Category: ApplyBoard

  • Three-quarters of global study decisions determined by cost

    Three-quarters of global study decisions determined by cost

    International students are increasingly looking for affordable destinations and alternative programs rather than give up on study abroad due to increasing costs, a new ApplyBoard survey has shown.  

    While 77% of surveyed students ranked affordable tuition fees as the most important factor shaping study decisions, only 9% said they planned to defer their studies based on these concerns, according to a recent student survey from ApplyBoard edtech firm.  

    “Students weren’t planning to wait for things to change,” said ApplyBoard senior communications manager Brooke Kelly: “They’re considering new destinations, adjusting which programs they apply to, and accepting that they have to balance work with study, but they’re still planning to study abroad,” she maintained.  

    Just over one in four students said they were considering different study destinations than originally planned, with Denmark, Finland, Nigeria and Italy the most popular emerging destinations.  

    Additionally, 55% of students said they would have to work part-time to afford their study abroad program.  

    After affordability, came employability (57%), career readiness (49%), high-quality teaching (47%), and program reputation (45%), as factors shaping student decision-making.  

    With students increasingly thinking about work opportunities, software and civil engineering topped students’ career choices, with nursing as the second most popular field. Tech fields including IT, cybersecurity, and data analysis also showed strong interest. 

    What’s more, interest in PhD programs saw a 4% rise on the previous year, while over half of students were considering master’s degrees, indicating that students are increasingly prioritising credentials and post-study work opportunities.  

    [Students are] considering new destinations, adjusting which programs they apply to, and accepting that they have to balance work with study, but they’re still planning to study abroad

    Brooke Kelly, ApplyBoard

    The study surveyed over 3,500 students from 84 countries, with the most represented countries being Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.  

    Given its share of international students, it should be noted that China is absent from the top 10 most represented countries.  

    As students’ priorities shift and currencies fluctuate, “diversity will be key to mitigate against increased volatility and to ensure campuses remain vibrant with students from all around the world,” said Kelly.  

    Meanwhile, institutions should increase communication about scholarships and financial aid, offer more hybrid learning experiences and highlight programs on different timelines such as accelerated degrees, she advised.  

    While alternative markets are on the rise, 65% of respondents said they were only interested in studying in one of the six major destinations, with Canada followed by the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Ireland, in order of popularity.  

    Despite Canada’s international student caps, the largest proportion of students said they were ‘extremely’, ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ interested in the study destination, highlighting its enduring appeal among young people.  

    While stricter controls on post study work were implemented in Canada last year, in a rare easing of policies, the IRCC recently said that all college graduates would once again be eligible for post study work.  

    This change, combined with the fact that international students can still be accompanied by their dependants while studying in Canada, is likely to have contributed to it maintaining its attractiveness, according to Kelly.  

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  • Canadian study permit approvals fall far below cap targets

    Canadian study permit approvals fall far below cap targets

    Canadian study permit approvals are on track to fall by 45% in 2024, rather than the 35% planned reduction of last year’s controversial international student caps, new IRCC data analysed by ApplyBoard has revealed.  

    “The caps’ impact was significantly underestimated,” ApplyBoard founder Meti Basiri told The PIE News. “Rapidly introduced policy changes created confusion and had an immense impact on student sentiment and institutional operations.  

    “While aiming to manage student numbers, these changes failed to account for the perspectives of students, and their importance to Canada’s future economy and communities,” he continued.  

    The report reveals the far-reaching impact of Canada’s study permit caps, which were announced in January 2024 and followed by a tumultuous year of policy changes that expanded restrictions and set new rules for post-graduate work permit eligibility, among other changes.  

    For the first 10 months of 2024, Canada’s study permit approval rate hovered just above 50%, resulting in an estimated maximum of 280,000 approvals from K-12 to postgraduate levels. This represents the lowest number of approvals in a non-pandemic year since 2019. 

    Source: IRCC. Disclaimer: Data for 2021-Oct 2024 is sourced from IRCC. Full-year 2024 figures are estimates extrapolated from Jan-Oct 2024 and full-year 2021-2023 IRCC data. Projections may be subject to change based on changing conditions and source data.

    “Even from the early days of the caps, decreased student interest outpaced government estimates,” noted the report, with stakeholders highlighting the reputational damage to Canada as a study destination.  

    “Approvals for capped programs fell by 60%, but even cap-exempt programs declined by 27%. Major source countries like India, Nigeria, and Nepal saw over 50% declines, showing how policies have disrupted demand across all study levels,” said Basiri.  

    Following major PGWP and study permit changes announced by the IRCC in September 2024, four out of five international student counsellors surveyed by ApplyBoard agreed that Canada’s caps had made it a less desirable study destination. 

    Though stakeholders across Canada recognised the need to address fraud and student housing issues, many had urged the federal government to wait until the impact of the initial caps was clear before going ahead with seemingly endless policy changes.  

    At the CBIE conference in November 2024, immigration minister Marc Miller said he “profoundly disagreed” with the prevailing sector view that the caps and subsequent PGWP and permanent residency restrictions had been an “overcorrection”.

    Post-secondary programs, which were the primary focus of the 2024 caps, were hit hardest by the restrictions, with new international enrolments at colleges estimated to have dropped by 60% as a result of the policies.  

    While Canada’s largest source destinations saw major declines, the caps were not felt evenly across sending countries. Senegal, Guinea and Vietnam maintained year-over-year growth, signalling potential sources of diversity for Canada’s cap era.   

    The report also highlighted Ghana’s potential as a source destination, where approval ratings – though declining from last year – remain 175% higher than figures from 2022. 

    Rapidly introduced policy changes created confusion and had an immense impact on student sentiment

    Meti Basiri, ApplyBoard

    The significant drop in study permit approvals was felt across all provinces, but Ontario – which accounted for over half of all study permit approvals in 2023 – and Nova Scotia have seen the largest impact, falling by 55% and 54.5% respectively.

    Notably, the number of study permits processed by the IRCC dropped by a projected 35% in 2024, in line with the government’s targets, but approval rates have not kept pace.

    When setting last year’s targets, minister Miller only had the power to limit the number of applications processed by the IRCC, not the number of study permits that are approved.  

    The initial target of 360,000 approved study permits was based on an estimated approval rate of 60%, resulting in a 605,000 cap on the number of applications processed. 

    Following new policies such as the inclusion of postgraduate programs in the 2025 cap, Basiri said he anticipated that study permit approvals would remain below pre-cap levels.  

    “While overall student numbers may align with IRCC’s targets, the broader impact on institutional readiness and Canada’s reputation will be key areas to watch in 2025,” he added.  

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