Almost 68,000 would-be students applied for college and university courses with a lottery this year, according to figures from student service DUO.

This is a rise of 6,000 on the last academic year, DUO said.

In the Netherlands, places on over-subscribed courses are often allocated by a combination of school grades and a lottery.

In total, there are 44,000 places at courses with a fixed number of places, so 24,000 students are likely to be disappointed.

University medicine, veterinary science and psychology courses are always among the most difficult for which to win a place. However hbo college courses in physiotherapy, journalism and computer sciences are also increasingly subject to lotteries, DUO said.