International students in the Netherlands are worried the discussion about a brake on numbers and the policy of scrapping English in favour of Dutch language degrees is hurting their position, a survey carried out by the Volkskrant among 358 students has shown.

Universities, businesses and politicians did their best for years to attract talent from abroad to strengthen Dutch competitive clout but with degree course places and accommodation at a premium, students are noticing the welcome they are getting is becoming chillier, the survey showed.

Most students are still happy they came to the Netherlands to study, with the quality of the education and the fact a large number of courses and social activities take place in English as deciding factors.

The possibility of getting a student grant did not play a part, they said, noting that other countries, such as Germany, France and the Scandinavian countries are cheaper because student fees are lower or non-existent.

Almost half of the students said they still felt welcome in the Netherlands although they noticed a shift in attitude after the last elections.

Some said they had been confronted by negative reactions from Dutch fellow students. “As an international student I don’t feel welcomed by the Dutch who are trying to blame us for their housing and social security problems,” one student from Poland said.

A student from China said it was unfair to “tar all students with the same brush”. “Some European students come here for the weed and the fun instead of focusing on their studies. But students from developing countries appreciate the chance to learn. They also pay higher fees and social security premiums,” she said.

A better knowledge of the language would improve their position, students agree. Two-thirds of the respondents said they have felt excluded socially or at a disadvantage in other ways because of their lack of Dutch, for instance when applying for a job.

“I wish the university had made it more clear how important it is to learn Dutch,” a student from the UK said. “I would have started learning much sooner,” he said.

A third of the students in the survey speak (some) Dutch. Three-quarters of the respondents said they’d welcome the chance to participate in free language courses.

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All students are united when it comes to finding accommodation, “You can count yourself lucky if you find a room in a tumbledown crack house an hour’s train ride away from the university,” a Finnish student said.

Despite the problems, most students said they are optimistic about the future and just over half of students want to stay on in the Netherlands to continue to work and study.

There are 122,000 international students currently studying at a Dutch university, three and a half times as many as in the 2005 academic year and around 15% of the student body is not Dutch.

Fewer international students started a bachelor’s degree at a Dutch university this academic year, but slightly more signed up for a master’s, according to preliminary figures.