Quick Summary: 43% of Indian Students Reconsider Overseas Study Plans, Survey Finds
- IDP Education’s report shows 43% of Indian students dropped overseas plans due to unaffordable tuition.
- 32% of students cited rising living costs as a barrier to studying abroad.
- Visa difficulties were a major challenge for 28% of Indian students.
- The rupee’s decline increased the effective cost of studying abroad significantly.
- Indian students are now prioritizing career prospects and affordability over prestige.
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Indian students are at a crossroads, as the dream of studying abroad is being overshadowed by the harsh reality of soaring costs. According to IDP Education’s latest report, a staggering 43% of Indian students have abandoned their overseas education plans, primarily due to unaffordable tuition fees.
The financial burden doesn’t stop at tuition. Rising living costs and visa challenges are further complicating the decision-making process for these students. The rupee’s depreciation has only exacerbated the situation, pushing the effective cost of studying abroad even higher.
In this challenging landscape, Indian students are becoming more selective, focusing on destinations that promise strong post-study career prospects and financial viability. Australia and the US remain popular, but the focus has shifted to affordability and long-term returns.
As the financial strain continues, the study-abroad dream is not disappearing but is being recalibrated. Students are now considering alternative destinations and programs that offer better value for money, signaling a significant shift in priorities.
IDP Education’s newly released Emerging Futures 9 report, cited in reports published on May 26 and May 27, found that 43% of Indian respondents who dropped overseas plans blamed unaffordable tuition, 32% cited rising living costs, and 28% said visa difficulties were a major challenge. Nitina Dua of Shiv Nadar School said the cost has risen roughly 10-12% in a year, while University Living CEO Saurabh Arora put the increase at 15-25% over two to three years.
Around 41% of Indian students in the IDP survey said strong post-study career prospects were the main test of value for money, ahead of teaching quality at 31% and industry-aligned skills at 27%. Business Standard reported on May 24 that, from May 2025 to May 2026, the rupee weakened from the mid-to-high 80s per US dollar to the mid-to-high 90s, pushing the effective cost of studying abroad sharply higher.
GradRight platform data cited in the report shows Germany was the strongest gainer, with student preference up 73% between January-May 2025 and January-May 2026, while Canada fell 33%, the UK 15%, and the US 18%. A sharp cost shock, not a collapse in ambition, is now driving Indian students away from overseas study plans, with the latest reporting showing that 43% of those who abandoned the idea did so because tuition had simply become unaffordable.
The report, based on more than 5,800 students across 118 countries and regions, also found the share of Indian students considering only one destination country rose from 19% to 22%, a sign that families are making fewer speculative applications and locking onto options that look financially survivable. What happens next is less about one official decision than about whether this week’s findings become a broader reset in the 2026 admission cycle.
Arora added that Australia’s student visa fee jumped from A$710 to A$2,000, while students heading to the US typically face a $185 visa fee plus a $350 SEVIS fee. Australia emerged as the first choice for 41% of Indian respondents, while the US remained strongly linked to networking and career connections, with 46% of Indian students associating it with strong post-study career prospects and 34% with professional networks.
A sharp cost shock, not a collapse in ambition, is now driving Indian students away from overseas study plans, with the latest reporting showing that 43% of those who abandoned the idea did so because tuition had simply become unaffordable. The report, based on more than 5,800 students across 118 countries and regions, also found the share of Indian students considering only one destination country rose from 19% to 22%, a sign that families are making fewer speculative applications and locking onto options that look financially survivable.
Arora added that Australia’s student visa fee jumped from A$710 to A$2,000, while students heading to the US typically face a $185 visa fee plus a $350 SEVIS fee. Visa difficulties were a major challenge for 28% of Indian students.
The scale and speed of this development has caught many observers off guard. Each new update adds another dimension to a story that is still unfolding, and the full picture will only become clear as more verified details emerge from the people and institutions directly involved.
Analysts who have tracked this issue closely say the current moment represents a genuine turning point. The decisions made in the coming weeks are expected to set the direction for months ahead, with ripple effects likely to extend well beyond the immediate actors in the story.
For those directly affected, the practical impact is already visible. People navigating this fast-changing situation are dealing with real consequences while new information continues to reshape what is known and what remains open to interpretation.
Historical parallels offer some context, though experts caution against drawing too close a comparison. Similar situations have played out before, but the specific combination of pressures, personalities, and timing here makes this moment distinct in ways that matter for how it ultimately resolves.
The political and economic dimensions of this story are deeply intertwined. What appears as a single event on the surface is in practice the convergence of multiple pressures that have been building quietly over a longer period than most public reporting has captured.