New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- Even a few years ago, Indian students aspiring to study abroad mostly came from well-off families or had someone in the family who had studied overseas. But that trend is changing. The ambition to study abroad is no longer geographically specific. The study-abroad dream is no longer driven only by India's metro cities. Studies show that more students pursuing international education today are coming from small towns, particularly Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
This shift had been building since around 2018, but the pandemic accelerated it. A recent study by Prodigy Finance noted that students from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities make up nearly 79% of the students they serve. Another report for 2024-25 found that 57.2% of Indian students enrolled abroad came from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, compared with 47% the previous year. "Ten years ago, the family sitting across from a counsellor was usually in a metro, and usually had someone in the household who had already studied overseas. That profile has gone. A large share of the interest now comes from smaller cities, where the student is the first in the family to do this at all," said Sonal Kapoor, Global Chief Business Officer, Prodigy Finance.
Post-Covid rise in interest
Interestingly, most experts pointed out that this shift has become much more visible over the last few years, particularly after the pandemic. Saurabh Arora, Founder & CEO, University Living, also believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) deserves a real share of the credit. "Access to information has changed completely. Students in smaller cities today have the same access to university information, online counselling, student communities and digital application platforms as students in metros," he said.
According to Chaitanya Chitta, Senior Vice President and Regional Head at Cintana Education, the trend has been building for at least the last 5-7 years and has accelerated post-Covid. "Awareness has increased significantly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities through digital platforms, social media, school counsellors etc. More importantly, families in these cities are increasingly seeing international education as a pathway to better careers, global exposure and upward mobility. The aspiration gap between metros and smaller cities has reduced considerably. Thanks to better exposure, increase in economic capacity being the drivers and I expect this trend to continue."
Digital dominance
There might be several reasons why and how the internet can harm us, but it is also important to focus on how it has improved access to information. Imagine living in a suburban town where you have limited options to meet an international education consultant, with no guarantee that he or she will provide you with the best options. Digital access today, powered further by AI, can help students understand the intricate details of study destinations, including cost breakups and scholarships. "Digital access has played a significant role. A student in Indore, Jaipur, or Coimbatore can today explore universities, compare courses, understand visa requirements, and speak to counselors without needing the ecosystem of a metro. But access is only one part of the story. The larger change is aspirational. Students and families in smaller cities increasingly see global education as a pathway to specialized skills, international exposure, and better career opportunities. For us, the most encouraging part is that geography is no longer defining ambition. The global education dream is becoming increasingly national, and students from smaller cities are very much driving that expansion," said Nikhil Jain, Chief Product & Marketing Officer at Crizac Limited.
Better access to education loans
Aspiring to study abroad and turning that ambition into reality is a costly dream, and it is clear that banks today are increasingly proactive in providing loans for foreign education. Whether the student is a farmer's son or comes from a business family, education loans now cover major expenses such as tuition fees, living costs, travel and insurance. Lakshmi Iyer Chief Client Officer & Chairperson, StudyIn India, mentioned bank education loan books have grown at a decade-high pace in the last financial year, crossing well over Rs 8 lakh crore, driven largely by overseas study demand and rising costs per student. "Beyond loans, families are actively hunting for university and country-specific scholarships, assistantships and tuition waivers, particularly in destinations like Germany where public universities charge little to no tuition. Many are also turning to part-time work permissions in the destination country to offset living costs, and some are exploring destinations with lower overall cost structures - Germany, France, Ireland and parts of Central and Eastern Europe - specifically to make the numbers work. A newer trend is families topping up existing loans mid-course when currency depreciation or fee revisions widen the funding gap, something that has become more common over the last year," she said.
"I took a student loan myself, with my father as cosigner, and it changed the way decisions got made at home. A family that has pledged the house is a family that will not let a student switch course, or spend three months finding the right job instead of taking the first offer. None of that appears on a term sheet, which is why I tell families to compare the terms and not only the rate," said Kapoor. Arora mentioned research showing that among Indian students who dropped their plans to study abroad, 43% cited unaffordable tuition fees, 32% pointed to rising living costs and 28% cited visa difficulties. "The question today is no longer simply, 'Can we afford the university fee?' It is, 'Can we comfortably manage the complete journey and does the outcome justify the investment?" he said.
Small cities, big dreams
Of course, metro cities such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai continue to be among the strongest markets for students aspiring to study overseas. However, as Jain informed, the market is no longer confined to these traditional hubs. "We are seeing increasing interest from cities such as Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and a growing number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations. The student profile is becoming much more geographically diverse," he said. Chitta echoed similar sentiments and added that cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam are seeing strong growth in the number of students interested in studying abroad. Iyer pointed out that alongside the traditional leaders, a second tier of cities has become genuinely significant contributors. These include Indore, Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Patna, Nagpur, Raipur, Coimbatore, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Mysuru and Bhubaneswar. "Eastern India as a region has also picked up pace, with cities like Kolkata and Siliguri contributing a growing share of enquiries. What's notable is not just that these cities are participating, but that the number of distinct towns generating at least a handful of applications each year has multiplied several times over in the last decade, spreading demand far more evenly across the country than before," she said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.