Canada top choice for study abroad; Australia intake dropped by 50% in 2 years

Australia which was among top destinations for Indians has become less favourable among study abroad destinations

With COVID-19 vaccination picking up pace across the world and various nations easing up their visa norms to allow international travel students looking for study abroad options are also exploring options for higher education studies.

As per a survey conducted among Indian students who have recently passed Class 12 Board exams, Canada came out as the top choice for students amongst 50% of the respondents which aligns with the fact that it has attracted over 1,40,000 Indian students because of favourable immigration opportunities.

The statistics collated from a large pool of students also pointed towards the key challenges and concerns of the students. The survey was conducted by The WorldGrad- a tech-enabled platform that assists students in the overseas education process, in which over 20,000 undergrad aspirants gather insights on their plans of studying abroad, post-Covid; the survey also took insights on their obstacles and overall hardships.

According to the survey – 81% of the students still aspire to study abroad whereas 19% of students have delayed or dropped the idea of overseas education. With regards to the popular study abroad destinations, after Canada, the USA comes second, with 40% of students considering it, followed by UK and Australia.

Australia number drop by 50%

The survey states that Australia has become the least preferred destination which is quite clear, given the stats as intakes from India to Australia have gone from 80,000 in 2019 to less than 40,000 in 2021.

As per The WorldGrad, there could be a lot of reasons for it, of which Covid-19 and the travel restrictions that come along with it, is only one.

95% of the students believe that being vaccinated in India will make them more suitable for travel overseas and 75% of those who have delayed the plans stated that financial constraints as a big factor, a part of which could have been brought on due to the economic uncertainty in the current situation. For those planning to go overseas, the process has clearly been delayed as only 5% have received admissions so far.
A vast majority (76%) are either still researching their options or in the process of application. This is again due to the severe delays in board results due to which students have not been able to start the fall term with overseas universities and will likely go early next year.

The WorldGrad Co-Founder, Abhinav Mital said: “It was quite prominent that Covid-19 pandemic might not be in the favor of the students who wish for overseas education but I am really inspired by the stats that we got through the survey which clearly shows that a lot of students haven’t let the crises affect their dreams and still wish to continue with their plans.’’