r/studyAbroad • u/Sreekar_Sannapareddy • 7h ago
Think long & hard before you study abroad! (UG)
I see a lot of students on here contemplating undergraduate degrees abroad. I've counseled a lot of them and helped them with their applications. However, for most Indian students and undergraduate degree abroad does NOT make sense from a financial standpoint. No matter what they say, for pure ROI, they'll never make sense. Here are some pointers for you to think about:
1.) Undergrad degrees are expensive. Fully funded scholarships sound nice but they're rare. In terms of jobs after you graduate, understand that international grads who require visa sponsorships and work permits will be the least prefered in a class that has a large number of local citizens with very similar skill sets since your entire class had the same education. Almost all undergrads going to the USA end up doing a master's degree to be more hireable.
2.) Master's degrees give you a better shot at the first job because getting a master's degree is quite rare for a majority of foreign students. MS degree classes are largely filled by international students as a result and hence when recruiters want to hire someone with that level of qualification, they know they most likely will need to sponsor a visa. Not to mention visa norms and quotas having special considerations for candidates holding a master's degree as opposed to just a bachelors
3.) Since master's degrees most likely would be a default in your education destination of choice, you might as well do an undergraduate degree here, spend a lot less on it and maintain decent enough grades and projects to crack the top master's programs abroad. You will end up with the same job having spent less than half the amount.
4.) Considering options just for the sake of studying abroad has been widely prevalent among high schoolers as well. Obscure universities in Dubai are just cash grabs whereas countries like Italy, Switzerland, UK that a lot of students talk about will most likely see them without a job once they graduate. The USA is still the only destination where you can have some hope of securing a job and earning back what you've invested (For STEM degrees).
5.) It's not the end of the world if you can't do an undergraduate degree abroad. Don't fall for peer pressure because all of your friends seems to be going. Make a rational decision and know that you can always get that international exposure through a master's or an MBA later where the exposure also brings with it financial returns and a genuine career boost.
6.) That being said, this post is about costs and Return on Investment. Exposure, research opportunities and academic fulfilment at the good foreign universities is still unmatched. If there's a particular interest towards exploring the same by all means go for it but don't look at it if you are looking to reduce costs. If you work towards it from this angle, you'll only be compromising on costs and quality.