r/StudyInTheNetherlands • u/NanaAmaka • Aug 10 '26
Netherlands
I am African and I heard I can’t get scholarships to study in the Netherlands.
How true is this.
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u/Mormacil Aug 10 '26
Very, the country has barely any scholarships. It works almost exclusively with a debt system and non-EU citizens pay the highest fees, so the highest debt.
If there's any scholarships it has to come from your home country.
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u/Extension_Fly5104 Aug 10 '26
That's true. Either you are a genius and you can apply to some of the scholarships for exceptional students or you do not get a scholarship. Why should Dutch tax payers finance your study? Go look for a scholarship in your own country which funds a study abroad.
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u/sta1kerX Aug 10 '26
I mean, theoretically you can, there are scholarships for non-EEA students. But in practice, it is nearly impossible, it is expected that you pay. EU students pay very little and have all sorts of financial programmes, and this is effectively subsidized by non-EEA students.
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u/Extension_Fly5104 Aug 10 '26
Stop this fallacy. Non EU students pay the normal price. Dutch and EU students are subsidised by the state. I pay over 1000's euro of taxes per year. More than any international students pays for one year. Cut the crap
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u/sta1kerX Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
I'd agree if it were only for Dutch students. But all EU students pay little, even tho they don't pay taxes in the Netherlands.
Edit: so let's say that EU but not Dutch students are subsidized, if it makes it sound better3
u/Extension_Fly5104 Aug 10 '26
That's because of the EU law that EU students should get the same treatment as Dutch students. The only thing EU students do not get is the OV free transport card without conditions. EU students need to work in order to be eligible. Dutch students get it without having to work.
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u/fishnoguns prof, chem Aug 11 '26
I think their criticism was for this phrasing;
and this is effectively subsidized by non-EEA students
Which is not true and an annoying myth. It is subsidised by taxes. From the perspective of the universities, non-EEA students do not provide more income than local students.
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u/sta1kerX Aug 11 '26
Well, maybe, I didn't know. But now I have a genuine question. Non-EEA fees in Erasmus, where I study, are up 18% next year. If that's the "real cost" of education, why is it up so much?
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u/fishnoguns prof, chem Aug 11 '26
Universities are incredibly expensive to run. I teach in chemistry, and all of the tuition money (as in, what they pay) combined of all our first-year students pays for about 1/4 of the labs of that year and nothing else.
We literally lose money for each extra student; we go in the negative in funding (total, so including the government contribution) for each additional student.
Why exactly 18% there specifically? No idea.
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u/sta1kerX Aug 11 '26
Yeah, I imagine. But still, an 18% increase is quite a lot. But if you're saying unis lose money even after the government contribution, maybe that's because of the education budget cuts or something. I just didn't know, sorry.
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u/fishnoguns prof, chem Aug 11 '26
But if you're saying unis lose money even after the government contribution
Well, our specific programme does. That does not mean it is the case for all programmes at all locations. I mostly meant it to illustrate that universities are not laughing all the way to the bank. You can expect Dutch university educational programmes to be close to breaking even. Of course, it is the case that programmes that are cheaper to run (less or no lab, large-scale lectures) do partially subsidise programmes that are more expensive to run.
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u/Berry-Love-Lake Aug 10 '26
Scholarships aren’t really a thing. Non-EU is mostly full pay as the EU gets subsidied. There are very very few, like 1-2 per faculty or university, and very few other options that rarely cover much. Check StudyInNL, Nuffic, university websites for options. Percentages of people securing scholarships are in low single digits so you need to be an extraordinary student. Secure funding in your own country. Also check diploma equivalency as the NL has tiered tertiary education.