This year, we at BIC conducted a large-scale research: we asked 308 international students from 56 countries about their experiences studying in Hungary. Students from business, IT, engineering, and other fields shared how they feel about life here- academically, socially, and culturally.
Let’s see the most exciting results
Students feel they gained a lot by moving to Hungary to study abroad
A strong majority of students felt that coming to Hungary was worth it.
80% said they feel they gained a lot by moving to Hungary for their studies and less than 10% would do it differently if they could go back in time. Studies in Hungary has been beneficial in many different ways for students: whether in personal growth, independence, friendships, or opportunities.
Students most frequently mentioned regarding the study abroad experience:
- they feel more international after moving to Hungary (82%)
- they feel like they are more open to experience new countries and cultures now (85%)
- while they managed to keep their own culture, they are happy to try or take some Hungary-specific habits (78%)
- they are more certain about themselves and their identity now (70%)
Satisfaction with life in Hungary is high
Most students rated their overall experience in Hungary positively. 79% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their life here (Likert 4–5).
Key areas they highlighted:
- Safety (Hungary is safe and peaceful): 87% satisfied
- Affordability: 71% satisfied
- Cultural life & nightlife: 92% satisfied
- General friendliness toward internationals: 75% satisfied
Hungary was often described as “beautiful”, “touristic”, “comfortable”, “peaceful”, and “easy to navigate.”
University satisfaction is very high
Students also rated their universities, and the results were clearly positive:
- Supportive staff: 76% satisfied
- Supportive professors: 82 % satisfied
- Good student community: 80% satisfied
- Academic requirements are not too hard: according to 72%
- University citizens are open to internationals: according 86%
Many students mentioned they came with limited expectations, but found their learning environment friendlier and more structured than expected.
Let’s see how international students perceived difficulties
- “I feel homesick sometimes”- 19%
- “Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong to my university”- 11%
- “Sometimes I feel treated unfairly because I’m an international”- 12%
- “Sometimes I’d rather avoid certain events because of language barriers”- 26%
As we can see, the biggest difficulty seems to be the language barrier among international students. Hungarian language is famously difficult for English-speakers, however, with dedicated learning, it becomes completely feasible to learn it even to a fluent level during your university studies.
Who international students hang out with
- “I often hang out with other internationals”- 90%
- “I often hang out with Hungarians”- 65%
- “I often hang out with my own nationality”- 75%
As we can see, international students mostly hang out with other international students, however, since most English-language university classes also have Hungarian students on them, it’s actually pretty easy to make local friends in your chosen institution.
What’s the Overall Picture like?
International students in Hungary are generally happy to have chosen Hungary for studying abroad (270 students out of 308 saying they are “happy” or “absolutely happy” they chose Hungary.)
It’s also telling that when we asked them if they had to sacrifice a lot for moving to Hungary, only a little short of 10% said that they lost more than what gained lost during this experience.
All in all, Hungary is a study abroad destination that prospective students can trust: most internationals thrive here, both in terms of academia and personal life.
