In the first three months of 2022 vs. the first three months of 2021, there was a 98 percent increase in study abroad loan applications.
COVID-19 turned the ecosystem of overnight education upside down, displacing the rest of the world, and the foreign education sector was no different.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA), the number of students going abroad has dropped by 55 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 as a result of the epidemic. Now, with the relaxation of visas, the feeling of normalcy is returning to the process and mass immunization, the foreign education market is ready to revive itself and the data from Prodigy Finance supports it.
Prodigy Finance, a UK-based fintech company that helps global students achieve their dream degree in the world’s best schools by providing collateral-free education loans for overseas applications, has seen a 98 percent increase in loan applications in the first three months of study abroad. The first three months of 2022 vs. 2021. Of these, Tier-2 and Tier-III cities including Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Warangal and Tirupati contributed 176 per cent to the growth.
The report includes some interesting insights –
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The top 5 most popular business schools for Indian applicants in 2021 were INSEAD, London Business School, IESE Business School, Wharton School, Booth School of Business.
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The top 5 most popular engineering schools for Indian applicants in 2021 were Northeastern University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Texas at Arlington, Arizona State University, University at Buffalo.
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The average loan amount for studying abroad was $ 42K
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The most preferred streams to study abroad are business, engineering, healthcare, law, public policy and science.
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67 per cent of the applicants were male and 33 per cent were female applicants at 58 per cent and 54 per cent respectively
Mayank Sharma, Country Head, Prodigy Finance says; “In the post-Kovid-19 era, the landscape of Indian foreign education has changed dramatically. With the introduction of international travel, relaxation of various restrictions and increase in vaccinations, the global education sector has started to grow. The number of Indian students applying for admission in foreign universities is slowly increasing. ”
To nurture students’ dreams, Prodigy Finance has financed US 1 1 billion in student loans for approximately 25,000 students in 130 nationalities worldwide and is supported by marquee investors such as Index Ventures and Baldarton.