48,801 people have applied for a higher education course via quota 2

This year, 48,801 people have applied for a place in higher education based on qualifications other than their average marks.

As was expected, the number of applicants this year has fallen below the levels reached in recent years.

Last year and the year before, there were record numbers of applicants: 60,178 and 57,432 respectively. One reason for this was that the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the closure of institutions and numerous restrictions, made it difficult for people to take up jobs, to study abroad, or go on higher education placements abroad. Now the world is opening up again and the Danish economy is showing positive growth. It is therefore quite natural that for a time we will see fewer people applying for higher education places via quota 2.

This number of applicants this year reflects the fact that in June 2021, the government, with a broad parliamentary majority, reached an agreement to reduce the number English-language higher education courses, aiming for savings in expenses connected with student grants and loans (SU) to migrant prospective wage-earners, who to a very large extent leave Denmark again after completing their education. The fact that significantly fewer foreign students have applied for places in higher education via quota 2 is therefore in line with the intentions of the above agreement.

The deadline for applicants via quota 2 was today, 15 March, at 12 noon.

The total number of applicants for places in higher education will be published on 5 July 2022, the deadline for applications for admission via quota 1, which is based solely on average marks.

All applicants, whether Quota 1 or Quota 2, will receive a reply to their application on 28 July 2022.

The Minister for Higher Education and Science, Jesper Petersen, comments:

- In the course of their education, these coming students will improve their general skills and further develop their own personalities. They are sorely needed both in private and public employment. So, I am very happy for all those who have applied for a place in higher education and who have seen the opportunities offered them by Quota 2. The Quota 2 system can indeed be further improved, but this year, as in other years, it will offer an opening to young applicants who will not be judged on their average marks alone.

- With two record years in 2020 and 2021, when we created large number of extra study places, and at a time when the economy is booming, it was to be expected that we would see a lower number of applicants via Quota 2 this year. People are wanted on the labour market; you can go travelling again or take a Folk High School course - opportunities that were not so readily available during the pandemic.

Facts:

Quota 2 applicants are assessed on qualifications other than the average mark awarded them at the end of their upper secondary education. Higher education institutions allocate places on the basis of a specific assessment of each individual applicant; the selection criteria may vary from one study programme to another.

In 2021, 29 % of all higher education students were admitted via quota 2.

Last year, 42 % of the places were offered via quota 2.

Applications to higher education via quota 2 over the past five years:

2018: 54,451
2019: 53,403
2020: 57,432 (exceptionally high, due to COVID-19)
2021: 60,718 (exceptionally high, due in part to COVID-19)
2022: 48,801

For further information:

Please direct press inquiries to the press team of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science on +45 7231 818, or to presse@ufm.dk