Studying in the US gets a rupee boost

There’s a rush for US universities as tuition and other expenses fall

MUMBAI: Until a few months ago, Janki Dalal was scouring information sources on MBA programmes in Australian universities. But now, she’s keen to pursue her dream of studying at Boston University (BU), USA. “I never considered universities in the US earlier as they were too expensive. I plan to take a loan and don’t want to rely on my parents for support. So I couldn’t have asked for anything better than the fall of the dollar,” she says.

Dalal would have had to spend around Rs50 lakhs for the BBA/MBA course at BU if she had applied last year, but now she will have to pay Rs40 lakhs for the same course, or perhaps even less by the time her admission comes through. The strong rupee is also benefiting Indian students already in the US.  

Like 22 year-old Rico Alemao from Goa, who is studying documentary filmmaking at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios. His rent, for instance, has got a lot cheaper. “I spend $900 a month for my boarding expenses which cover food, laundry, internet, cable and lodging. This used to cost me Rs45000 just a few months ago, but today I get the same package for around Rs35000,” says Rico, whose tuition fees per semester have also come down by a lakh during this time.

“Fortunately the fees for the fall were charged in August and all the Indian students at the Academy got the benefit.”

Educational counsellors say the number of students applying for studies in the US has more than doubled. “There used to be five or six students inquiring on a daily basis, but at present the number has increased to 12-13 students,” says Shamirda R of Disha learning centre. “The quality and attraction of US universities have always been far above those in the UK or Australia, but there was the expense factor. That’s been eliminated now. Studying in the US has become affordable for the middle-class Indian,” adds Sanjay Khelapure, a consultant at Mindsources.

There are 83,833 Indian students currently enrolled in the US, and the number is rapidly increasing. More than 24,000 visas were issued to Indian students in the year ending September 30, 2007, and the Council of Graduate Schools reports a 32 per cent increase in 2008 graduate enrollments by Indian students.

Jane E. Schukoske, executive director of the US Educational Foundation in India, says, “First-time enrollment data by Opendoors (a research company) clearly showed a surge in international student enrollment at US graduate schools, with the biggest increases among students from India.This trend can be credited to the monetary concessions received by Indian students from the appreciating rupee.”

But the rapid currency rate changes also pose some dilemmas for students. For instance, Sanjay Deep, who is going to the US for a financial engineering course next fall, has the option of paying his entire course fee in a lumpsum or spreading it out over the two-year course. If he thinks the rupee will get even stronger, he should defer his payments, otherwise he should pay the entire amount now.

Another pitfall, points out Sanjay Khelapure, is the increased loan repayment cost later in case the rupee appreciates more. “Most of the students have taken loans, and while repaying the loans in rupees they would be spending more. Also, if they have dollar earnings after their education, they would be at a disadvantage when they convert those to rupees for loan repayment.”

But all that is in the future. Right now, Indian students are enjoying the benefits of a lower bill for their study in the US than what they had anticipated until recently.