From the big four to Europe: The new trend in Indian student migration for studies

The Ministry of External Affairs has estimated that close to 1.3 million Indians will opt to study abroad in 2024. This period, meanwhile, is also marking a remarkable shift with more number of students opting to study in European countries rather than the conventional Big Four, namely US, Canada, Australia and UK. While there are multiple factors triggering this shifting trend, the turbulent global economy is definitely a major catalyst. World economy has been upended significantly by Covid, Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Palestine conflict, and other possibilities of war looming in the horizon.

It has affected the ‘Big Four’ of education hard. In fact the situation in US has remained impacted significantly over the past few decades, especially since 9/11 that had led to stricter visa processes & norms. Their latest policy trends suggest it won’t get easier for international students any time soon. A big factor for this is that international students usually study with immigration in mind. Currently, US does not offer visa to most students in this regard, and has very tough post-work rules, which aren’t really favourable for students looking to settle down in the country after completing their education. The job market too is tricky around the world, thus students tread cautiously as they don’t want the money spent on education to add a financial strain.

Canada, Australia and UK are no different either. Even as Canada is going through economic and housing crisis, locals are growing more hostile towards international students, who they often perceive adding to the crises. Student visas have been halved, and they intend to lessen the number of visas to be issued even more. Job market is in poor state, which creates further obstacles for non-tech students. Australia on the other hand has begun to scrutinise universities who have friendly outlook towards students from India. They have been making policies targeting students from some specific Indian states owing to rise in fraudulent applications. While Australia also appears weak as of now in terms of job opportunities, UK hasn’t been friendly for almost a decade to international students. For instance, mitigating factors like the increase in minimum salary means there’s less and less chance of an international student landing a job after graduation.

These situations have created better opportunities for students opting for European Universities. The focus has shifted to Europe: students get more bang for their buck with lesser tuition, better visa acceptance, better and clearer rules about landing work and settling down after education. Most importantly, there is less emphasis on IELTS, which is often a deal breaker for students eyeing education overseas. Another factor attracting more students to European universities is the fact that many universities there have a legacy and robust reputation of providing world-class education. They have been featured heavily within Top 500 universities in most global rankings. However, considering the ambiguity and lack of knowhow about European institutions and the advantages they offer, it is important for a student get a mentor who can guide them in selecting the right courses and colleges, and subsequently ease things out for them in getting the formalities, paperwork etc done.

Chintan Modi is the Managing Director of EduGo Abroad.