America, New Zealand and Germany attract international students

International students are more interested in the US, New Zealand and Germany, and less interested in the UK, Australia and Canada after these three countries tightened student and work visas.

AECC, a global education consultancy, published the results of a survey of more than 8,300 prospective international students from 124 countries on their desired destinations at the end of March. Accordingly, about 15.5% of them said they had changed their preferred study destination in the past 12 months. Interest in New Zealand, Germany and the US increased by 86%, 36% and 13% respectively, while interest in Australia, the UK and Canada decreased by 9-32% compared to the beginning.

The three most common factors that made them change were tuition costs (24%), job opportunities (19%) and policies towards international students (14%).

AECC research also said that education quality and job opportunities were the main motivations for studying abroad, with 38.2% and 25.3% of people choosing them.

When asked about their plans after graduation, more than half of those surveyed (56%) wanted to work in their home country and 28% hoped to settle down. 79% of students said the right to work after graduation was extremely important when considering studying abroad.

In addition, about 20% of prospective international students have changed their intended major in the past 12 months. They switched to Business and Management, Computer Science and Information Technology, Health and Medicine, leaving Engineering, Humanities, Design, Finance and Accounting. More than 52% said the reason was because the above majors could find high-paying jobs. The remaining reasons were better settlement opportunities, family, tuition fees and friends.

Students of Heidelberg University, Germany at their graduation ceremony, 2023. Photo: Heidelberg University Fanpage

Previously, in the "Voice of International Students" study conducted by IDP in January in 67 countries, with 2,500 participants, nearly half (49%) said they would rethink or were uncertain about their plans to study in the UK. The number of people hesitant to go to Australia and Canada was 47% and 43% respectively.

These countries have made many moves to tighten visas and employment for international students since the middle of last year, in the context of a sharp increase in immigration, putting pressure on housing.

Canada said it would cut the number of international students it allows by 35% this year and would no longer issue work permits to students at public-private universities. Australia increased financial and English requirements and introduced a new test to determine international students’ motivation to study. It also reduced the post-graduation stay for students in some fields and occupations. Britain began reviewing its work visa programs for international students last month.

Meanwhile, Germany has loosened a series of regulations for international students and workers, increased overtime hours, and lowered language standards for vocational students. This country has increased the number of international students by more than 50% compared to 10 years ago, due to free tuition, low living costs, and open job opportunities.

New Zealand and the US have made almost no changes to their policies towards international students. However, New Zealand is attractive due to its low tuition fees (20,000-25,000 NZD, equivalent to 350 million VND a year), while the US has the world's top quality of university education. Both allow international students to stay after graduation for up to 36 months, depending on the field of study.

The number of international students coming to New Zealand reached more than 59,000 last year, up more than 40% from the previous year. The US, despite denying a record number of student visas in 2023, still attracts a million international students.

Doan Hung

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