straightforward application process, no PS or interviews (apart from medicine type courses) but advisable for only those doing 4 A levels or 3 plus AS to reach comparable CAO points. Maths/FM takers gain extra 25 points.

It would depend on which country and which course. Friends dd is studying medicine in Hungary; easier to be accepted onto the course than here, cheap fees, course in English but she has to learn Hungarian in order to liaise with patients. She’s also found some friends but hasn’t really experienced uni life in the same way her friends in the U.K. have…..she’s also complained about the food and the cold. On the other hand, friends dd studying in Italy is having an absolute ball- she’s in Venice doing history and maths.

Housing in the Netherlands is a nightmare. Rarely is housing provided by the university- by law Dutch unis are not allowed to own accommodation. So ‘halls’ like in the Uk don’t exist. Even Dutch students struggle to find accommodation.
it’s also getting more expensive

Yes, I think so as well. I work in higher edu in the UK and I’m keen for my LO to avoid the mess Brexit and the tories have made.

Thank you! I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought of Ireland! Very useful information. I’ll look into it.

Yes, goodness I can imagine Hungry being a bit tricky. I’m not a fan of the ruling party!
Does your friends DD speak Italian?

Ah, I didn’t know that, thank you! I wonder if British students would be resented for taking housing from home students?

My DS is just starting uni in the Netherlands. He has no accommodation yet - we're fortunate that DH also works in a different city in NL so DS can commute for now. He says (from day 1 of welcome week) that lots still don't have accommodation, they're in hotels, on people's floors etc.

We have dual UK/EU nationality and live in another EU country so different rules would apply to us anyway, but we pay €2k is a year fees.

The Dutch apparently want to significantly reduce the number of courses available in English as there are too many international students so that might be something to look our for.

Someone posted a link on another thread the other day which would probably be worth looking at - www.eunicas.ie/ has lists / links to courses tough in English throughout Europe.

Thank you! That sounds like a very stressful situation for all of the unhoused students.
Good to know that there is a desire to cut down on English courses/international students. I wouldn’t want to drop LO into an environment that was hostile towards English speaking students.
Thank you for the link!

I have a dc studying in Germany, on an undergraduate STEM programme taught in English. Dc is having a great time! The course is super-international with lots of students from all over the world, but obv all speak English. They have the opportunity to learn German as part of the course. There's less pastoral care and hand-holding than in UK universities, so they do need to be quite self-motivated and resilient.

Public universities in Germany charge no fees - they do have to pay a 'Semesterbeitrag', which is a contribution to student services of around €250 a semester (ie. €500 a year). But that gives them a student card which entitles them to subsidised catering and sports facilities, and also counts as a public transport pass, ie. free public transport in the whole region.

Overall cost of living is much lower than in UK - DC's rent is €260 a month including all bills for a large sunny room in a hall of residence. Private rentals are a bit more, maybe €350 a month plus bills. This is in a large busy city, but not an expensive hotspot like Berlin, Munich or Hamburg. Halls of residence spaces easy enough to get as long as you apply early.

DC has joint Gm/UK citizenship so is entitled to German student finance, which is a much better deal than the UK version - the total amount they receive is roughly the same, but only 50% is repayable, and that is at 0% interest for the duration, with the rest as a grant. Non Gm citizens wouldn't get student finance, and I've been told you have to prove that you have sufficient funds to support yourself, ie. you have to show a specific amount in a blocked bank account when you apply for the visa.

The application process is quite admin-heavy, and a non-EU citizen would need a visa, so you wouldn't be able to start studying in the same year s you did A-levels. We did manage it by the skin of our teeth, but if you had to apply for a visa as well it wouldn't be doable in the time.

Would highly recommend - obviously the T&Cs vary across different EU countries, but there are increasing numbers of programs being run with English as the language of instruction (although apparently NL is cutting back a bit out of concern that Dutch is being squeezed out?). But if your dc likes the idea of getting a really international perspective and potentially coming away without the huge debt burden of UK higher ed, then it's really worth considering. They may never want to return to living in the UK though...

I used to live in Leiden in the Netherlands and there were loads of UK students. Also Amsterdam. My nephew is currently doing a postgrad in Porto after an undergrad in Aveiro in Portugal, I also know several who went to Scandi countries. All had a great experience!

My nephew paid about 1000 euros a year in Portugal so the price difference is quite big!

Also housing in the Netherlands is only a problem if you're relying on uni housing. I had no issues in the 5 years I was there.

Yes, she did Italian A level and also spent her gap year working as a nanny in Italy so she hasn’t found the transition too tricky

I'm in Italy and a teacher. My students who have gone to other EU countries are overwhelmingly in the Netherlands. The problem is finding accommodation. A few years ago it didn't seem so bad, 4 of my 6th formers (now graduated) all went, in different years, and didn't have issues. Last year however, a couple had to turn down their offers as literally the nearest available and affordable rooms were in Belgium.

In Italy, be aware there is very much a two tier system in operation. "Good" universities expect students to sit entrance tests (unrelated to either their A levels or chosen course of study) and even passing those is not a guarantee of getting in. Your results place you in a "graduatoria" and the university will offer places to the top X number of people. Sometimes these tests are national (for medicine for example at state universities) sometimes internal (both state and private universities do these for some courses) Then there are the "open" courses. No limits to numbers, no qualifications needed other than to have finished school.

Bear in mind again that more students live at home than move away for uni, so you may find a smaller social group who have moved to be there as others will go home at night.

Accommodation can be cheaper than the UK, can be a lot more expensive. My niece is currently trying to find a room in Milan and has found nothing below €1000 a month. Some universities have university residences on campus (Turin, Trento, Bologna spring to mind) As you can imagine though there's huge demand for these and allocation tends to be done on income and results. My 2 nephews both went to Torino for engineering. Both got uni accommodation in their first year due to low parental income, but only the older one in the second year because of his good exam results.

A friend of my daughter has just had to turn down a place at an Irish university as she can't find anywhere to live.

My own daughter is in the UK but applied to Ireland and Sweden.

Oh, lots from here go to Albania to do medicine and some to Bulgaria.

Thank you for the informative post! Lots of think about. My DC is a dual national - EU/UK so that will make the process a little easier.
I wouldn’t mind DC permanently relocating to an EU country when they are a grownup. In fact I’m afraid more well educated young adults will have to unless this boat stops sinking!

Doing a degree in Portugal sounds lovely. Thanks for the information.

Thank you for the informative post! Lots of think about. My DC is a dual national - EU/UK so that will make the process a little easier.
I wouldn’t mind DC permanently relocating to an EU country when they are a grownup. In fact I’m afraid more well educated young adults will have to unless this boat stops sinking!

Ah, if you have dual EU/UK citizenship you'd be daft to not consider it very seriously. And within the EU there may be reciprocal arrangements for accessing student finance, which would lower the financial burden even further - I'm fairly sure EU citizens can apply for Bafög, which is the German version of student finance. DC did look at equivalent degrees in UK universities and had a backup UCAS application and good offers, but in the end decided that nothing was tempting enough to make it worth the huge extra debt burden, and also miss out on the international buzz of the course in Germany. And of course EU universities still have access to Erasmus, so there's still further opportunities for exchanges and collaboration.

My DD has just graduated from medical school in Bulgaria. My other DD is in her final year of veterinary school in Poland. Both courses taught in English (although obviously you have to, during the course, learn the local language to be able to communicate with the patients/patients'' owners).

Cost of living much cheaper there than UK/Ireland (they live well on an allowance of £600 each per month, which includes accommodation, travel and everything else). Course fees each about €7k per year so not that much cheaper than UK.

They are both British citizens but moved to those countries well before Brexit happened so were easily able to live there, and by now they each have residency in the respective countries. Non-EU students had to get student visas, but there are many many of them at their universities (at the medical school graduation there were, we were told in the ceremony, students from 20 countries).

Veterinary DD did an Erasmus year in Leiden after her first degree and she loved it there, just to echo PP's praise of the Netherlands as a place for young people to live and study.

Obviously your DC should only go that far away from home, if they are totally comfortable with that.

DD only did a year abroad as part of her uni course, but thoroughly enjoyed it. She was at a top ranking world uni here and went to one that ranked 200-300 in the world. She was the level of teaching and support was far superior to here. Accommodation was much cheaper, although food was more expensive. She said the country she was in, seemed to work and play harder than here, and that suited her as she likes to make the most out of life.

My eldest is looking at study in the Netherlands. She has EU citizenship so will pay around €2000 fees. Dutch students get a government grant of about €300 per month and can apply for free weekday or weekend train travel across the country. As earlier poster said, you'd be mad not to consider it if a EU citizen. We visited the campus she liked last year. It had a fantastic vibe and felt very safe. Students were all sharing lunch in the corridors of their buildings for a small contribution. The student who showed us round was German and she had done intensive Dutch Language courses.

i just want to echo that anyone wanting to study in Germany must prepare their DCs to be pretty self-reliant as pastoral care (as i discovered with my DC over Covid) is non-existant.

I have spoken to colleagues about this who have sent their DCs in the other direction (to study in UK) and they are amazed at how much nannying (one called it babying) students in the UK get. I would prefer a more healthy balance of some care but more in the direction of what the German unis offer.

Lots of German students live at home, but there are student blocks in some places like Aachen that I know of.

My older two DC both were offered places at Dutch unis. They have joint British/EU citizenship. The degree structures are very different, 6 week blocks of subjects followed by exams and much shorter holidays than the UK ( more like school holidays eg 6 weeks in Summer). Many fail the first year and resit or drop out, there is less pastoral care. The fees are much lower and you can get into a high ranked university by world standards with CCC at A level. Some subjects/universities have an online exam for oversubscribed subjects. My DD did one and ranked highly, this was for Psychology which Dutch students won’t have done to the level of an A level as they take many subjects in their exams at 18. Accommodation in some cities such as Amsterdam is a nightmare, however there are halls for first year international students there.

Following as we are looking at Netherlands for one and Germany for the other. Eldest already at uni in uk but wants to do a masters in Netherlands.

Main worry is accommodation but dc could board temporarily with Oma!