Dual citizenship - Applying to an European school.

[davidolce]

Hey everyone,

 

 

I have a tricky question. I'm a US / European citizen and am applying to a few schools in Europe (UK / France) and of course I have to indicate my nationality when I register on the school's website. Since I know that European schools like North Americans as the tuition is much higher for them (meaning they are accepted easier), I was wondering if I could say I'm an American citizen but then following my (potential) admission, say that I'm an European citizen as well in order to pay the EU tuition (much cheaper).

 

 

Thanks!

[maelia8]

I don't think that's a good idea. Schools admit people based on how much funding they have and how many people in each tuition block they'll be getting as incoming students each year, and if they count on you paying US citizen tuition, it would be both deceitful and a hell of a lot of work for them to recategorize you as an EU citizen. Are there some benefits to applying as a US citizen, besides the tuition thing? As someone who's applied to European institutions before, I remember applying as a non-EU citizen to be a much bigger headache than it was for EU citizens, but maybe it's different in your case.

[liebkuchen]

Just to add that citizenship of the EU doesn't necessarily guarantee you the EU fees- sometimes there can be residency requirements too. 

 

At the undergrad level in the UK, at least until now, you could find there were maybe 20 places on a course for UK/EU students but unlimited places for international students because they'd bring in more money so there wasn't a sense in capping them. 

[nugget]

Here's an idea...If you're eligible for cheaper tuition but want to increase your chances of being accepted, consider applying to some programs as a US citizen and others as a European citizen. If you get in somewhere that offers you cheaper tuition for Europeans, that's great. Go ahead and take one of the offers. But if you don't, then take an offer that requires you to pay international fees as your back up plan.