India’s ‘study abroad’ ecosystem Loan applications see 4x jump and number of international schools too goes up

Over the past few years, Samar* has worked with a large cross-section of students — from children of NRIs to business scions to star kids — all wanting the same thing: gaining admission to some of the best universities in the world. Not surprising then that most students adopt a hands-off approach once a consultant enters the picture; it’s the parents who are “extremely hands-on”, ensuring they get the “bang for their buck”, says Samar, and the buck is substantial at a cumulative ₹12 lakh-₹14 lakh per year. of Indian students going abroad 2017: 4,54,009 2020: 2,59,655 2022: 7,50,365 The ecosystem also includes people like Viral Doshi, a prominent Mumbai counsellor and mentor who has been dubbed the ‘Harvard whisperer.’ Doshi hand-holds students right from Class IX to the time they get into college, sometimes going even further and mentoring them through their college years. “One of the biggest stumbling blocks for students going abroad is financing,” says Shivani Mani, founding member of Grad Right, an ed-tech platform that also helps students secure loans. Vaishali Chandgude, a former IGCSE teacher, says, “There are a number of new international schools coming up, and they’re poaching teachers from existing schools.