BANGALORE, August 14: Here’s news students headed abroad for higher studies can use before they put a finger on any destination on the world map. An overseas degree could cost you anywhere from a little over Rs. 3 lakh to a whopping Rs. 23 lakh a year, according to the results of a recently released survey.
The research conducted by multinational bank HSBC was compiled from data in 13 countries and considered fees representing the average tuition cost for international students based on the top 10 largest institutions in each country. The cost of living was sourced from HESA Global Education Rankings 2010 and adjusted to account for inflation, and from Expatitsan.co.uk and HSBC Studying Abroad Research (October 2012).
Most expensive
According to the survey, Australia is the most expensive country with the combined average cost of university fees and living expenses coming up to Rs. 23.52 lakh ($38,000) a year for international students.
The U.S. is the second most expensive country for overseas students, with the average annual cost at over Rs. 21.8 lakh ($35,000). However, overseas students in ‘Ivy League’ universities, which include some of the top varsities in the U.S., could pay over 67 per cent above this amount, the survey added.
The United Kingdom (UK) was the third most expensive overall with an annual fee of Rs. 18.52 lakh ($30,325). International student costs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore and Hong Kong are all above Rs. 12.21 lakh ($20,000) per year, as a result of higher cost of living in these three premier emerging market destinations.
Least expensive
Among the countries that had study expenditure on the other end of the spectrum was Germany, with low tuition costs and cost of living, which would cost a student one-sixth of the cost of studying in Australia. Spain, Taiwan and China have slightly higher costs than Germany.
