English-taught degrees across Europe
Our European university application consulting helps UK families look beyond UCAS with confidence. English-taught degrees at business schools in Milan and Madrid, research universities across the Netherlands and long-established institutions in Ireland, France and Switzerland are realistic options for far more students than most families realise.
Your counsellor builds the shortlist, works out exactly what each university asks for, and guides every application from first conversation to final decision.
A trusted partner for university applications across Europe
Every family works with a dedicated counsellor, so one person knows the whole plan.
Applying to European universities from the UK feels complicated
Three questions families ask:
- Which universities teach fully in English, and which suit my student?
- How do we manage several application systems and deadlines at once?
- Does my student need the SAT?
There is no single application system across Europe. Some universities use national portals, some run their own admissions in rounds, some admit on a rolling basis while places last, and deadlines range from January to the summer. Since Brexit, fees and visas add another layer for UK families.
Our counsellors have mapped all of this before, and turn it into one clear plan.
A growing number of UK students are looking beyond UCAS, and for good reason.
Why UK students are applying to English-taught European universities
Leading European universities offer degrees taught in English in some of the continent's best cities, often with a strongly international student body and, at many private institutions, merit-based scholarships. Bocconi in Milan, IE University in Madrid, Sciences Po in France, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Amsterdam all run undergraduate degrees in English, some entirely and some in part.
For some families Europe is the whole plan; for others it sits alongside UK or US applications. We work either way, and because each route has its own timeline, families who start early have far less to untangle later.
A clear plan, a confident student and applications done properly
Through the process, our families:
Know exactly what each university asks for, and when
Present UK qualifications in the terms each system understands
Arrive at decision time with real choices, not surprises
How Guidewell Global supports your European university application
Untangling several systems at once is exactly what our counselling is for. In practice it runs as one process:
Discover and define goals
A complimentary consultation to understand your student's interests, academic profile and ambitions, and where Europe fits alongside any UK or US plans.
Build a balanced shortlist
Universities and programmes chosen for fit, informed by campuses our counsellors have visited themselves.
One master timeline
Every round, deadline, test date and visa milestone mapped onto a single plan.
Every application, done properly
Essays and statements from first ideas to final review, in the student's own voice; interview preparation where a university requires it; and testing advice where the SAT strengthens a case.
Decisions and next steps
Steady support once offers arrive, through the choice itself and the practicalities that follow.
Testing is often part of the picture. Bocconi, IE, Esade and Luiss publish undergraduate routes that accept SAT scores, so one well-timed SAT can serve several applications, although how much weight a score carries differs by programme and route. Among the UK students we work with, the SAT is submitted far more often than the ACT. Your counsellor advises on whether and when to test, and specialist SAT tutoring is available separately. For students in England and Wales, preparation commonly begins in the summer after Year 11, with a first sitting in the autumn of Year 12.
Families come to us for European applications alone, and we support those fully in their own right. If the UK or the US is also on the list, the same counsellor covers those applications too, so nothing is juggled between separate consultants. Read more about our US college admissions guidance.
Spanish universities for international students
Spain's English-taught undergraduate options centre on its private universities.
We help families work out which pathway applies and what each university actually asks for. For more on the institutions themselves, see our guides to Spanish universities and universities in Madrid.
IE University and Esade
Among universities in Madrid, IE University offers a broad range of degrees taught in English, including business, and runs undergraduate admissions in rounds.
In Barcelona, Esade offers English-taught business degrees and the Bachelor in Global Governance, Economics & Legal Order, with a rolling admissions process in which places stay open while capacity lasts.
Timing matters at both, so we check the current round or deadline for the exact programme.
Testing can help here: IE has its own admissions test but also accepts SAT or ACT scores, which is useful if your student is already preparing for the SAT for other applications.
Spain's public universities, such as Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, admit international students through a separate state-administered route (the UNEDasiss credential-recognition process) with its own requirements for UK qualifications.
Dutch universities explained
The Netherlands offers one of Europe's widest ranges of English-taught degrees and has a long tradition of welcoming international students.
We check the requirements and windows for your student's programmes, build the timeline and present their qualifications clearly.
For a closer look at individual institutions, see our guide to Dutch universities.
Research universities, university colleges & applied sciences
There are three main types of institution:
- research universities, including the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University and Erasmus University Rotterdam;
- university colleges, such as University College Utrecht, which are small, selective liberal-arts colleges attached to research universities; and
- universities of applied sciences, such as Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, which offer more practice-oriented programmes.
For most programmes, students register first through Studielink, the national application portal, then complete any university-specific steps. The point to check early is whether a programme runs a numerus fixus, a capped intake with a selection process: the general numerus fixus deadline is 15 January, well ahead of the 1 May deadline that applies to most open-intake programmes.
Dutch research universities generally regard three academic A-levels or the full IB diploma as meeting the baseline entry requirement, with subject requirements set by each programme.
European universities in France, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland
Each has its own admissions process, its own deadlines and its own view of what makes a strong applicant. We help you understand all three.
Beyond Spain and the Netherlands, our students apply to English-taught degrees across Europe, including:
France: Sciences Po, renowned for politics and the social sciences, and ESCP Business School, which teaches across several European campuses including Madrid and London.
Italy: Bocconi University in Milan, for economics, finance and management; Luiss in Rome, for business, politics and law; Politecnico di Milano, which teaches selected engineering, architecture and design programmes in English; and Università Cattolica in Milan.
Switzerland: EHL in Lausanne, which specialises in hospitality management, and the University of St Gallen, where some routes allow the Assessment Year to be completed in English before bilingual study that includes German-taught credits.
Ireland: Trinity College Dublin, where teaching is in English and A-levels and the IB are well understood.
Multi-country: Forward College, a newer institution whose students study in more than one European city over the course of their degree.
Your European university application questions, answered
Far more than most families expect. Among the institutions we advise on, Bocconi, Luiss, IE University, Esade, Sciences Po, ESCP, EHL, Forward College, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of St Gallen, Politecnico di Milano and Università Cattolica each offer at least one undergraduate route taught wholly or partly in English. The range varies by university and programme (St Gallen's later years are bilingual, and Politecnico teaches only some degrees in English), so a good shortlist starts with what your student wants to study.
Some do. Bocconi, IE, Esade and Luiss publish undergraduate routes that accept the SAT, and IE also accepts the ACT alongside its own admissions test. EHL lists SAT and ACT scores under its American High School Diploma route only, so it is not a general SAT option for an A-level applicant. How each university weighs a score varies, and we help you decide whether taking the SAT strengthens your student's particular applications.
Yes, and many of our students do. European applications sit outside UCAS, so they do not use up UCAS choices. The challenge is managing several sets of deadlines and requirements at once, which is where a counsellor who has mapped it all before makes the difference.
Absolutely. European applications are a service in their own right, not an add-on. We support families whose entire plan is Europe, from shortlist to final decision, and if the UK or the US later joins the list, the same counsellor can cover those too.
A programme with a capped intake and a selection process, common for the most popular courses. The general application deadline is 15 January, much earlier than for open-intake programmes, and the exact instructions are set by each institution through Studielink. We flag numerus fixus programmes when building your timeline so the earlier window is planned for.
Dutch research universities generally regard three academic A-levels or the full IB diploma as meeting the baseline entry requirement. Subject-specific requirements, and any numerus fixus selection, are set by the individual programme and published on its admissions pages. We check the exact requirements for your student's programmes.
There is no single deadline. Each university sets its own window: Dutch numerus fixus courses close on 15 January, IE runs admission rounds, Esade admits on a rolling basis while places last, and others have their own dates. Your counsellor builds every deadline into one master timeline so each application is made in good time.
Tuition and living costs vary widely by country and university. Since Brexit, UK students are generally charged the higher non-EU rate at public universities, while many private universities offer merit-based scholarships that can form part of shortlist planning. Check each university's website for current figures; as part of counselling we help families weigh course, city, cost and outcomes together.
Generally yes. Since Brexit, UK students usually need a student visa or residence permit for degree study in the EU, with requirements and processing times that vary by country. Visa milestones are built into your master timeline alongside application deadlines.
