What students look for while applying for universities abroad?

1) Ready, Set, Go!

Firstly, let us tackle how students begin their journey, that is, the search for the right institution to pursue their desired courses/programmes. The results of a survey show that 44% of respondents search primarily by course/programme. There are some exceptions of course, which include the Middle East, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. Course/programme choice is undoubtedly important to students as it determines whether they will be able to set out upon their chosen path. However, location is also important. An astounding 83% of students already have a specific country in mind when searching for an institution. In addition, 67% of those respondents also have a specific area or region in mind.

2) Information consumption

In terms of what kind of information students prefer or look for, respondents were very clear with what they felt was useful and what they prefer. 

Preferences vary from country to country which can be attributed to difference in culture. Let us first look into whether the usage of new technology to display information in the form of videos is deemed useful by students. The results display that 70% of respondents felt that video content was at least ‘helpful’ when asked to rate the ‘helpfulness’ of video content on a Likert scale. Next, the survey asked the type of information that respondents prefer. Students from India, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia and the Middle East responded that information on the facilities that an institution provides is preferred.It is intriguing to note that students from Brazil, China, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam prefer information about student life and daily living in the country which they are interested in applying for.

3) Alternative study options

Some academic institutions offer courses off their main campus and some even conduct online courses. The survey shows that most students don’t have a definite opinion on courses available off an institution’s main campus. 55% of respondents said that they were ‘not sure’ to this question. On the other hand, 67% of respondents felt that online degrees were worse than courses on campus. There is an overall negative perception of online degrees.

4) What influences a decision?

When it comes to making a decision, it usually boils down to the individual him/herself. However, there is always the additional factor of peer and parental influence. Opinions of current international students are held in high regard. 81% of all respondents felt that reviews by current international students from their country are either ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful’. Parental influence is also a strong factor. Interestingly, the level of parental influence varies with location. In India, Singapore and Vietnam, parental influence has a stronger impact on decisionmaking while in China, Latin America and South Korea, students are more independent so parents are less influential.
 

5) Application time

Its finally time for the last step in the application process. Technology has come a long way since the advent of the Internet. In this day and age, most universities have embraced the Internet and provide students with the option of online registration for the convenience of both parties. The results of the survey show that students are comfortable completing important procedures online. The positive response was overwhelming. 70% of respondents are happy finding a course online while 85% are pleased to receive e-mails from universities responding to their queries. Most importantly, 54% of students are glad to have the option of applying courses online.