Over the past year, several countries welcomed record numbers of incoming international students. However, with increased interest comes fiercer competition, whether between students for popular programs or between destination markets to attract the brightest minds. Understanding the factors that drive today’s international students, from affordability to practical experience opportunities, can help institutions and destination markets attract tomorrow’s innovators.
This October marked the second edition of our ApplyBoard Recruitment Partner (RP) Pulse Survey. In it, we asked counsellors to reflect on student volumes, study destination attractiveness, issues like inclusiveness and safety, post-graduation work opportunities, and more.1 We received over 750 replies from counsellors in more than 50 countries, and want to thank everyone who participated. Your insight gives us an important glimpse into where the international education sector is.
Read on to learn how counsellors around the world see interest in international study shifting. Plus, we’ll take a closer look at which factors scored highest for students when deciding where to study, their perception of top Anglophone study destination markets, and more.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Two of the top three student priorities when choosing a study destination were related to employment.
- Visa processing times and approval rates remained in the top five student concerns, but were flagged by fewer survey respondents compared to the October 2022 RP Pulse Survey.
- Compared to the 2022 survey, more respondents reported a recent decrease in the number of students interested in studying abroad. This may signal a return to steady, sustainable growth, compared to the rapid acceleration seen in 2021 and 2022.
How Are Student Perceptions of International Study Changing in 2023?
Many respondents noted that students continue to see education as a path to a brighter future, as shown in the chart below. However, the proportion of respondents reporting a decrease in the number of students interested in studying abroad rose by 10 percentage points from the 2022 RP Pulse Survey. This change is likely due to a range of factors.
In 2022, the percentage of counsellors seeing a significant increase in prospective international students was over 50%. This enthusiasm aligned with major sector shifts, including Australia’s full reopening to international students in December 2021—and a record-setting year from many of its top source markets. Meanwhile, in the United States, the year-over-year growth rate of new international student enrollments hit a 40-year high in 2022–23.2
As the four major English-speaking study destination countries remain open, there are fewer obvious opportunities for dramatic increases in student interest. Amid ongoing global inflation and its impact on families worldwide, the affordability of international study may also be causing prospective students to take a closer look than ever at the cost of studying abroad.3
Canada Remains Most Affordable Destination Market
As in our 2022 survey, Canada’s reputation as an affordable international study country remains strong, with 78% of respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing that studying in Canada is an affordable option.
While this percentage has decreased from 87% of participants in 2022, Canada still has a comfortable lead on the other destinations. Around 60% of respondents believe the US, Australia, and Ireland are affordable, while just over half agree the United Kingdom is an affordable option. It’s worth noting that the number of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed with this statement dropped for every country on this list in 2023. Ultimately, while the majority of counsellors still agree these destinations are financially accessible, that perception is at risk.
This risk is underlined by the response to a separate survey question. When asked how attractive students found these five study destinations, counsellors’ 2023 responses were slightly more neutral. The one exception is Ireland, which had a slight improvement over its 2022 sentiment.
One reason student interest is leveling out may be increased competition from other markets. As ApplyBoard’s 2024 Trends Report notes, a number of non-Anglophone destination markets are also breaking student records as we approach 2024. Germany hosted more international students than ever before, while Chile continued to grow as a destination market after a five-year run as the world’s fastest-growing student destination.4 And with China’s Zero-COVID policy finally coming to an end, we expect China will become a top study destination once more.
Encouraging Transparency and Unique Opportunities
As the cost of living rises, one step destinations can take to bolster confidence is updating the mandated minimum amount of money students must bring to their study country. While it may have an initially chilling effect, this can lead to a more confident student population who are economically prepared for their journey.
Australia has taken steps to address this; in October 2023, the financial capacity requirement for international students was adjusted from A$21,041 to A$24,505.5 However, some countries’ proof of financial support requirement no longer aligns with what a student in most parts of the country needs to cover their cost of living, even with a part-time job. This can lead to higher levels of student stress and lower student satisfaction rates. In turn, unexpected financial stress in current students can impact future enrolment through word-of-mouth.
As we enter 2024, there are real opportunities here for countries and institutions to build trust and engagement with students by emphasizing how international study has a long-term return on investment in the form of higher earnings and stronger career paths. Institutions would also do well to highlight exclusive offerings, whether in the form of unique or cutting-edge programs, work-integrated learning opportunities, student services, or research opportunities that students can’t pursue anywhere else.
Employment Top of Mind, Visa Processing Concerns Ease
The cost of studying remained the most important determining factor in the eyes of student counsellors and students.6 86% of respondents selected it, up one percentage point from 2022. Cost of studying scored 15 percentage points higher than the next-highest factor. This emphasizes that, as in last year’s survey, affordability remains a top student concern.
The second- and third-highest rated factors are also linked to finances, but speak directly to employability. 71% noted opportunities to work while studying were important. This option was a new addition to this year’s survey, and possible overlap between it and “post-graduation work opportunities” may contribute to why the latter option was chosen by 70% of respondents this year, but 80% last year.
63% of participants highlighted how important opportunities for permanent migration are to students. As such, it’s vital that destination markets and academic institutions promote clear avenues to permanent residency to current and prospective international students. After graduation, international students bring fresh perspectives to a variety of industries, driving innovation and inclusion, while also ensuring the local workforce remains robust despite aging populations. There are obstacles to achieving this goal, but they are not insurmountable, as this year’s Trends Report notes:
But while most destinations and institutions promote post-graduation work opportunities, one of the most common causes for a visa refusal is a student’s failure to convince government officers that they intend to return to their home country after graduation.
Better alignment here would be a win for all: for students, it would mean clearer application guidelines without a need to lie about their career aspirations; for institutions and communities, it would mean increased quality of applications and inflows.
On a related note, visa processing times and/or approval rates remain in students’ top five concerns. However, the percentage of counsellors who chose it dropped from 66% in 2022 to 44% in 2023. Visa processing times and approval rates were the option that changed the most dramatically from 2022 to 2023, and this rise in confidence may align with process improvements across the sector.
US student visa appointment wait times were the shortest they had been in two years in early 2023. Elsewhere, building towards a more transparent process has led to improved Canadian study permit approval rates,7 particularly for African students. New Canadian study permit processing times for students outside of Canada also dipped to an average of six or seven weeks from May through August 2023, although this average rose again in the fall.8
Students Prioritize and Plan for Career Potential
As in 2022, Canada took top marks for potential post-graduation work opportunities. 91% of participants agreed Canada offered strong career opportunities. Australia and the United Kingdom ranked second and third; 79% and 67% of respondents agreed that these countries offered strong post-graduation work opportunities, respectively.
Of the five countries listed, Ireland was the only one where post-graduation work opportunity confidence levels improved between 2022 and 2023. As more international student counsellors become aware of what Ireland offers, and it grows in popularity as a study abroad destination, this improvement is likely to continue.
Regardless of study destination, international students are actively planning toward future career growth by choosing programs strategically. In a later survey question, 92% of respondents agreed that post-graduation earning potential mattered to their students and ultimately influenced which programs students applied for.
Key Takeaways
With over 750 surveys completed from school counsellors in over 50 countries, the ApplyBoard RP Pulse Survey remains a useful tool for checking in on the international education sector. By monitoring how students and student counsellors view different markets as well as the sector itself, we’re better equipped to gauge and address challenges in a timely manner with sector partners. To drive continued connection with international students, academic institutions should consider the following:
- This year’s survey results show that while interest in international study remains strong, students are placing a higher value on factors like affordability and programs that teach career-related skills. Highlight scholarships or financial aid open to international students, or unique work-integrated learning opportunities your institution offers. When connecting with future students, also speak about how international education can lead to more prestigious and in-demand career paths.
- As non-Anglophone destination markets grow in popularity, current top destination markets may need to increase communications efforts and streamline intake processes to continue to grow international student applications.
- Destination markets that offer transparency about current costs of living while also providing robust post-graduation work opportunities will benefit from attracting—and retaining—top global talent.
Stay tuned to ApplyInsights for our Student Pulse Survey results this December. We’ll also run the next RP Pulse Survey in spring 2024.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. Many questions are the same in the 2022 and 2023 RP Pulse Surveys; where questions were adapted, we’ve noted it in the text or footnotes. Also new for 2023 is data on Ireland, which was included in the 2022 survey but not reported on.
2. The PIE News, US hosted over one million students last year. November 2023
3. OECD, A long unwinding road: OECD Economic Outlook, June 2023. June 2023.
4. The number of international students in Chile grew from 3,200 in 2017 to 19,000 in 2022, an increase of 486%. For a full breakdown of Chile’s growth and other countries with at least 8,000 international students that are emerging as strong destination markets, read our ApplyInsights article.
5. Study Australia, Change to evidence of financial capacity for student visas. September 2023.
6. In the 2023 survey, we merged cost of studying with cost of living. These options were individual factors in the 2022 RP Pulse Survey question.
7. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enroll in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies.
8. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Check processing times. May–November 2023.
