Would you ditch UK unis for a £4k uni education in the Netherlands?

The Telegraph has reported that 1 in 10 UK students will attend European uni's now that UCAS is providing students with the opportunity to apply via their application process.

They have reported that the cost to student could be a key motivation to apply abroad with the cost for university education in the Netherlands being £4000 on average (British students would pay this) in comparison to £27k in the UK. Some courses are also said to be taught exclusively in English

Would the substantial difference in cost motivate you to study abroad?

Do you still get a loan?

No, you only get a loan if it's the placement year or an ERASMUS year. But the course fees are a lot more affordable at £1,500 a year. Of course there is still accommodation and living costs to consider....

Given living expenses students would probably need to find 10k a year - I do not think that is particularly affordable


I presume this is only whilst we are a part of the EU

"His mother, Alison, a single parent who works in a school kitchen, said she would try to help Alec finance his studies, since he would not be eligible for a loan. She said: “My daughter is at Exeter where she’s paying £9,000 a year and when you compare that with the Dutch fees it’s an incredible saving.”

10k sounds like a lot, but then I have no idea how much accommodation is abroad in comparison to how much it goes at the average UK uni.

This point is made in the Telegraph:

10k sounds like a lot, but then I have no idea how much accommodation is abroad in comparison to how much it goes at the average UK uni.

This point is made in the Telegraph:



EDIT: UK students can apply for a tuition loan from the Dutch government.

The Netherlands is a great place for UK students. Most people speak English, there are courses available in English, and it is considerably cheaper than England. I'm only coming to the UK from the Netherlands because over here you don't have the absolute top level universities like in England.

That's really interesting. Do you mind saying what you hope to study in England and where you have applied? In your opinion which uni's are the best in the Netherlands?

I'm going to study Chinese at Cambridge. (Also applied to Leeds, Durham (uncon. offers), Edinburgh and Heriot Watt (haven't heard back yet).) The thing with the Dutch uni's is that there isn't much of a difference in the level of their courses. There's only thirteen in the country, so I would advise looking at witch university is best for your particular subject, because that's where the differences are, not in the universities in general. It is also worth checking the cost of living for the city you want to go to. There are no halls of residence in Holland, so you have to find your own place. Particularly in Amsterdam that can be quite expensive. Hope this helps!

Wow - congrats and good luck at Cambridge Nice work on the unconditional offers too, you must be thrilled.

Are there any websites which rank which uni is best for which courses in the Netherlands? That would be really helpful for UK students to know. That's very helpful regarding accommodation, I had no idea.

No, you only get a loan if it's the placement year or an ERASMUS year. But the course fees are a lot more affordable at £1,500 a year. Of course there is still accommodation and living costs to consider....

I'm actually considering university in the Netherlands..It looks amazing!

Do you still get a loan?