At Hotcourses, we run one of the most comprehensive portfolio of websites focused on helping students find the right programme and university. These websites cater to students from all around the world and we keenly monitor user preferences and the trends of students to improve our services and provide an enhanced user-experience to students who visit our websites.
Based on our recent audit of website traffic we noticed a startling fact; the demand for UK universities among students has come down and substantial user interest in American universities is on the rise. When we examine data from just students from India; the USA ranks first, Australia second and the UK third in terms of student interest.
The Trigger
In 2012, when the UK government decided to revoke the Tier-1 post-study work visa, they would not have expected this harsh a backlash, but the truth is out in the open now for everyone to see.
“The loss of the UK’s two year post-study work visa has cost the Scottish economy over £250m since the programme ended in 2012.” - Universities Scotland.
But there is a fair bit to cheer; the UK remains the second most popular study abroad destination followed by Australia.
Great Expectations
As students look to find the best deal in terms of education, fees, living costs and a job after graduation, all countries ranging from Malaysia to Canada and Sweden to New Zealand are looking to recruit international students to study in their universities. These are exciting times ahead for Indian students looking to study abroad. From tuition-free and minimal tuition programmes in Germany to competitively priced programmes with visa extension facilities in Canada; this is the best time to be a student!
Data Source – Hotcourses White Papers
Scottish University Data – “ThePieNews”