Study Abroad 2.0: Indian Students Explore New Shores

Indian students are enchanted with the study-abroad dream. The usual Big 4 destinations –US, UK, Canada and Australia, have begun changing rapidly in the recent times due to new visa rules, dwindling post-study job opportunities, stringent conservationist measures, real estate crisis in Canada and the latest face-off between Trump administration and Harvard University. With entry into universities of the popular four countries becoming tough, many students are now preferring emerging countries like Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and South Korea.

According to foreign consultants, the top four countries attracted 85% of the outbound Indian students till two years ago but now, every second student is looking for options beyond these countries. Both the students and parents are considering the political and policy environments while choosing the new countries, setting the Big 4 aside. Apart from the tuition and living costs, which are other key factors in decision-making, deportation is also being considered while finalizing on the study-abroad location. However, the appeal of studying abroad has not diminished among the parents and students, the consultants added.

Consultants said that the intake of Indian students has reduced by 41% in Canada in 2024, by 28% in UK and 13% in the US, compared to 2023. At the same time, enrollment of Indian students in Germany has increased to 34,702 in 2024 from 20,684 in 2022, and in France, the number increased to 8,536 in 2023 from 6,406 two years earlier. Putting things in perspective, it has been observed that emerging nations or the non-big 4s are accounting for 71 out of 100 Indian students while in 2023, they took only 24 of 100 Indian students.