91,460 people handed in applications to the Hungarian higher education during the general admission procedure. A significantly lower number in comparison to previous years. Almost 75% of them eventually gained admission.
The total number of applications is not only a lot lower than last year, when 112,000 applications were sent in, but in a wider comparison as well: in 2010-11, there were 140,000, and in 2002 and 2004 there were more than 160,000 applicants. It was in 2013 and 2008 when the number of applications sank under 100,000, but both were still higher than this year: 95,447 and 96,991 respectively. This decline is much greater than the decline in the age group.
Economic investigative site G7, in reference to the British and Swedish with similar tendencies, wrote that the decrease is likely due to the favorable labor market situation. Due to reinforcing recruitment tendencies and the improving wage level, more and more tend to choose to work instead of studying, which was most common in the older age groups. However, the decline in the aforementioned countries proved to be periodic.
G7 also notes that in Hungary, the presence of the 20-24 age group in higher education is significantly lower than the EU average: in 2018 this was 26% in Hungary, while the EU average amounted to 35%.
On the heels of this data, the admission points were made public on Thursday. According to Index’s report, 68,112 gained admission, almost eleven thousand less than last year (78,980) but due to the aforementioned tendencies, in 2019 the number of failed applications was higher. Out of these, 55,521 students wouldn’t have to pay for their studies initially, as their costs will be paid by the state, while 12,591 first-year students will pay tuition fees.
featured image: illustration via Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI