Social capital as a guide for international students in their first year of higher education

International students are confronted with various challenges in their initial phase of studying abroad. To ease their way, many higher education institutions provide a range of study-related services for first-year students. This paper analyses the factors that determine whether students use these services. The analysis make it clear that the social capital students acquire from teachers in schools and universities, as well as people from professions relevant to their studies, increases their probability of attending study preparation courses, courses on academic skills and tutorial programmes. Academic performance during school proved to be significant only concerning attending courses on academic skills.