India Records 114% Upsurge in Online Search for Overseas Education
Chennai, India, August 26, 2015: A study undertaken on the trends in overseas education by Sulekha.com, India’s leading digital platform for local services, has revealed the following interesting trends. When compared to the previous year, the study witnessed 114% upsurge in online search for overseas education.
This study is based on 2.8 million visits and searches that landed on the Overseas Education page of Sulekha.com between 2014 and 2015, across cities including Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad.
Key findings of the study:
Compared to last year, there is a 114% upsurge in online search for overseas education. Delhi (140%) leads in the increase in search for overseas education, followed by Bangalore (122%), Hyderabad (99%), Chennai (93%), Mumbai (81%), Pune (76%) and Ahmedabad (62%).
Course and Country preference:
- USA (33%) has emerged as the most preferred destination for Indian students looking for overseas education, followed by Canada (18%), Germany (16%), Australia (12%), UK (8%) and Singapore (5%)
- For Business and Management related courses, students prefer US whereas for Arts and Social Sciences students prefer UK and for Engineering and Banking related courses, students prefer to go to Australia
- Singapore is fast emerging as a popular education hub owing to its high quality education and less cost
- About 63% of Indian students are searching for post-graduate courses online followed by 28% of the students looking for PhD courses and 9% for undergraduate programmes
- 24% of the Indian students are willing to pay 52% more for an overseas degree than an Indian degree and 40% of the students are ready to pay 25% more for a dual overseas degree
- In terms of the various fields of course preferences, 32% of students are looking for Medical courses online followed by Computer Science with 24%, Law & Legal Services with 21%, Economics & Econometrics with 15%, Communication and Media related with 10% and 6% for psychology
- About 65% of students look for full-time overseas courses over distance education, with the key reasons being the culture exposure and learning new languages
- 65% of students prefer dual courses as it gives them greater career options
Other interesting findings:
- The key reasons why parents in India will not send their child abroad for studies are safety, high cost and communication/cultural differences
- While 50% of the students select an institution based on the course availability of their interest, 19% for country/city of their interest and 30% decide based on the popularity of the institution
Satya Prabhakar, CEO of Sulekha.com, said, “Overseas education is one of the fastest growing businesses and there is an explosion in demand for it. Parents are increasingly willing to spend more for the overseas education for their children. We have seen a huge increase in Indian students looking for overseas education be it for their graduation/post-graduation. Niche courses, enhanced job prospects, global exposure and practical training are some key reasons Indian parents are keen to have their children study abroad.”
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