Study Abroad – A mania that will never subside

Studying in India or abroad? This predicament quite often puts Indian students in a quandary. Going abroad for an overseas degree has become quite common nowadays. Indian students who have embraced foreign degrees with open arms have been obsessed with overseas colleges and universities from the early 70s.

Studying in India has gone out of fashion for most of them since we do not have the required infrastructure and Ivy League colleges to compete with our western counterparts. Despite this, some students prefer Indian degrees due to a variety of reasons

The foremost reason is the unaffordability of an overseas degree. Due to the higher cost of living and exorbitant fee structure in foreign universities, students from middle-class backgrounds prefer to study in India, whereas the rich and the affluent students choose to fly abroad instead due to their financial clout and status.

So why there is a craze among Indian students to study abroad? The reason is obvious. A foreign degree from a reputed university or college is revered highly in India and abroad. A student graduating from an Ivy League institution gets a placement offer from a reputed company in the country of study and India as well.

Due to high teaching standards, immaculate infrastructure facilities, and qualified teaching faculty, the Ivy League institutes in western countries enjoy a cult following and mad rush from Indian students.

There are lakhs of Indian students in foreign countries studying a variety of courses. They have been inspired by their seniors who have had a stint abroad earlier. Looking at the success stories of Indian graduates who have made it big in foreign shores, more and more students from India prefer to go abroad and achieve their goal of becoming successful in their area of work and study.

Going abroad has become a status symbol for families across India. Since a foreign degree is held in high esteem, there has been no letup in Indian students opting to study abroad.

Most of the Indian students who travel abroad for higher studies do not return and those who return get absorbed in reputed companies in our country due to the degrees they hold which have a higher value compared to Indian ones.

So studying abroad has become a norm for Indian students. Every household has a person or two in foreign shores. Rich and affluent families often prefer their children to get an overseas degree which adds to their status and credibility in the society.

The craze which started in the 80s will never fade away. This craze is already at its peak and is going to intensify manifold as years pass by. With the introduction of a new visa system for overseas students, the outbound traffic from India has resulted in the proliferation of Indian students in foreign universities.

Lastly, I would say that Indian students are a talented lot and they deserve to study abroad. Getting a foreign degree is one of the prerequisites for an Indian student. The trend of going abroad and settling in foreign shores is not going to subside in the foreseeable future.