Amit Agrawal from Ajmer & Sulagna Bhattacharyya from Barrackpore represents the growing tribe of students from Tier 2 & 3 cities constructing a beeline for foreign degrees.

Once associated with their companions from metropolises and wealthy and prosperous families, global orientation is now being pursued by those in small towns and cities across the nation.

Education counselors and student financing firms vouch for the increasing numbers of such university and college aspirants who are aware of the courses fitted for them. The diversity of education avenues in affordable countries like France, Spain, and Italy has helped these youths who dream of accomplishing big in their lives.

Amit, a 21-year-old, who graduated from a college in Ajmer, is engaged in filling up application papers for universities in the US, UK, and Germany.

He belongs to a middle-class household. Amit is banking on scholarships & student-friendly self-funding opportunities to finance his education. Amit is the first in his family to consider education abroad. At first, he thought that foreign education was unaffordable. But now, with financing alternatives and an opinion about the kind of options foreign education has to deliver, it is a risk worth taking.

Amit says his family is ready to take a loan to fund his education if he earns admission to a good university.

Sulagna Bhattacharyya, who holds a B.Tech degree, is applying for programmes in sustainability consultancy in France, as she feels the choices for growth as a software engineer are narrow.

Sulagna, 24-year-old, stated that she chose France because it offers her an opportunity for a work-study programme where her employer will fund a portion of her education. Also, the diversification and range of courses there are considerably more than compared in India. She added that this works as a good arrangement for her since she will be able to fund my education.

Sulagna has begun applying to universities in the UK as a backup alternative. She says that education in the UK is costly and will require a loan, but it will deliver more profitable options for employment.

According to the (MEA) Ministry of External Affairs, around 1,33,135 students left the country for education in the first three months of this year and the figure was 4,44,553 for all of 2021.

Middle-class dreams & increase of funding options

Digits, shared by an overseas study platform & a student financing company, among others, indicate how students from the hinterland are keen to transfer abroad for higher education.

According to a report released on Tuesday, overseas study platform LeapScholar discovered that 57 percent of Indian middle-class families with a family income in the range of Rs 3-10 lakh were sloped to spend on overseas education. The reasons mentioned include the promise of global career opportunities, premium education and lifestyle, and better salaries.

The survey conducted via online mode of 649 people from across the nation was held between July and August this year. It represents that 83 percent of the students questioned believe that an overseas degree will improve their opportunities of ensuring better job prospects and deliver an advantage over peer competition in the talent and skill pool.

Co-founder of LeapScholar, Vaibhav Singh, stated that fuelled by the student community’s rising aspirations, the Indian overseas education market is anticipated to increase multi-fold and will witness more than 2 million Indian students fly out by 2025, spending more than $100 billion on their international education.

These developing aspirations are mirrored in the evolution of the student finance ecosystem.

Prodigy Finance Student financing company states it has documented a 135 percent increase in disbursements in India in 2022.

Head of global partnerships at the firm, Mayank Sharma, attributes this that learners from small towns have demonstrated over the past year and goodwill towards the company.

Prodigy Finance recorded a whopping 689% boost in Tirupati, a 133% increase in Nagpur, 337% growth in Guntur, 332% gain in Vijayawada, and 552 percent growth in Warangal.

GyanDhan, a Delhi-based student financing firm, also witnessed significant growth post-pandemic in applications from small towns & cities. Tier 2 & 3 cities accounted for 53% of the applications in the present financial year, up from 37% in the last year.

University Living, an accommodation firm that aids students with hostels and rooms in Australia, the US, Ireland, the UK, and Canada, also found a similar trend. The founder of University Living said in 2022, 69% of the traffic on University Living was from Tier 2 & 3 cities compared to only 48% in 2021.