International students are more interested in the US, New Zealand and Germany, and less interested in the UK, Australia and Canada after these three countries tightened student and work visas.
AECC, a global education consultancy, released the results of a survey of more than 8,300 prospective international students from 124 countries on their desired study destinations in late March. Accordingly, about 15.5% of them said they had changed their preferred study destination in the past 12 months. Interest in New Zealand, Germany and the US increased by 86%, 36% and 13% respectively, while interest in Australia, the UK and Canada decreased by 9-32% compared to the beginning.
The three most common factors that made them change were tuition costs (24%), job opportunities (19%) and policies towards international students (14%).
AECC research also said that education quality and job opportunities were the main motivations for studying abroad, with 38.2% and 25.3% of people choosing them.
When asked about their plans after graduation, more than half of those surveyed (56%) wanted to work in their home country and 28% hoped to settle down. 79% of students said the right to work after graduation was extremely important when considering studying abroad.
In addition, about 20% of prospective international students have changed their intended course of study in the past 12 months. They switched to Business and Management, Computer Science and Information Technology, Health and Medicine, and left Engineering, Humanities, Design, Finance and Accounting. More than 52% said the reason was because these courses could lead to higher-paying jobs. Other reasons included better settlement opportunities, family, tuition fees and friends.
Students of Heidelberg University, Germany at the graduation ceremony, 2023. Photo: Heidelberg University Fanpage
Previously, in the "Voice of International Students" study conducted by IDP in January in 67 countries, with 2,500 participants, nearly half (49%) said they would rethink or were uncertain about their plans to study in the UK. The number of people hesitant to go to Australia and Canada was 47% and 43% respectively.
These countries have taken many steps to tighten visas and work for international students since the middle of last year, in the context of a sharp increase in immigration, putting pressure on housing.
Canada said it would cut the number of international students allowed this year by 35% and would no longer issue work permits to students at public-private universities. Australia increased financial and English requirements and introduced a new test to determine the motivation of international students. It also reduced the post-graduation stay for students in some fields and occupations. Britain began reviewing its work visa programs for international students last month.
Meanwhile, Germany has relaxed a series of regulations for international students and workers, increased overtime hours, and lowered language standards for vocational students. This country has increased the number of international students by more than 50% compared to 10 years ago, due to free tuition, low living costs, and open job opportunities.
New Zealand and the US have made little change to their policies towards international students. However, New Zealand is attractive due to its low tuition fees (20,000-25,000 NZD, equivalent to 350 million VND a year), while the US has world-class quality of higher education. Both allow international students to stay after graduation for up to 36 months, depending on the field of study.
The number of international students coming to New Zealand reached more than 59,000 last year, up more than 40% from the year before. The US, despite denying a record number of student visas in 2023, still attracts a million international students.
Doan Hung
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