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94% Indian Students More Keen to Study Abroad This Year Vs Last
Posted on: 03/Jun/2021 9:13:06 AM
A survey conducted by Leverage Edu, India’s Largest Study Abroad Platform, revealed that 94% Indian students were more keen to travel and study abroad this year compared to last year. The survey was conducted amongst users that registered on the Leverage Edu platform in the last 5 months. “Primarily, this is a result of Governments in the UK, US and other developed countries, opening up their higher education and immigration policies, and communicating in far more welcoming manner than ever before. The pandemic has changed how countries think about economic growth, and one that is inclusive is top of charts now. Access to early vaccinations, as well as basics like healthcare infrastructure, quality of air we breathe, previously little-understood points, have gained a lot of relevance post the second wave in India”, said Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO, Leverage Edu.
Anmol, a student on Leverage Edu platform, when asked about his motivation to go to the UK this year said, “I have to stay in quarantine for 10 days, the healthcare system is good and and vaccination is being done, so yeah I am confident to travel there this year”.
“I have been planning this for 2 years now and it feels comfortable to make the final move now. I am very excited and I am just waiting to take my IELTS”, said Arun, a Leverage student who is planning to go to Canada for his studies this year.
Here are the other top points from the study:
1. 75% students chose the UK as their preferred study destination. Canada & US were chosen by 13% and 9% students respectively.
2. 71% students chose Better Healthcare Infrastructure as one of their key reasons to study & look at opportunities abroad.
3. 60% students were looking to fund their studies through an Education Loan.
4. 58% students said they had made their plans within the last 3 months, while 36% said they had plans for much longer and are now continuing them.
5. 59% students chose not to change their study destination this year while 28% students changed their destination choice from another country to the UK (note from Leverage Edu: this is largely because of their pace of vaccination, the NHS’s policies which are in the favour of the global student, and the constant communication that Universities in the UK have maintained).
6. Out of the students who opted for the UK as their preferred study destination, 2/3rd students said that the UK`s Plan to vaccinate all international students will benefit incoming students.
7. Management/Business courses remained the top choice of discipline for students gathering 35% votes with Engineering at second place with 18% votes. Data Science/Analytics s also made its mark with 9% students going for the course this year.
8. 60% students surveyed agreed that constant communication amidst the pandemic by foreign universities has been useful and the information provided has been useful while making a decision. “I can fly to the UK this year and that`s my main reason for choosing the UK. My University is even paying for my quarantine accommodation. I am excited to fly out ASAP and commence my studies on campus.”, said Abhijit, a Leverage student going to the UK in the upcoming October intake.
While talking about her expectations, Subhosree, another student on the platform said, “I am personally prepared both mentally and physically to take the step forward this year. I have heard a lot of positives about the UK. Moreover, all my peers would be vaccinated in the physical setting and that gives me an additional feeling of safety”
Akshay Chaturvedi added:
“Everything has been leading into these trends for a while now, and the last few months have definitely accelerated that. The UK, USA and Canada have come up with numerous pro-student policies in the last year, and are hence getting rewarded. Healthcare has become a living room conversation now. Universities have supported International students by providing waivers and relaxation on various requirements, infact as per the latest - a) Indian students are being added to US’s travel exemption list, b) UK and India have come together to sign a Migration and Mobility Partnership and c) Canada has launched additional 90k PR’s early this month - so the perfect cocktail in some sense. There were concerns over visa appointments for a while, given top metro cities were in lockdown, but they have largely eased off as well over the last 8-10 days. The next 2-3 academic intakes are going to be quite the rebound”.
