Indian student applications for UK rise by 36% in 2018

For the academic year 2018, the number of Indian students applying to pursue courses at UK universities has risen by 36 percent when compared to the previous year.

The centralized university application system of the UK said that a total of 4,470 Indian students applied for undergraduate courses, which are scheduled to commence at universities across this European country in the academic year starting 2018.

These figures, despite not indicating the final figures of students from India, demonstrate the eagerness of Indian students to pursue higher education in the UK.

The latest UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) numbers also represent the broad appeal that Britain enjoys among international students. This is further bolstered by the fact that applications from within the EU (European Union) also increased this year.  It is said that over 100,000 students from EU and other countries evinced interest in applying for the enrollment at UK universities.

Helen Thorne, UCAS Director of External Relations, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that universities of the UK are very popular with EU and other international students because of the teaching quality and experience offered by them.

She added that there some more factors were at play, attracting more numbers of applicants from all over the world.

Although 11,920 applications were received from China, it was only 21 percent more than the previous year as against 36 percent hike from India.

Lately, many ministers and diplomats from India have been urging the UK to make immigration rules more welcoming for Indian students.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, the co-founder of Cobra beer and Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, said that including students in immigrant figures causes a negative perception about the strict visa regime in the UK in India. According to him, cutting down the intake of international students was not all justified.

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