Every year, millions of students leave their homes and travel to a foreign country to pursue higher education. As per the latest survey of UNESCO which was conducted in 2016, there were 5.1 million mobile students across the globe pursuing their higher education, a number which was just 2.1 million in 2000. This global mobilization is being observed to grow around 12% every year.
While most of the students leave their country in the hope of getting a better higher education, some do travel to study abroad just for foreign exposure. Fortunately, there are some education portals that have emerged lately to help such students, irrespective of their reason for Studying Abroad. Collegedunia.com is one such portal. helping students across the globe by providing all the information from scratch through their Study Abroad program.
These portals provide students aspiring to study abroad with all kinds of data starting from the basic identification of various courses in different countries and the entrance exams required to be cleared. They also help with extra works like booking your flight and other post-VISA processes. Such portals ensure that you end up with good accommodation in the country of your choice and also have some really good friends to share it with. With the presence of such helpful portals, students find their abroad education journey getting easier.
How Does Such a Huge Chunk of International Students Affect the Host Nation?
Such a large influx of thousands of students play an important role in affecting the environment and economy of the host nation. Multiple reports in the past have shown how these mobile students contribute to a country’s economy.
According to 2013-14 research by the US-based Association of individuals worldwide – NAFSA (National Association of Foreign Student Advisers), international students added $26.8 billion to the US economy. Not just that, they also helped in the creation of 360,000 more jobs and an 8.5% increase in job support.
What Challenges do Students need to Tackle?
Educational websites offer a lot of support to aspiring students, but there are many things that need to be addressed on own.
- Students planning to study abroad find language and culture a serious challenge. Though many students find communicating in the only common language, English, a piece of cake, they do find problems in adapting with the locals.
Adapting with the host country also includes adapting to their culture, the structure of society, and also the local policies followed.
- In the process of adjusting with new realities, mental pressure does come in the picture. Make sure you are prepared for all that comes in and that you manage every problem beautifully and peacefully.
- One big thing which many students often forget to consider at an early stage is the difference in the patterns of the education system. Even universities within a particular country follow multiple patterns of education. For instance, US universities follow 3 different kinds of models:
(i) Fall and Winter/Spring Semesters
(ii) Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer Trimesters
(iii) Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer Quarter Systems
Preparing for such challenges in advance helps students to a great extent.
Why are Students Leaving their Home?
Though studying from a better university remains the most common reason students give for studying abroad, is that really the reason prompting them to leave their beloved places? Well, it might be one reason but it is not the only one.
Students across multiple countries have been citing various different reasons for this. Some of them are listed below.
- Lack of unconventional courses: Many students say that they leave their country as there were not enough opportunities to pursue unconventional courses. Many developing countries still put a great emphasis on the traditional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses.
- Easy Immigration: Many budding professionals find the easy way to immigrate to bigger countries by opting for foreign university education. The easy policies providing job opportunities to graduates is all they need.
- Better Research Opportunities: Reputed universities attracting most of the international students boast better infrastructure and facilities for research-oriented learning.
Which Countries Attract the Highest Number of Students?
America still remains the most preferred destination for international students, as huge flocks of students continue pouring in. However, the trends are showing some shifts in the patterns for the past few years. Countries like Canada, Germany, China, Spain, and Australia are showing the percentage increase of international students in 2 digits.
The following table gives some insights into the trends.
| Country | No. of International Students (2018) | % change from previous year | Top Sending Countries |
| USA | 1,094,792 | +1.48% | India, China, South Korea |
| UK | 506,480 | +1.08% | China, USA, Germany |
| China | 489,200 | +10.49% | South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan |
| Germany | 265,484 | +5.54% | India, China, Russia |
| Australia | 371,885 | +13.52% | India, China, Nepal |
| Spain | 109,522 | +15.33% | Italy, France, USA |
| New Zealand | 114,705 | +5.27% | India, China |
| Canada | 370,710 | +18.78% | India, China, South Korea |
| Japan | 188,834 | +10.09% | China, Vietnam, Nepal |
| France | 343,386 | +6.01% | Morocco, Algeria, China |
The presence of most of the Top 10 ranked universities has kept the USA in the first position for long now. Though the global trends are shifting, the USA will continue to dominate this market for long. Another reason why the USA attracts so much crowd is the huge variety of unconventional course the US universities offer.
With a rapid increase in Automation, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI), more and more specialized courses are developing. Catering to the needs of all such courses, these universities appear to be the best destination for study abroad programs.
