Sweden fighting for international students

Nieuws | de redactie

7 oktober 2011 | Sweden’s staggering 90% decline in applications from international students indicated that studying remains a monetary issue as well. Its government now expanded the country’s scholarship program to regain attractiveness.

This academic year, Swedish universities started chargingtuition fees to international students. This led to a 90% decline in applications from oversea students.The newly introduced fees range from 100.000 kronor (€11.000) till322.000 kronor (€35.000) per annum.

The Swedish government has now recognized the gravity of thesituation and has stepped up its financial support for overseastudents. The Tuition Fee Waiver program will be allocated twice asmuch money, a total of SEK60 million (€6,5 million). This fund isdesignated to talented students from outside the EU who only haveto pay part of their tuition fees or nothing at all.

The Swedish Institute Study Scholarship will also grow in thenational budget from currently SEK30 million (€3,2 million) toSEK50 million (€5,4 million). Students from developing countriescan apply for this grant that covers tuition fees (up to €35.000)and some living costs (€735 per month).

Whether this will bring back the 117.000 applicants that decidedto apply elsewhere is rather questionable. In 2011, the Swedishscholarship program received 7.026 applications – only 105 studentsended up receiving the money.