Students from India don’t seem to be backing down on plans to study overseas in 2023 even amid the possibility of a recession in many countries, rupee depreciation, and rising tuition fees.
Three verticals that track factors related to overseas studies are projected to grow by more than 76 percent in 2023, according to Adventum Student Living, a startup that helps students find accommodation and education loans.
The verticals are UniScholars, a global scholarship directory, UniAcco, for student accommodation, and UniCreds, which provides financial aid. The average growth of overall enquiries on education abroad has increased 2.3 times. Yet, experts said 2023 won’t be an easy year for studying abroad.
“From a purely financial perspective, 2023 may turn out to be a difficult year for students going overseas,” Sayantan Biswas, cofounder of UniScholars, told Moneycontrol. “The combination of an accommodation crisis, a rise in tuition fees, and currency fluctuations is not ideal for planning overseas study.”
As student debt piles up and a recession looms, experts said US universities that refrained from increasing tuition fees during the pandemic may be forced to do so now. A four-year undergraduate programme for Indian students at Harvard University cost $84,413 in 2022-23 compared with $82,178 in 2021-22, according to a report by Forbes.
Work options
Biswas said the most effective way for students to alleviate their situation may be to explore working opportunities.
“Canada and Australia have been making alterations to their student visa laws to allow greater student participation in various professions,” he said.
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Apart from adding a supplementary source of income, getting a part-time job adds valuable work experience and practical skills that may boost chances of employment later, he added.
The financial challenges are increasing. According to Ashish Fernando, founder of iSchoolConnect, an education consultant, overall expenses have increased by about 10 percent. Increases in loan interest rates are adding to the load.
“But students want to enhance their chances of finding a job in an increasingly competitive market. What better way than to get higher education from a top-ranked global university?” Fernando said.
However, he pointed out that the rupee has weakened only against the dollar.
“It is in good shape against other major currencies such as the euro and the pound. Thus, students aspiring to study abroad can look at other destinations that remain largely unaffected such as Canada, the UK, and European nations,” Fernando said.
He recommended that students opt for dollar-denominated loans to douse the increasing debt burden.
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“That can be a good way to reduce the high cost of studying abroad as dollar-denominated loans are immune to currency fluctuations,” he said.
Another option is to take a fixed-rate loan instead of a variable one, Fernando added.
ESS Global, an overseas study consultant, also expects a big surge in applications for the US in 2023. One reason is that student visa appointments were delayed during the past 12 months.
“Students could not get interview slots and they had to either reschedule their classes or defer their classes for the next intake,” said Rohit Sethi, director of ESS Global.
Although inflation and a likely recession have pushed students to think in other directions, he said students still prefer a US university over others, even though employment prospects aren’t bright.
“Companies may be slowing down on their hiring or even laying off employees. However, students should take this as an opportunity to broaden their focus on specific aspects of their ideal job,” Sethi said.
Also Read | Planning to study abroad on a loan? Here’s how you can tackle the debt if unemployed
Tight accommodation
He suggested that students equip themselves with skills that will help them adjust to the job environment and the demands of specific roles.
“If they are interested in breaking into the tech industry, for example, they can broaden their focus and think of related areas where they can get a toehold and use that as a stepping stone,” he said.
Also Read | Here’s how students can cope with accommodation crisis in the UK
Accommodation could be another problem area. Most metropolitan cities have a limited supply of places to stay, said Saurabh Arora, founder of University Living, a student housing platform. Also, with the Russia-Ukraine war leading to an increase in the cost of energy, rentals have increased by 15-20 percent.
The sooner they book accommodation, the better the prices and facilities they will get, Arora said.
University Living noticed that students were unable to get accommodation in the city and ended up in the suburbs, which required 1-2 hours of travel.
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