Study abroad dreams await US deal

EDUCATION PLATFORMS PIN HOPES ON INDIA-US TRADE DEAL RESTORING NORMALCY

- MANU KAUSHIK

AFTER A SLUGGISH 2025, the new year offers some hope for students hoping to join foreign universities, but a lot will depend on how fast the US-India trade deal will be signed.

Sources from study-abroad platforms indicate that destinations like Canada and the UK are likely to remain unfavourable for students throughout 2026.

With the high rejection rates in visa issuance by the US government to Indian students and a brief pause in the visa appointments, even student movement to the US may take time to pick up.

The drop in fresh visas being issued to the Indian students is even more pronounced than for Chinese students, where the year-on-year decline in January-November period was 8.4%.

Barring Australia, last year was particularly challenging among top study abroad destinations. Student enrolments in the US universities were hit due to the unavailability of adequate number of visa interview slots.