International students are applying to more colleges and universities. Students who want to study overseas are also applying to more countries than ever before, with new non-traditional destinations emerging and a greater emphasis on more affordable options, a new INTO survey has found. There has been substantial growth in applications for Germany and Ireland.
The report, published by INTO student recruitment company on May 27, “signals a major shift in student behaviour and the emergence of new study-abroad destinations,” said Tom Hands, INTO chief recruitment officer for university partnerships. He added, “The competition for universities in top study-abroad markets to attract overseas talent has become even tougher.”
The INTO survey conducted in March 2024, surveyed 1,240 agents from 66 countries and concluded that there was intense competition for recruiting international students with 87% of agents reporting an increase in the number of universities and colleges that students applied to in the past year.
With the new student cap in place in Canada, the new ‘genuine student’ requirement in Australia and further restrictions in the UK agents are increasingly recommending new destinations.
In the survey, 11% of agents said that they had submitted applications to 100+ universities last year. The survey also warned that this would increase the pressure on agents to become adept at applying form admissions and visas to more countries than ever before.
The survey also noted that affordability was playing an increased role is destination choices and the burden of financing higher education in the traditional destinations was now assuming more importance than anytime in the past. The survey also showed that the attractiveness of the USA, UK, Australia and Canada had diminished while new European and Asian study destinations were garnering more attention from both students and agents. Germany and Ireland are the two ‘new’ destinations that have seen the most growth in the last year.
Agents across Asia noted that students are increasingly choosing a destination closer to home.
Besides affordability, career opportunities are increasingly important for international students, with 87% of surveyed agents identifying it as a key factor, an increase of 5% from the previous year.