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Costs

What a year actually costs

There is no single answer, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. What it costs depends on which passport you hold far more than on which university you choose — so start there.

The three numbers that matter, in the order they will hit you: tuition for the year, living costs for twelve months, and the amount the visa office needs to see in your account before it will decide. The third one surprises people, because it is money you must have rather than money you spend, and it is often the reason an application stops.

Where public tuition is free, or close to it

Each of these is true with a caveat, and the caveat is the important half. We have written it out rather than putting a tick in a column.

Czechia

EU

Programmes taught in Czech are free at public universities, including for international students. English-taught programmes are charged.

124 institutions in Czechia →

Germany

EU

Public universities charge no tuition to international students in most states; a semester contribution of roughly €150–350 still applies.

834 institutions in Germany →

Poland

EU

Programmes taught in Polish are free at public universities; English-taught programmes are charged, and still modest.

424 institutions in Poland →

What “free tuition” does not mean

  • It is not free to live there. Germany charges no tuition and still expects you to show roughly a year of living costs before a visa is granted. The tuition line being zero does not make the year cheap.
  • “Free for EU students” is a different sentence. Sweden, Denmark and Finland are free for EU and EEA nationals and charge everyone else. Check which one you are before you plan around it.
  • The language decides the price. In Czechia, Poland and Slovenia the free programmes are the ones taught in the national language. The English-taught version of the same degree is charged — though often still modest.
  • Semester contributions are real money. A €150–350 semester fee is not tuition, but it is still due twice a year, and it usually includes a transport pass worth having.

Before you pay anyone anything

  • No honest agent charges you to be placed at a university. They are paid a commission by the institution. If someone asks you for a placement fee, ask them in writing what it is for.
  • No scholarship asks for an application fee. Not one.
  • Pay the institution, not a person. Into an account in the institution’s own name, from its own website. Never to an individual, and never by an irreversible transfer to someone you have not verified.
  • Where a register exists, check it first. Four countries publish one and we read all four — look the school up. Most countries publish none, which is normal and says nothing about the school.
What we do not have yet. Per-course fees, and living costs by city. Both need data we can stand behind rather than an average scraped from a forum, and we would rather say so than publish a number that sends someone to the wrong country. Scholarships we do hold · Country by country

Partners

The things you will need anyway

We earn a commission if you use these, at no extra cost to you. They are here because students need them, not because they paid to be first — and nothing here affects what the official register says about any school.

Wise

Sending money

Send your tuition or deposit abroad at the real exchange rate, usually far cheaper than a bank transfer.

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Prodigy Finance

Student loans

Postgraduate loans judged on your future earnings rather than collateral.

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Amber

Somewhere to live

Student accommodation booked before you fly, so you land with an address.

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HousingAnywhere

Somewhere to live

Mid-term rentals in European student cities, contracts in English.

Visit HousingAnywhere
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