Future elite surveyed to leave Hungary

Whereas 18% of Hungarian secondary school graduates have applied to college or university abroad, 36% of 9-11th graders are now planning to study outside the borders, a survey by the Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) revealed.

The financial website portfolio.hu reports that primarily those enrolled in Budapest-based and elite secondary schools and with the best grades as well as girls are planning to continue their studies abroad.

The results of the survey, conducted in six state secondary schools in Budapest and in the country, show that 72% of the graduates planning to continue their studies are applying to Budapest-based colleges or universities this year and 34% of them plan to go elsewhere in the country.

18% of the respondents have also applied to foreign college or university. The most popular destination is the United Kingdom. Of future graduates, however, twice as many are planning to go abroad to study.

More than half (56%) of those in year 9, 10 or 11 planning further studies (448 students in total) want to enroll in a Budapest-based college or university. The second most popular choice for them is studying abroad. More precisely, 36% of them said they would be happy to conduct their higher education elsewhere in the world. Only 20% of them want to go to college or university and 14% of them said they are not yet sure where they would like to continue their studies.

The top target country for students planning to study abroad is the United Kingdom (38%), followed by the United States (19%), but Austria (14%) and Germany (10%) are also high on the list.