INTO’s latest student survey of over 2,000 international students from more than 100 countries highlights that international students continue to consider alternative study destinations closer to home and that priorities are shifting when it comes to choosing where to study.
Growing consideration of alternative destinations
INTO’s research also highlights that over 40% of students considered alternative destinations beyond the ‘Big Four’— the UK, US, Canada, and Australia before choosing the UK or the US. Key findings include:
- Chinese students were most likely to have considered studying in Hong Kong or Europe.
- Students from the Middle East were most likely to have considered Europe, the UAE, or Kuwait as alternative destinations.
- Europe has the strongest appeal as alternative destination across the board, with 63% of all students bound for the UK or the US reporting they had considered studying in Europe. Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy were the top European countries of interest mentioned by students.
Increasing importance of employability-focused initiatives
The INTO survey highlights that university rankings continue to be the biggest driver of student choice. However, league table rankings are less important than in previous years, while safety, work experience opportunities, and graduate employment prospects are more important.
GSL Index data also highlights the importance of employment-focussed extra-curricular activities for international students, with international students more likely to report they would be interested in employment/employability-related activities than those from the UK.
Table 1
| Which, if any, of the following would you be interested in getting (more) involved with in the future? Source: GSL Index 2024 Q4 | ||
| Activity Type | UK Students | International Students |
| Work experience | 34% | 35% |
| Careers fairs | 20% | 30% |
| Networking events | 17% | 29% |
| Volunteering | 21% | 27% |
| Employability skills workshops | 16% | 18% |
| Enterprise / entrepreneurship events | 4% | 7% |
Visa delays negatively impacting the student experience
Visa delays are also negatively impacting the experience of many students from the outset – 60% of international students headed for the US and UK experienced a delay that prevented them from confirming their university place as early as anticipated, with 21% reporting visa appointment and processing delays as the top reason for postponing their confirmation of university placement.
Visa approval delays are also causing students to miss important orientation events, with 45% of students who missed orientation citing visa approval delays as the reason.
Uncertainty about the cost of living was the fourth most cited reason for students delaying accepting their university places, highlighting the importance of providing students with high-quality pre-arrival information to support planning. Concern about paying tuition fees was also a key concern reported by students.
___________________________________________________
About the GSL Index
The GSL Index is the world’s leading student insight platform and performance improvement tool for both university and private student accommodation providers. Throughout the year, the GSL Index surveys hundreds of thousands of students across 15 countries and in 15 different languages, on all aspects of their student accommodation experience.
The Index brings together a range of standardised local, regional and global KPIs alongside bespoke insights from custom questions developed to meet the specific needs of accommodation providers. With responses from over one million students since its inception, and more than 250 million data points, data from the GSL Index provides rich insight into what students expect from their accommodation and the factors that drive student satisfaction.
To get involved in the GSL Index, go to the GSL website: https://gslglobal.com/index/ to register.
