Leaving, baccalaureate in hand, studying at the University of Bath, Exeter, Warwick or Nottingham? If this option tempted a few thousand young French people every year, in particular those enrolled in high school in international sections, it could turn out to be less and less attractive. The registration conditions for Europeans will change dramatically from this year, due to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (EU).
Before January 2021, the French benefited from the same tuition fees as British students, around 10,700 euros per year for a bachelor’s degree course – as well as access to a system of loans guaranteed by the state. In Scotland, they were even exempt from tuition fees, thanks to a scholarship system. From now on considered as international students, just like Americans or Indians, Europeans will have to pay higher sums, varying between 17,000 and 35,000 euros per year for a bachelor’s degree course.
What to cool more than one – at the start of the 2020 school year, they were 5,230 enrolled in the first year at a British university, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. At the end of February, figures from UCAS (the British Parcoursup) indicated a 40% drop in applications from European undergraduate students, for the start of the 2021 school year (26,000 applications, against 43,000 in 2020) .
For Marc McHugo, founder of the consultancy firm Study Experience, specializing in supporting young French people abroad:
“Small universities are at risk of suffering from this increase. On the other hand, those who target universities like Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial or Kings College, and who have the means, will pay the necessary price. It doesn’t matter what might happen. “
In Bath, 209 applications less
The University of Bath has observed a 23% drop in applications from Europeans in undergraduate studies for the start of the 2021 school year. French applications, which are at home “The main source” European students have followed the trend. “This year, we received 588 applications from students domiciled in France, against 797 in 2020”, laments Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions.
To anticipate a drop in enrollment and remain attractive, several English universities offer scholarships or advantageous prices for students domiciled in the EU, who start a course between September 2021 and September 2022. The University of Kent thus offers students EU students registration fees 25% lower than those granted to other foreign students, for the duration of their program. Brunel University in London and Nottingham Trent University have the same tuition fees for European students as for UK students.
You have 62.01% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
