The pandemic might have deferred the study abroad dreams but has definitely not crushed them. As the vaccination drives across the world has sped up, things are turning back to normal. A majority of Indian students — 64 per cent —  plan to study abroad in the US and Canada despite the uncertainity, reveals Mentor Conference 2021 Polls conducted by ForeignAdmits.

It further revealed that 79 per cent of the students believed that studying abroad will increase their employability because of the higher chances of acceptance in reputed organisations. Further, the online study environment is taking a toll on young minds as 71 per cent of the students preferred to visit the university in person. Face-to-face learning and cross-cultural learning are highly valued by respondents.

The highest number of aspirants are from Maharashtra at 16.31 per cent and the footfall of the combined south Indian states, that is, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu comprised more than half of the participants at 52.19 per cent.

As many as 43 per cent of the counsellors and mentors opted for the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and data sciences. As many as 17 per cent choose a career in media and advertising. This consists of both UG and PG courses. About 22 per cent choose a career in management such as MIM, MEM and MBA.

Over 90 per cent of the counselors opted for “learning a new language” as the single most important skill for any study abroad aspirant. Out of the 22 per cent of counselors and mentors who opted for management as a viable career option, 44 per cent chose MEM in that category.

The statistics reveal that 57 per cent of the students and 41 per cent of the counsellors reported that the financial component of a study abroad plan crushes the dreams of the aspirants and their parents. A little more than 60 per cent of the students confirmed that they need to take an educational loan to bear the expenses of a foreign university. Approximately 80 per cent of the students were ready to take the leap irrespective of whether they require a loan or not.

The survey conducted in mid-July comprised of 12,000 students from India and 17 other countries across various levels of education including undergraduate, postgraduates, and working professionals.

Only 31 per cent of the respondents wish to pursue their master’s at a top university out of which 71 per cent were students and the remaining were working professionals. Students who were aspiring to their bachelor’s abroad were only 7.12 per cent of the total sample space, 12.1 per cent of the respondents were aspiring for MBA while only 2.3 per cent were aspiring for MIM. About 8.26 per cent were PhD aspirants.

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