At least 65% of undergraduate and 55% of postgraduate students are looking to go overseas within the next 12 months, according to WorldGrad survey.

The survey also reveals that 65% of the respondents are planning to go overseas within the next 12 months, while the remaining 35% are planning to go beyond the 12-month timeframe. Apart from this 55% of postgraduate students are looking to go overseas within the next 12 months.

The survey reiterates that employment opportunities and cost are the key factors for students when choosing a destination to study abroad. This is consistent with the previous year’s survey conducted by The WorldGrad, on study abroad preference by the students.

Highlights from the survey include:

• Australia emerged as the top destination for undergraduate students with 37% of respondents choosing it as their preferred study destination, followed by Canada (23%), US (20%) and UK (13%). For postgraduate students, the US was the most popular choice with 33% choosing it as their preferred destination, followed by the UK (25%), Australia (21%) and Canada (19%). These results are consistent with the previous year’s survey, which also found that Australia and the US were the top choices for undergraduate and postgraduate students, respectively.

• Employment opportunities remain the key criteria for choosing a destination for both undergraduate and postgraduate students with 38% and 47% of respondents respectively citing it as their top priority. Cost is the second most important criteria for both groups with around 22-23% of respondents citing it as a factor. These results are also consistent with the previous year’s survey.

• Education loans have become a key source of financing for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, with 36% and 40% respectively citing it as their primary source. Scholarships remain an important source for around 24% of both undergraduate and postgraduate students. These results are consistent with the previous year’s survey.

• To save on overseas study costs, 80% of undergraduate and 82% of postgraduate students are willing to start a part of their degree online in order to save costs. This is also seen as a time-saving tool, as 85-90% of those planning to go abroad within the next 12 months are willing to consider such programs. These results show a significant increase from the previous year’s survey, which found that only 65% of undergraduate and 70% of postgraduate students were willing to start a part of their degree online.

• While foreign campuses opening in India are gaining popularity, the survey found that 80% of students still prefer to study abroad.

“According to our latest survey, there has been a notable increase in UG and PG students’ willingness to pursue overseas studies through a hybrid learning model. This is a positive trend as it allows students to save costs and time while still gaining valuable academic skills. Our part-online and part-on-campus programmes have achieved a 100% visa acceptance rate for our students, indicating their success. The information gathered from these surveys will enable us to enhance our services and better meet the needs of our students.” – Abhinav Mital, Co-founder of The WorldGrad.