NEW DELHI: The foreign degree may be global, but the career plan is largely homeward-bound: 81% of Indian study-abroad aspirants surveyed by Oxford International said they planned to return to India after completing their courses. Nearly nine in 10 were the first in their family to pursue education overseas, while almost half said the decision to go abroad was their own.The findings are part of the third edition of Student Global Mobility Index, which combines 17,925 responses to core questions with about 2,400 responses to additional questions on courses, family background, information sources and post-study plans. Another 15% chose “applying for job” as their next step, without indicating whether the job would be in India or overseas.The biggest shift over three survey cycles is in who drives the decision. Self-motivated students rose from 29% in 2023-24 to 34% in 2024-25 and 49% in 2025-26. Family influence fell from 59% to 37% and then 36%. Younger students were more likely to rely on family guidance, while older applicants tended to decide independently. Self-motivation was highest in north and south India; family influence was strongest in the west and central region.
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Academic choices were heavily concentrated. Seven in 10 were applying for postgraduate courses, and 75% identified business and management as their main field. Health and medicine was a distant second at 8%. Sciences accounted for 2% and engineering 1%.Google searches led 39% of students to their institution, followed by agents (35%). But Google’s lead widened on trust: 56% named it their most trusted source for education information, compared with 20% for college events and 9% for Instagram. AI tools were trusted most by 6% and YouTube by 5%.
