72% study abroad aspirants to opt for hybrid programs to save money: WorldGrad Report

The cost of education is as important as the quality of overseas university for Indian students

72 percent of students (earlier 55%) have been looking for the hybrid-mode (part online-part offline degrees) to bring down the cost of education without compromising the quality of education. A recent survey of overseas education aspirants conducted by The WorldGrad, a tech-enabled overseas education platform, highlights the increasing trend concerning the cost of education playing a deciding role in determining the choice of education.

An equal number of students considered the cost of education and ranking of universities to be the most important factor with a large overlap between the two groups. Consequently, 72% of all students surveyed, were open to choosing a hybrid route i.e. part online - part on campus in order to save costs. This proportion is a massive rise from 55% just a few months back. The factor that has played a pivotal role in the above trend is the ongoing pandemic.

Omicron impacted overseas study plan

66.8% of the students have accepted the fact that the ongoing pandemic wave - Omicron has impacted their overseas study plan. As in a lot of cases, parents were uncomfortable with their children moving overseas right now due to safety concerns. Not surprisingly, the handling of COVID-19 by destination countries was the third most important criterion while choosing a country for studies.

Based on the poll, the USA emerged as the most favoured destination for Indian students (41%) followed by Canada (21%), Australia (18%), and the UK (16%). This signifies a change in trend in favour of two countries - the USA and Australia, both of which had fallen out of favour amongst international students during the pandemic.

The survey also revealed an unanticipated finding - 58% of students had a limited understanding of the visa guidelines related to overseas studies. This asymmetry is caused by the persistent coronavirus which has led countries to change their policy, time and again.

According to the Founder of The WorldGrad, Abhinav Mital: “The shift in favour of a blended education system is not surprising, though the scalability of preference was unexpected. This is a strong message to overseas institutions to offer new program configurations - and some have embraced this trend. We already have 20 institutional partners that offer hybrid entry paths leading to over 500 qualifications. The prolonged pandemic has affected students on a multitude of levels, including emotionally and financially. Furthermore, the research highlighted information asymmetry, which has been an apparent and critical consequence of the pandemic. The WorldGrad has been addressing such concerns regularly and offering hybrid programs, to enable students to realise their potential and achieve their goals.”

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