May 2018
Featured in this insight: Education, International
EU students less interested in UK study since Brexit: Thirty-nine per cent of EU students are less interested in coming to the UK to study because of Brexit, a major survey of international students has found.
The International Student Survey, by QS Enrolment Solutions, polled 67,172 prospective students from 191 countries – with 28,000 thousand of them having considered studying in the UK.
The findings revealed students from Italy, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Ireland and Spain had significant doubts over UK study because of the split with the EU. Their main reasoning being that Brexit has made it a “less financially viable option”.
Another thing turning students off the idea off higher education in the UK is confusion over fees. Almost a third (32%) of EU students polled were unaware the fees they will pay if they start in 2018-19 will be the same as UK students for the full length of their course, the survey revealed.
Non-EU Students
When it comes to students from outside the EU, only one in ten have been discouraged from considering UK universities because of Brexit. In fact, the drop in the pound's value has made studying in the UK appear a more attractive proposition for many students from countries including Pakistan (24%), Sudan (22%) and Ethiopia (20%) China (18%) and Hong Kong (19%).
Being made to feel welcome
One of the most important factors when choosing where to study according to students polled (69%) is how welcoming a destination is.
Many prospective students (82%) said campaigns such as #WeAreInternational and #LondonisOpen have made them feel positive about coming to the UK to studey and have been effective in going against negative Brexit notions. .
Patrick Whitfield, Director of UK & Europe at QS Enrolment Solutions, commented:
“Now is the time for the UK government to work with universities and sector stakeholders to champion the UK as a study destination for international students.
“With the current uncertainty in the sector as the UK prepares to exit the EU, any future proposals which help to make the UK a more attractive place to study from a financial perspective should be more widely publicised."
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