Despite Covid, 36% of students globally chose to study abroad: Survey

NEW DELHI: According to Cambridge International annual Destinations Survey, over 80% of schools say the COVID-19 pandemic has altered students’ choices on higher studies. Students now give more preference to global universities. Even with the pandemic around, an estimated 36% of students worldwide still chose to go to university overseas. The survey asks schools across the globe where their Cambridge International AS and A-Level students from the previous year have chosen to go to university

However, Indian students still prefer India as the primary destination, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom. There is an increasing trend of Indian students choosing Canada and Australia too.

In India, Ashoka University is the top choice for the surveyed students, followed by FLAME University, NMIMS University, Christ University and Amity University. When it comes to higher education subjects, Indian students' primary choices are business and management, engineering, computer science, economics and liberal arts.

The survey reveals that 84% of schools had many students with a change of mind regarding their primary choice of academic destination. The general uncertainty, difficulties with travel or financial hardship caused by the pandemic has fueled this. However, the impacts of the pandemic have not changed the desire of Cambridge students to continue their higher education overseas. Over 1/3 of Cambridge students are still estimated to have progressed to universities outside of their own country in 2020.

Greater awareness of international education, a wide choice of courses and better career opportunities keeps motivating the students. Increased awareness of scholarships and funding makes going to university overseas more financially viable.

Globally, many teachers surveyed reported a diversification in the countries that students are prepared to consider, with a particular increase in applications to universities in Turkey, Germany, Canada, Indonesia, UAE and the Netherlands.

The survey also says that the travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic had made it difficult for students to travel. Only 17% of students chose the US as their preferred destination. It shows a sharp decline from 34% in 2019.