The US remains the top choice among Indian students to pursue a master’s abroad with 47 per cent, followed by the UK at 18 per cent and Canada at 16 per cent, shows a survey conducted by edtech company iSchoolConnect. STEM-based courses are the most sought-after. Most survey participants chose STEM (53 per cent) and other high ROI disciplines such as business and management (25 per cent) to study abroad.
42 per cent of Indian students who wanted to pursue a master’s abroad were from the income group of less than ₹8 lakh and 85 per cent regarded the availability of scholarships and financial aid as a significant factor in choosing a university.
“Students place greater emphasis on the ability of a university to provide them with due support and a good ROI rather than only looking at rankings. Student mindset today is more focused on graduation outcomes than university rankings,” stated the report.
The study surveyed 1,161 responses, of which 658 students were from India, to understand the evolving perspectives of study abroad aspirants, especially post-Covid. The other surveyed countries include Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Respondents from all surveyed countries quoted racial discrimination, physical violence, and theft as top safety concerns. 76 per cent of Indian respondents said that they were concerned about racial discrimination when planning to study abroad.
“The study-abroad landscape is an ever-evolving one. While there are several stakeholders in this ecosystem, students and their perspectives are the primary forces that shape the sector’s functioning predominantly. It has been seen that universities recalibrate their enrollment strategy and offerings based on students’ expectations and evolving perspectives. The findings of our study will aid both students planning international studies and universities in better comprehending the needs of students,” says Ashish Fernando, Founder and CEO iSchoolConnect.