Dutch universities attract 11% more applications, more foreign students

Over 73 thousand prospective students signed up to study at a Dutch university from September, according to figures from universities association VSNU. That is an increase of 11 percent compared to last year, NU.nl reports. The increase can largely be attributed to international students. The number of foreign students increased by 28 percent from 15,735 last year to 20,075 this year. The number of Dutch students registering at a university increased by 6 percent to 50,481. The number of prospective students that registered at Dutch colleges increased by 6 percent to over 143 thousand. Students have to register at a college or university before May 1st. As a rule the number of registrations is always higher than the number of students who actually start their studies in September. According to Education Minister Jet Bussemaker, this increase indicates that "the dip caused by the introduction of the tuition deposit is indeed temporary." The basic study grant was abolished and replaced by a student loan system last year.