Demand to study abroad has not faded, but it has become more selective. In an ApplyBoard survey this spring, prospective students named 58 other study destinations they would consider, a signal of how wide the choice set has become as students weigh more options before committing.1A companion survey of 447 advisors pointed to what weighs most in that choice: more than 90% placed overall cost among their five main factors. These are directional signals from respondents, not forecasts, but together they show a market where students compare more, and more carefully, than before.
As the global education sector continues to shift, Germany and Ireland’s education sectors both showed strong growth in international enrolment through the 2024/25 academic year (the most recent available data). Both destinations attribute their sectors’ growth to student success, meaningful retention, graduation completion, and post-study work, beyond the general study experience, which reframes recruitment itself. This article looks at recent findings from both countries and how institutions worldwide can learn from how these sectors have connected recruitment to student success from the first conversation.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Germany and Ireland both achieved strong international enrolments in 2024/25, with 6% and 10% growth year-over-year (YoY) respectively.
- Students increasingly value safety and belonging: Ireland is the world’s fifth most peaceful country, and seven of the ten most peaceful countries are in Europe.
- Beyond growth in enrolment numbers, Germany and Ireland are sharpening their focus on student-support factors, from safety and belonging to careers, to shape how institutions plan and hold their enrolment.
- Ireland’s first-year non-progression rate fell to 9% in the 2023/24 academic year, the lowest since 2019/20. Proactive, empathetic support has a documented record of helping students stay enrolled.
Germany’s Growth Story Brings Broader Evaluation into Focus
In Germany, post-secondary international student enrolments reached a record 402,000 in the 2024/25 winter semester. Total enrolment was up 6% YoY, with 116,600 new entrants. India was the largest source country with nearly 59,000 students, followed by China with about 39,000:
The student mix matters as much as the total, because retention risk and support needs differ by level and field: a one-year master’s intake and a first-year bachelor’s cohort rarely need the same thing. Among degree-seeking international students in the 2023/24 academic year, 48% were in master’s programmes and 38% in bachelor’s programmes.
However, as per the latest progression data available, there was a notable retention gap between international and domestic students. Across the first three semesters for the 2020 entry group, the dropout rate was 16% for international bachelor’s students and 9% for international master’s students, versus 13% and 6% respectively for German students. These rates were comparatively higher in the humanities and health sciences programmes among international students. And, the differences between these figures are more than numbers: they represent many students, and underscore the need for international student support which adapts for each study level.
Ireland’s Enrolment Trends Highlight Quality and Student Success
In Ireland, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) recorded a record 44,535 non-Irish-domiciled enrolments in the 2024/25 academic year. Out of that total, 32,940 students (or 74%) came from outside the European Union (EU) excluding the UK. This proportion grew from 69% in the 2020/21 academic year:2
In 2024/25, the total number of enrolments was up 10% YoY, and was almost evenly split between enrolments in undergraduate study, at 51%, and postgraduate study at 49%. Among Ireland’s largest international student populations, India made up 21% of these enrolments, the United States 14%, and China 10%.
Our team also examined Ireland’s enrolment growth in greater detail in a December 2025 analysis.
Many Irish education policies contextualize enrolment growth within a broader framework of quality, capacity, and student outcomes. For example, Global Citizens 2030 calls for growth of about 10% in non-EU international student enrolments, balanced across subjects, levels, regions, delivery modes, and source countries. It names retention, graduation, first employment, learner experience, and employer satisfaction as key measures of success.3
Additionally, TrustEd Ireland has added an official quality mark to this framework―and in January 2026, Quality and Qualifications Ireland authorized the first 28 institutions to use it.4 Meanwhile, a separate national strategy projects a need for about 42,000 student beds by 2035.5 Read together, these policies frame enrolment growth as one that requires significant investment in student mix, institution quality, and infrastructure capacity.
Students Weigh Safety and Belonging When Choosing Where to Study
Beyond academic fit and cost, a programme offer is weighed as part of a broader life decision. Students and their families ask whether they can afford the full journey, whether they will be safe, and whether their studies will help to make them career-ready. On this measure, both Germany and Ireland start from strength. Ireland is the world’s fifth most peaceful country in the 2026 Global Peace Index, rated “very high,” and Europe holds seven of the ten most peaceful countries, including Germany, which sits in the “high” band.6
Students’ sense of welcome has become an important part of individual institution and sector promotion. And, ApplyBoard’s data supports this shift. Per recent Student Pulse Survey findings, prospective students are more likely to see Germany and Ireland as welcoming than several larger study destinations.
For admissions teams, connecting effectively with future students means being candid about cost, housing, and required language skills, and showing the support services that complement a programme, not only its academic features. That candour can reduce late withdrawals and poor programme matches, which are costly for students and institutions alike.
Career Readiness Requires More Than Post-Study Work Time
Students are also gauging future studies against a changing global workplace. In the following ApplyBoard survey, 26% of respondents expressed interest in mathematics, computer science, and information technology programmes. This was up almost three percentage points compared to the previous survey, and interest in engineering and health programs also rose.
Furthermore, both Germany and Ireland give their international graduates time to act on that career intent. Germany allows eligible graduates to apply for a job-seeker residence permit which lasts up to 18 months, and allows visa holders to either look for work or work in any field. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Third level graduate programme provides visa holders with up to 12 months to seek graduate level employment or pursue a general employment permit or research agreement for Level 8 graduates. Graduates from courses at Level 9 or above receive a visa of up to 24 months.
Time, though, isn’t the same as readiness. On its own, time in a different country doesn’t necessarily build local language skills, work experience, professional networks, or employer confidence. German survey data shows how wide that gap can be. When the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) surveyed more than 20,000 degree-seeking international students, two-thirds planned to stay in Germany after graduation. However, about 40% of these students rated the supplied career preparation as average, and just under 25% called it insufficient.7 This survey helps to highlight the importance of offering career preparation well before students’ final semester.
Support Is Becoming a Key Recruitment Advantage
As safety, belonging, and career outcomes are valued highly by students, support services can help a strong offer translate into a strong result. Ireland’s national data is encouraging on this front. First-year non-progression in Ireland fell to 9.3% in 2023/24, meaning that more than nine in ten new entrants continued into second year. Non-progression is at its lowest level since 2019/20, which is an encouraging sign.8 When viewed over 8time, course completion still varies by field, from about 90% in education to closer to 66% in computing and engineering programmes for the 2019/20 entry cohort. This variance is important for institution support staff to remember, and may encourage the development of targeted support for students in fields with higher non-progression levels.
Both Germany and Ireland are putting resources behind these supports. Ireland has adopted a whole-of-institution approach to student health and wellbeing. Many of their institutions see student support as a shared responsibility, rather than tied to a single office.9 Meanwhile, Germany is investing in attracting and supporting talent, both through the DAAD Academic Horizons programme that helps institutions recruit international students and early-career researchers, and the federal Junges Wohnen programme to build and modernize student housing. Nevertheless, housing capacity remains a key issue. Germany’s national student services organization, the Deutsches Studierendenwerk, provides roughly 196,000 residence hall places, and reports long waiting lists in many cities at the start of each term.10
Technology can extend student support when it’s designed around people. For example, Georgia State University in the United States used a human-centred artificial intelligence assistant that answered more than 200,000 student questions in a single summer. Its use reduced the loss of admitted students before term by 22%, keeping 324 more students enrolled.11 This initiative points to the potential of proactive support. Ultimately, investing in student support carries a wider return: a recent analysis by the German Economic Institute found that international graduates who go on to work in Germany return several times the public investment made in them.12
Integrating Recruitment and Student Support Can Improve Outcomes
Germany and Ireland’s education sectors show that international enrolment can keep growing even as the process grows more selective. Their students’ success also shows how the destinations and institutions drawing discerning students are the ones that pair a clear academic offer with safety, support, and a credible path to a global career.
Recruiting for retention means having a clearer view of who is likely to thrive, current information about what each programme can support, and a plan that follows the student from first contact to first post-graduation job. In practice, this requires a cohesive approach to Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM), which links recruitment campaigns directly with student services and academic outcomes. This strategy operates across five connected stages:
Target for fit → Match to programme → Prepare before arrival → Support to succeed → Learn from outcomes
For leaders planning the next intake cycle, one question is key to keep in mind: If a recruitment campaign succeeds, are the support and careers teams ready for the students the campaign attracts? When those teams work together, recruitment becomes the first step in student success.
Connect with our Commercial Partnerships team today to learn how ApplyBoard’s market insights, real-time dashboards, and global advisor network can help your institution build stronger pathways to student success.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. ApplyBoard, Early 2026 Survey Finds the UK Remains the Preferred Destination Among Future International Students. May 2026.
2. Higher Education Authority, IE Statistics/key-facts-figures-report/. Updated November 2025.
3. Government of Ireland, Global Citizens 2030: Ireland’s International Talent and Innovation Strategy. January 2024.
4. Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI announces first 28 Higher Education Institutions authorised to use TrustEd Ireland Quality Mark, January 2026.
5. Government of Ireland, National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035. March 2026.
6. Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2026 Report. June 2026.
7. DAAD, International students want to stay – great opportunities for the German labour market. July 2025.
8. Higher Education Authority, Progression Statistics. Updated 2026.
9. Higher Education Authority, A Whole of Institution Approach to Health and Wellbeing. June 2024.
10. Deutsches Studierendenwerk (DSW), Capacity and Waiting Lists. Reports roughly 196,000 hall places and long waiting lists at the start of term. Accessed August 2026.
11. Georgia State University, Reduction Of Summer Melt | Georgia State Student Success Initiatives. May 2016.
12. DAAD, International students – an economic gain for Germany. March 2025.
