US: 56% Of Student Visas To Telugu Students, A Good Sign?

Indian students surpassed Chinese students in the number of international students in the US, for the first time in 15 years. In the latest report according to the US Consulate General, students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana comprised 56 percent of all Indian student visas issued by the US in 2023. That could be around 1.8 lakh students as Indian sends nearly 3.3 lakh students to US in 2023.

The US Universities have been the premiere global education hubs and many families from AP and Telangana consider overseas higher education an essential move toward economic mobility. The statistics indicate that students from India primarily seek master’s degrees in STEM including computer science, data science, and engineering. The high demand for these skills in the job market aligns well with the academic focus of many American universities that continue to attract talented Indian students.

However, the increased number of Indian students is receiving mixed reactions. A Reddit user opined about the wave of Indian students flocking to US Universities for Master’s degrees. Needless to say, there is a large number of Telugu students in each stream and universities across the US.

The user writes that it is going to be really hard for all these kids to get jobs in the US. ‘It is already hard for American kids’, said the Reddit user. The 26-year-old who works at a US University and used her employee benefits to pursue a Master’s in Computer science was surprised to find that 99 percent of her program’s students were Indian and surprisingly her institution is not a top-tier.

Many others with Master’s degrees who managed to secure jobs after a hard struggle opine that a master’s degree is a costly investment with uncertain returns. Given the current job market situation, it is going to be tough for all of them to gets jobs. However, things will not be the same once the job market stablizes.