Bengaluru: The UK is the most popular study abroad destination followed by Canada and the USA, according to data of over 75,000 applications processed by LeapScholar, South Asia’s largest overseas study abroad platform. The data analysed revealed interesting trends witnessed during 2021.

Based on the applications for the year, the most popular country is the UK at 49%, followed by Canada at 36%, and the USA at 18%. The most popular courses for study abroad in 2021 include MBA, MSc Data Science, and Computer Science, while MSc Management, Business Analytics, and Project Management saw an increase in popularity. The year has witnessed an increasing trend of students preferring specialized courses.

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“2021 has seen a pent-up demand in the study abroad space and the aspiration to go overseas for education is higher than ever among students. They are exploring new and diverse ambitions, and we are excited to support them in this journey. We remain committed in our vision to make global education accessible for Indian students across the spectrum.” said Vaibhav Singh, Co-Founder of LeapScholar.

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The study abroad segment bounced back strongly in 2021 after a multi-decade Covid-induced low in 2020. With the introduction of the Graduation Immigration Route, interest in the UK as a study abroad destination zoomed. The new policy allows students graduating from UK universities to work in the UK for up to 2 years. This trend is expected to continue in 2022 as well. Canada continued to be a favored destination among students supported by diverse educational opportunities and a student-friendly policy stance. The US had a particularly strong rebound with the new political administration taking a welcoming stand towards international students. Leap Scholar witnessed the highest number of students going abroad in 2021.

With nearly 1.5 million members, the Leap community is one of the largest global platforms for international aspirants. Powered by leading educators, IELTS Prep by LeapScholar is one of India’s largest online IELTS learning platforms and has helped almost a million students ace the exam. LeapScholar’s IELTS prep mobile app has over a million downloads and is one of the most popular apps globally in the IELTS prep space.