To study abroad isn’t just a dream anymore because statistics show that more and more Indian students are flying abroad to study in universities in other countries. They all wish to take a sip of the best, so to say.
The WENR (World Education News and Reviews) says that USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand have been the most sought after countries and that even way back in 2004-2005, the number of students going from India touched 120,312… and this number is in the range of 200,000 in 2010-2011.
Another study points out that the number of Indian students going overseas to study rose a stunning 256% – from 53,266 to 189,629 – in just nine years (2000–2009). The countries to which Indian students go to are not limited to the ones mentioned above and also include Germany, Russia, Singapore and many others. But the point of concern here is not the number of students going abroad but the fact that they are spending 40 to 80 lakhs a year for tuitions and for boarding and lodging. To elaborate further let me quote from Economic Times that mentions a total cost of 3.2 crores for a four-year course covering media, culture and communication… and it adds that “most undergraduate programmes in sought-after universities abroad entail spending of about Rs 1 crore over four years. Princeton University, ranked No. 1 by US News & World Report, charged $41,820 (Rs 26.3 lakh) for tuition and fees in 2014-15”. For more information, learn this here now.
What do these statistics really mean? Well, in the simplest of terms, this means that Indian parents need to plan the study-abroad ambitions of their children from an early stage. Almost all financial companies have saving plans available and they are what the Indian parents need to refer to. For instance, the Sabse Important Plan by Birla Sun Life talks of alternatives that range from their best sip plans to sip investment plan to sip mutual fund to best mutual funds for sip and their top sip plans. Of course there are other financial plans from other companies available but the one that I have mentioned has terms that many parents found easy enough to follow and adhere to. And this is the reason why the title of this post talks about Indian parents making the best future available for their kids to take a sip of the best!
Parents need to understand that saving enough for education abroad is not the entire story. There are other vital elements that have to be planned for. After all, getting selected by a university of their choice also means being the deserving one. And the one fact that time has taught me is that only scoring high marks in your examinations is one small part of the selection criteria. These universities want students who have gone beyond their text-books and have application forms running into multiple pages that want an applicant to talk about things other than studies.
So it makes a lot of sense for an Indian student to expand his horizons and step out of the classroom and home to get varied experiences. Travel, participation in socially relevant activities, ability to write and blog well, a few years with the NCC or the NSS, debating, sports, photography and even a meaningful interaction on the social media matter. The real mantra for the student is to focus on broadening his or her experience profile and letting the financial concerns be taken care of by reasonable planning strategy by the parents.
.
Disclaimer: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risk. Please read the offer document carefully before investing.
.
.
The Sabse Important Plan by Birla Sun Life talks of alternatives that range from their best sip plans to sip investment plan to sip mutual fund to best mutual funds for sip and their top sip plans.
Be realistic about targets…
Seek the right questions. Seek the right answers.
.
.
.
Arvind Passey
05 April 2017
