Student Interest in US Falls 46%, Canada 75%, Says IDP
According to top officials at IDP Education, enquiries from individuals aspiring to study in the United States have decreased by over 46 per cent in the past year, while those for Canada have fallen by approximately 75 per cent over the last two years. Established in 1969 by the Australian government, IDP Education stands as a global leader in international education services, dedicated to assisting students in realizing their aspirations of studying abroad. The company offers complimentary expert advice on selecting courses and universities, submitting applications, processing visas, and planning for departure to sought-after destinations such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, and the US. The organization also administers the English language proficiency test known as IELTS.
Regional Director for South Asia, Canada, and Latin America at IDP Education, stated that the geopolitical situation has influenced students’ intentions to travel to the US and Canada. “If we discuss the geopolitical situation, it primarily concerns the US, and we have observed that in the last… 6 to 12 months, the situation has clearly affected the plans of students intending to go to the US. It started actually before President Trump, so we saw that after June onwards, we did see the visa approval rates go down,” Kumar told PTI. He further added that “Typically, what happens is that during the election year, every time we see that visa approval rates go down for whatever reasons. But after President Trump has come, I think he is planning, or there is a lot of noise about some changes which are going to happen, which obviously is acting as a dampener.”
“Citing official statistics, Kumar said there was a 46.4 per cent decline in enquiries for the US in May this year as compared to May 2024.” The Canadian enquiries have experienced a decline of approximately 70-75 per cent over the past two years. “In Canada, there have been numerous changes over the past two years.” The situation began when Justin Trudeau, the former Prime Minister of Canada, found himself in a disagreement with the Indian government. However, as time has passed, Canada has faced the repercussions of US tariffs, with 80 percent of Canadian exports directed to the US, resulting in significant adverse effects. “People think that this is not the right time to go to Canada because they have limited the post-study work right also to only six streams and that is where a lot of students think that if they go and study something else, there is no post-study work and they will have to come back,” he added. The Canadian government has announced that the measures will remain in effect until 2027, at which point they will reassess this policy. Kumar explained, “So, the next two years are likely to be soft for Canada also.”
“If you look at other destinations, big ones, which is the UK and Australia, by and large the demand remains intact; the number of students who are going is absolutely intact.” He said “Australia in fact formally announced that this year they are going to increase the number of students by 9 per cent over last year, so they are talking about managed growth, so they will allow more students but in a managed way.” Every year, nearly 100,000 IDP students are enrolled in over 800 universities globally. IDP boasts more than 800 partnerships with leading educational institutions in Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. IDP operates 73 offices across 63 cities in India, providing comprehensive guidance to students and their families throughout the study abroad journey.
This includes university or course selection, application submission, visa assistance, pre-departure planning, and additional support services. “Currently, we are focused on enhancing our technology stack because we believe that technology can significantly impact the efficiency of our operations.” We are also developing AI tools that will genuinely assist the student. “Also our counsellors will be able to provide an even better service… with the help of these tools,” Kumar said.
