Why Indians Should Avoid Loans to Study in the U.S. And U.K.
May 13, 2024
BY IGNATIUS CHITHELEN*
Typically, this month is the deadline for students admitted to universities in the United States to confirm acceptance by sending a deposit or give up their seat. Each May since 2020, Global Indian Times has pointed out that students in India should avoid taking on major educational loans to study in the U.S. This year, GIT also suggests avoiding loans to study at universities in the United Kingdom.
Most Indians graduating from U.S. universities this month need to find well-paying jobs, in the U.S. or elsewhere, just to be able to repay their education debts. They typically take on bank loans, ranging from $100,000 to more than $200,000, to pay the fees and living expenses for their U.S. degrees. Often, the family home in India is put up as collateral for the loans, which carry annual interest rates of more than 13%,
In the 2022-2023 academic year, there were roughly 198,000 Indians studying in the U.S., including 165,000 graduate students. This is nearly three times the total number of Indians on student practical training (OPT) work visas in the country.
The imbalance implies that at best only one in four Indians who graduate from U.S. universities this month may find jobs in the U.S. This is also likely to be the case for most Indians with advanced science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees from the top U.S. universities.
The job prospects will likely be much worse for Indians considering studying at U.S. universities for the 2024-25 academic year and beyond. This is due to sharply rising supply of foreign graduates, quite apart from any cuts in hiring if there is a downturn in the U.S. economy.