Student case study · Belgium
Reshma, from Nepalgunj to Antwerp
Master of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, September 2025 intake
She was choosing between Belgium and the Netherlands on a fixed budget. Belgium came out about Rs 9 lakh cheaper for the year.
- Cost comparison
- Science
- After bachelor's
- Starting point
- BSc Microbiology, 73%
- English
- IELTS Academic 7.0
- Study gap
- 1 year after her bachelor's, laboratory technician
- Paid for by
- Parents' savings and an education loan
- First call to visa
- 230 days
Where Reshma started
Reshma worked as a lab technician in Nepalgunj after her BSc and had a family budget of about Rs 40 lakh for the first year. She'd been offered similar biotechnology master's in the Netherlands and Belgium.
What we found
We put both on one sheet. Lower tuition and lower rent made Belgium about Rs 9 lakh cheaper for the year, for a programme with the same research focus. The Dutch option had a better-known name; the Belgian one had a lab group working on exactly what she'd done in Nepal.
She chose Antwerp. We started her police clearance and medical the same week.
Step by step, with dates
4 Nov 2024
First counselling.
5 Dec 2024
IELTS: 7.0.
10 Feb 2025
Applications in Belgium and the Netherlands.
4 Apr 2025
Offers from both; costs compared on one sheet.
11 Apr 2025
Chooses Antwerp; Dutch offer declined in writing.
21 May 2025
NOC; blocked account funded; Immigration Office fee paid.
28 May 2025
Type D visa lodged with medical certificate and police clearance.
22 Jun 2025
Visa granted, 230 days after the first call.
8 Sep 2025
Flies to Brussels for Antwerp.
The result
Reshma is in her second year, working in the lab group that drew her to Antwerp, and tutors first-year students in chemistry.
In Reshma's words
I nearly chose the bigger name. The cheaper course was the better course for me.
If your profile looks like this
- 1
Compare similar programmes across countries on one sheet: tuition, rent, funds, work rules.
- 2
Look at the research group, not just the university's name. See Belgium and the Netherlands.
- 3
Decline the offer you won't take in writing, before any deposit deadline.
Everything about studying in Belgium: cost, process and fees