The guide
Netherlands or Hong Kong?
The same questions asked of both, in the same order, with what each one costs you level with what it gives you. Neither column is a recommendation — the last row is the one to read twice.
First
Netherlands
Second
Hong Kong
In one line
The easiest English-speaking landing in continental Europe: hundreds of English bachelor's degrees and a country that already runs in English.
English-taught, globally ranked universities inside Asia's financial capital, with scholarships that actually reach international students.
What only this place gives you
The largest offering of English-taught BACHELOR'S degrees in continental Europe, in a country where you can live, work and deal with officials in English from day one.
The rare place where the teaching language is English, the location is Asia, and named scholarships for non-local students are a normal part of admission rather than a rumour.
What is good here
- English-taught bachelor's degrees are normal here, not a rare exception, and Dutch society operates in English alongside Dutch.
- International and European law taught in English is a Dutch speciality — one of the few places a school-leaver can enter law abroad without first learning the local language.
- Problem-based, project-heavy teaching with small groups — closer to work than to lecture halls.
- The Eindhoven region is the centre of Europe's semiconductor and precision-engineering industry, with paid internships attached.
- An 'orientation year' permit lets graduates stay and look for work with full labour-market access.
- Flat, cycling-first cities with an unusually high quality of daily life for students.
- Degrees taught in English at universities that sit among Asia's strongest, with four-year bachelor's structures closer to the US than the UK.
- Entrance scholarships for international students are published and substantial — some cover tuition entirely.
- A genuine finance, logistics and legal centre: internships in the city are real, not simulated.
- Compact and extremely well connected — no car, fast transport, and the rest of Asia within a short flight.
- A springboard into mainland China without needing Mandarin from day one.
What it costs you
- The student housing shortage is severe and openly acknowledged — some universities warn applicants not to come without a room.
- Non-EU tuition is real money: far below the US and UK, but nothing like Germany's free public universities.
- Popular programmes use numerus fixus selection with early deadlines — miss January and you wait a year.
- Political pressure to reduce English-taught programmes is ongoing; the offering may narrow.
- Dutch directness reads as rudeness to many newcomers, and integrating socially takes longer than expected.
- A law degree is tied to the jurisdiction that granted it: an international-law degree from here does NOT let you practise back home without requalifying, and that surprises people years too late.
- Housing is among the most expensive and smallest in the world; university dorms are limited and not guaranteed for all years.
- The political environment has shifted since 2020 — some multinationals moved regional offices to Singapore, and academic freedom is a live debate.
- Cantonese runs daily life outside campus, which limits part-time work and slows integration.
- Places for non-local students are capped by policy, so competition for international seats is fiercer than the headline admit rates suggest.
- Summers are hot and humid to a degree people underestimate, and typhoon season is a normal disruption.
Money — how paying for it works
Tuition for non-EU students is mid-range for Europe and predictable. Housing is the volatile part of the budget, and in Amsterdam it can exceed tuition.
Tuition for non-locals is well below the US and UK, and the scholarship layer can take it lower still. Living costs — housing above all — are the real expense, and they are high.
Getting in — what they weigh
Rule-based and transparent: subject prerequisites, grades, English proficiency, and for selective programmes a motivation letter and a small assessment. Deadlines are strict and early.
Grades-first: your curriculum results, English proficiency and, where required, subject tests. Achievements and competitions matter more than personal essays. Compass models Hong Kong admissions, including which programmes weigh what.
After you graduate
The orientation year gives graduates twelve months to find work with unrestricted access, and the highly-skilled migrant route afterwards is employer-driven and fast by European standards.
The IANG arrangement currently lets non-local graduates stay to work without a job offer in hand — one of the more generous post-study rules in Asia. Verify the current term before relying on it.
Post-study work rules are set by politics and change. Check the rule for your own graduation year before you plan around it.
Strongest fields here
- Engineering
- Computer Science
- Business & Economics
- Natural Sciences
- Arts & Design
- Law
- Business & Economics
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Law
- Medicine & Health
- Natural Sciences
This suits you if…
You want Europe in English, you are organised enough to hit early deadlines, and engineering, tech or business is your direction.
You want an English-taught degree in Asia, your academic record is strong, and a scholarship is what makes the difference between going and not going.
Look elsewhere if…
You cannot arrange housing early or absorb its cost, or you need a low-tuition option — Germany does that better.
You want space, quiet or cheap housing — or you want a political environment that is settled and predictable for the next decade.