Study Abroad News & Alerts

Business schools in the UK are warning international students regarding visa rejections that they might face. Earlier this year, the UK introduced new restrictions, including the inability of international students to bring other people dependent visas along with themselves. This new rule is going to impact net immigration and the government is looking forward to further cutting down the number of international immigrants coming to the country every year.

Many business schools in the UK are advising international students not to apply for visas due to the skyrocketing visa rejection rates. In fact, since MBA is a masters degree, most people like to bring their spouses or family members along with themselves. Since this rule has been changed, many people are skeptical about studying in the UK in the coming semester as the government might impose some new changes also. 

University of Galway, Ireland is inviting international students for its Global Achievement Scholarship 2024. This scholarship is specifically designed for students who want to pursue a program in the field of arts, design, social science, business and public policy from the university. Under the scholarship, selected students will be given a tuition fee waiver of £2000 on their annual tuition fee. To apply for the scholarship, students do not have to fill any separate application form. Any student applying for a cost that falls under the eligibility criteria of the scholarship will be assessed for the scholarship on their own. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must apply to any of the eligible schools of the university that falls under the scholarship criteria. This includes College of Arts, College of Business, College of Public Policy and Law. Only full time students at the university will be considered for the scholarship.

In a recent interview, officials from the US consulate, have said that in 2024 also, the US is expecting to receive the largest number of international students from India. The United States of America has been a top study abroad destination for international students for many years. ACT, which is the standard test in the US taken by students to get into the top American universities, is being taken by Indian students in large numbers.

 In 2023, more than 3000 students from India took the ACT. Getting admissions into American universities through ACT is actually a more credible way of taking admission. Students also get the opportunity to receive more scholarships through this process. Many students going to the US from India are not aware of this method of getting into the top universities of the US. Tests like these help in saving so much time and money for students.

The Dresden Leibniz Graduate School is inviting candidates from around the world to apply for its PhD program. This school accepts applications throughout the year and has no deadline for any program. The PhD programme will involve research around a lot of initiatives started by the DLGS. All the interested students who want to apply for the scholarship must have a masters degree. 

They must also have a minimum good or higher level German proficiency. The students must also submit a research proposal that is in line with the study and research domains of DLGS. The students must also submit their letter of recommendation, English proficiency test and proof of previous qualifications.

Following a series of political tension as well as the introduction of new policies related to curbing the number of international students coming to the country, there has been a 42% decline in the number of student visas given to Indian students. Canada has recently introduced new rules related to limiting the number of international students that can come to the country every year. This new rule will lead to a decline of 35% in the number of international students that used to come to Canada every year. Almost 360,000 students will be impacted by the same. 

Also in September, 2023 a series of political tensions arose between Canada and India. India asked 41 of Canada's diplomats to leave the country within 15 to 20 days. Soon after the spat, the number of student visas issued to Indian students from Canada declined massively. In a recent interview, the immigration minister of Canada Mac Miller has said that the political tensions between the two countries have severely impacted. The number of student visas given to Indian students in the last quarter of 2023.

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore has recently launched a short-term leadership program for students. This is a nine month long program that has been designed to empower managers of tomorrow. This will help them in building a good team and having a positive influence on the company. Interested candidates can apply for this program till 28th February, 2024. The fee for this program is Rs.7,40,000. Candidates do not have to take any special test to be selected for this programme offered by IIM Bangalore. 

They can simply register themselves by submitting their qualification certificate as well as resume. On the basis of this data, the institute will shortlist certain candidates. The programme will be conducted in a hybrid mode. There will be a blend of online, in person and live sessions. The whole content of the course is divided into three different modules that the enrolled candidates will study along the course of nine months.

NTA has already released the results for JEE Mains paper 1. Now students are waiting for the results of the JEE Mains paper 2. The results of paper II that was conducted for BA in architecture and BA in planning will be announced in the coming week. More than 74,000 students registered for this exam out of which 75% of the students were present. Students will need their application number and date of birth to check the results on the official website of JEE. 

The examination result will be uploaded soon on the website of JEE. Candidates can click on the link of Paper 2 results to check their results. The exam was organised on 24th January, 2024 and more than 55,000 students were present for the exam. To remain updated, students must check the official website of JEE for any news related to the results.

The total number of students appearing for the Graduate Record Examination in India is more than the number of students appearing for the same exam in the US. This is the first time in 80 years that a country outside of the US has appeared for more GREs than the US citizens. GRE was first introduced in 1936 and is a standard exam to get into different higher education institutes in the US. It consists of different sections including verbal reasoning skills, aptitude, critical thinking and quantitative reasoning. 

Typically most students take this test to get into the top management institutes of the US in some other parts of the world. In 2023, more than 113,000 students appeared for the GRE followed by the US where there were approximately 97,700 candidates. At the third position is China with 57,769 candidates. One of the prime reasons why Indian students have topped the list is also because of the drop in the number of students from the US appearing for the test. There has been a decline of 61% in the number of students from the US appearing for the GRE

The government of the UK has made several changes in its immigration policies. A lot of restrictions have been imposed on international students as the majority of them are not allowed to bring dependents. Although the government says that this will benefit the immigrants as well as the citizens in the long run, most Indian students do not consider the UK as one of the top choices for study abroad now. While there has been an overall increase of 0.7% in the number of international student visa applications, there has been a downward trend among Indian students. 

There has been a 4% decline as compared to the last quarter of 2023. For Nigerian students, there has been a massive 46% decline. The increase in the number of applications has been from countries like China and Turkey. Students are now worried that the government might impose some new rules that will go against their plan of studying in the UK. This is why most students are hesitant towards studying in the UK.

In a recent survey that was conducted among 25,000 students who wanted to study abroad across multiple tier 1, tier 2, and metro cities, it was found that the majority of the students who want to study abroad are BTech graduates. There has been a massive decline in the number of students opting for Canada as their dream destination. Only 9.3% of students said that Canada was their dream destination. European countries topped the list with 48.85% of the students opting for different European countries. 

This was followed by the US and the UK. Among European countries, Germany was on the top of the list with 32.6% of the students opting for Germany. 44% of the students who want to study abroad are fresh graduates and do not have any work experience. 23% of the students who want to study abroad have 0 to 2 years of experience. 56% of the students who want to study abroad have pursued their higher secondary education from state boards. 32% of the students are from CBSE board and only 12% of the students are from ISC or IB.

As per reports, Indian students are now preferring European study abroad destinations more than Canada. Germany has become the latest top choice of Indian students as more Indian students are inclined towards pursuing STEM programs from Germany. Indian students have also shown a declining interest in studying in the UK. This is possibly because of the introduction of new policies by the UK government to tackle the high rate of immigration. Students are choosing Europe because of better study abroad opportunities and more affordable tuition fees. Also the after study work prospects in European countries are a lot better than the conventional study abroad destinations. Majority of the students who go to study abroad, pursue a BTech degree, followed by a commerce degree. More than 44% of the total students study abroad to pursue an undergraduate programme.

The British Council is an important organisation in the UK that fosters cultural relationships and provides opportunities to international students in the field of education. Recently, the British Council has announced the GREAT Scholarship for Indian students. This scholarship will be offered to Indian students in collaboration with the GREAT Britain Campaign. Under this scholarship, students will be given the opportunity to pursue undergraduate studies in the UK across different universities and multiple disciplines. Each scholarship that will be given to the selected students will be worth a minimum £10,000. The scholarship will be given for the session 2024 to 2025. To be eligible for the scholarship the student must have received an acceptance letter from one of the participating institutes in the scholarship programme.

Canada has recently released a statement related to putting a restriction on the number of international students that can come to the country every year. From the beginning of 2024, Canada restricted the number of student visas issued to international students every year. From now on an estimated 360,000 student visas will be issued annually which is a 35% decline as compared to previous years. 

Canada has also explained the whole process of providing a Provincial Attestation Letter. From now on, it is compulsory for all students to get a PAL from the province that they're going to study in. It is important to submit this document while applying for a student visa. Otherwise the IRCC will reject the application of the student. Mostly all the post-secondary study programmes, diplomas, graduate degrees and certificate programs will need this document. 

CBSE board exams have officially started from 15th February, 2024. The exams for both class 10th and 12th are scheduled at 10:30 AM. Initially the exam for class 10th minor subjects like painting, Tamang and Sherpa subjects will be conducted. After getting done with the minor subjects, CBSE will begin with the major theory subjects. For class 12th, CBSE will first get done with subjects like entrepreneurship, capital, market operations and physical education. 

Students are expected to carry their examination ID along with themselves to the examination hall. Also students must reach the examination centre, at least half an hour before the advised time. It is not allowed to bring any kind of electronic gadget and it might lead to the cancellation of exams. Students must make sure that they do not carry any illegitimate item along with them to the examination hall. 

Currently, the US consulate is organising a number of Education fairs in India. As per the US consulate, Indian students are going to be the largest number of international students in the US in 2024 also. Out of the 1 million international students who are currently studying in the US, 268,923 are from India. Although there was a 35% increase in the number of Chinese students going to the US in 2022, Indian students will still remain at the top position in 2022.  

55% of the total international students who go to the US from India prefer STEM. These students get an option of staying back in the country for 36 months after completing their education. Currently the delegations from different universities of the US are organising education tours in different parts of India. This includes George Washington University, University of Saint Antonio, Arizona State University and many more.

The government of Odisha has just announced a special scholarship for both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying in the state. Under this scholarship, male students will be given an annual scholarship of at least Rs.9000 and female students will be given an annual scholarship of at least Rs.10,000. Other than this, all the students will also be given a special pre-poll bonanza card, which will have several benefits. 

This will include access to free skill development courses, travel benefits including bus and train travel. All the students of Odisha are eligible for the scholarship except for the students whose parents are taxpayers to the government or permanent government employees. The amount of scholarship given to students will be directly proportional to their academic performance. The better the score of the student, the more the scholarship amount will be given to them.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi has announced that the Central Board of Secondary Education will be opening a new branch office in Dubai. This news was announced during the PM's speech at the Ahlan Modi event that was organised in Abu Dhabi. This will help in providing quality education to the Indian community staying in the UAE. Also the IIT Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus will also start offering the new master scores from 2024 onwards.

 During the event, the PM also interacted with students from the IIT Delhi, Abu Dhabi campus stressing on the importance of bilateral relations between the two countries and fostering better education. The IIT Delhi, Abu Dhabi campus offers a variety of courses focusing on sustainable energy and transition. The institution was established in February, 2022.

NTA has officially started the registration for the NEET 2024. All the candidates interested in giving the NEET UG 2024 exam can register themselves on the official website of NEET. The NEET UG 2024 exam will be organised in 13 different languages, including Assamese, Gujarati, Bengali, English, Hindi, Punjabi and many more. All the applicants from the general category will have to pay a registration fee of Rs.1700. OBC candidates will have to pay a registration fee of Rs.1600. Candidates belonging to SC, ST, and third gender category will have to pay registration fee of Rs.1000.

To register themselves, candidates can simply visit the official website of NEET. Then on the homepage, students can find the registration link on which they have to click. Students have to register themselves by filling in all the necessary details and conclude the registration process by submitting the examination fee. Students can take a printout of the registration form for reference.

The faculty of science at the University of Strathclyde is offering a scholarship to all international students. 200 students will be selected out of all the students applying for a science programme at postgraduate level in the coming academic year. The scholarship amount will range from £5000 to £7000 depending upon the student. Students can apply for the scholarship till 31st July, 2024. This is a one year scholarship that will be given to students on the basis of their academic performance in the previous degrees. 

Also any kind of professional experience and extracurricular activities will also be counted. Since the scholarships will be given to students on the rolling basis, it is better to apply as early as possible. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must have a full time offer from the university. Also the student must be self funded and should not be receiving any kind of grant from different sources.

The Australian government has made an announcement regarding the commencement of the Australia Award Scholarships 2025. The scholarships are given to international students taking admission in undergraduate courses in different universities across Australia. The registration process has already started from 1st February, 2024. Some famous universities that are a part of this initiative are University of Canberra, University of Sydney, University of Queensland and University of Melbourne. 

These are a wide range of scholarships that are given to selected students on the basis of extra curriculars, academics, skills and a lot of other parameters. This programme comes as a commitment of the Australian government to help international students study in Australia without any financial burden.