Number of Indian students studying in the US sees 30% jump on stable rupee

The stability of the rupee against the US dollar which has in turn resulted in a better return on investment for Indian students has led to a 30 per cent jump in the number of Indian students studying in the US during 2014-15.

According to Education Exchange data released by Institute of International Education (IIE), the 2014-15 period saw the highest rate of growth for Indian students in the history of the Open Doors project, which spans back to 1954/55.

This is in contrast to the period 2010-13 when there was a continuous decline in the number of Indian students studying in the US for three years due to steep fluctuations and eventually a steep devaluation of the rupee against the US dollar.

Rajika Bhandari, Deputy VP for Research and Evaluation at IIE, said, “The jump in Indian students studying in the US comes from a combination of factors, including the ongoing stabilisation of the rupee against the dollar – which has likely allowed more Indian students to afford a US education – America’s large Indian diaspora, and positive perceptions of the US higher education system among Indian students.”

While China remains the top country of origin of international students in the US, increasing by 11 per cent to 304,040, India’s growth outpaced China’s this year, with students from India increasing by 30 per cent to a record high of 132,888.

Vineet Gupta, Director at Jamboree, which helps student’s clear proficiency tests such as GMAT/GRE/SAT/TOEFL/IELTS said that, the US continues to be the top destination for Indian students as it continues to offer the best courses and facilities for research and development. According to a recent Assocham report, Indian students spend $6-7 billion (approximately ₹45,000 crore) annually in seeking greener pastures in foreign universities with a miniscule number of them choosing to return home.

Furthermore, most Indian students who visited the US studied at the graduate level. In 2014-15, 64 per cent of the Indian students studied in the US at the graduate level as against 12.4 per cent at the undergraduate level.

Bhandari said, “Indian students are also more reliant on US-based funding for their studies than are students from some other countries. Most of this funding is available only at the graduate level.”

She also pointed out that the Indian higher education system offers a strong education in English at the undergraduate level and this results in many Indian students beginning their post-secondary educations in India and then moving abroad for their graduate-level education.

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