Where you can study in Europe after 12 years of school
After FSc, ICS, I.Com or A-Levels you have 12 years of education. Many students are told this is not enough for Europe. That is not true.
Most European countries accept 12 years for a bachelor degree. Germany is the country that usually asks for more — and because Germany is the one everyone talks about, students think the whole continent is closed. It is not.
Countries that accept 12 years
These countries take a Pakistani school certificate for a bachelor degree taught in English. The numbers are the English-taught bachelor programmes we currently list.
| Country | Bachelor programmes | English score needed |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | 88 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Netherlands | 63 | IELTS 6.0 and up |
| Czechia | 58 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Hungary | 56 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Lithuania | 29 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Italy | 28 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Finland | 24 | IELTS 6.0 and up |
| Slovakia | 21 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Estonia | 19 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Latvia | 17 | IELTS 5.5 and up |
| Austria | 16 | IELTS 6.0 and up |
| Belgium | 10 | IELTS 6.0 and up |
| Spain | 7 | IELTS 6.0 and up |
| Sweden | 4 | IELTS 6.5 |
| Denmark | 3 | IELTS 6.5 and up |
That is well over 400 English-taught bachelor programmes open to you with 12 years of school.
Germany is the exception
Germany usually wants more than 12 years. Its own rule, as written on the programmes we list, asks for 13 years of school — or 12 years plus one year of university in Pakistan, or a preparatory year called a *Studienkolleg*.
So Germany is not impossible. It just takes one extra step that the other countries do not ask for. If you have already completed a year of a Pakistani bachelor degree, you may already meet it.
Confirm your own case with the university before you plan around it — the rule depends on your exact certificate.
Some countries ask for a test as well
A few countries add an entrance test on top of your school certificate. It is usually online and free or cheap.
- Italy — an online test called TOLC (TOLC-I for engineering, TOLC-E for economics).
- Denmark — some programmes require Mathematics at a good level in your school certificate.
- Hungary and Czechia — some universities hold a short online interview or subject test.
- France — the hardest on this list. Very few English-taught bachelor places, and they expect excellent grades and IELTS 7.
Your English score decides a lot
Look again at the third column of the table. The difference between IELTS 5.5 and 6.5 is the difference between a handful of countries and almost all of them.
- At 5.5 you can already apply to Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Italy.
- At 6.0 the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Belgium and Spain open up as well.
- At 6.5 almost everything on the list is available, including Sweden and Denmark.
If you are still preparing, half a band is worth more to you than almost anything else you can do this year.
What to do next
- Take your IELTS first. Everything else depends on the score.
- Start with the countries that take 12 years directly — you avoid a whole extra year.
- Check what money you must show. That varies even more than the entry rule.
- Get your school certificates attested early. It takes longer than students expect.
And do not let one country decide your plans. Germany is not the only door into Europe — it is only the loudest one.
Entry rules are set by each university and each country, and they change. The programmes and requirements described here are the ones in our own catalogue at the time of writing — always confirm the rule for your exact certificate on the university’s own admissions page before you apply or pay any fee.
If you would like someone to look at your certificates and tell you honestly which countries are open to you, that is what our counsellors do.