How to get in? A comparative overview of access in higher education

In many countries, the transition from “elite” to “mass” higher education has provided a strong stimulus for putting access high on the political agenda. The accessibility of nine western European countries is explored on the basis of the concepts of selectivity and affordability. The nine countries concerned display a degree of variation in terms of relative selectivity, ranging from those with strong entrance selection procedures, such as Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, to countries with an open system, such as Austria, Belgium (Flanders), and The Netherlands. In addition, there is a good deal of variation in the extent to which students can afford to attend higher education. In countries in which student support is predominantly given directly to the students through grants and loans, they are in a better position to meet their costs than in countries in which students are mainly subsidized with public support through their families