Five Ways COVID 19 Has Changed the Global Undergraduate Admissions Landscape for Indian Students

2020 has been a year of unexpected changes in all sectors, including education. With worldwide lockdowns, schools and colleges transitioned to online learning leading to virtual academic exploration. Higher education institutes both in India and abroad have changed admission policies to adapt to this new normal and many of these trends are here to stay. Here are five higher education shifts in India that I see will continue in 2021 and beyond.

1. The US will lose market share to other countries

In my years of working with students, I have noticed a shift in higher education destination preferences over the years. Three years ago, 90% of The Red Pen’s applicants applied ONLY to US colleges. Now, although US colleges are still on most applicants’ lists, they are not the ONLY places that families are looking at anymore. Only 30% now exclusively apply to the US. Families are actively looking at other options, and not just because of COVID-19. 

US universities are losing market share for higher education. New international student enrollment has seen a steady decline since 2016. In 2016, new student enrollment was approximately 27%, as compared to 24% in 2019. While US universities still enrol more students than any other country, universities in the UK, Canada, Singapore and Europe are now also attracting a large number of international students.

The US has traditionally been the number one destination that Indian students consider for higher education. Of the 752,725 Indian students who went to study abroad in 2018, 28% chose the US. Though the most expensive study abroad destination, the US offers many scholarship opportunities and the credit system allows students to study a range of subjects before picking a major in college at the undergraduate level. The OPT employment option also means that students can remain in the US for 12 months after their studies to seek employment creating a justified return on the investment. STEM students can also apply for a 24-month extension. 

At the height of the pandemic, the Trump administration’s policy towards international students was worrying. New international students were mandated to take at least one in-person class in order to remain in the US while continuing students were able to continue classes online while maintaining their F-visa status. Moreover, the reintroduction of the UK two-year work visa in 2019 has made universities in the country a strong contender. In addition, Canada is also gaining popularity due to work opportunities and citizenship pathways, a big draw for those who want to immigrate abroad permanently. 

Domestically, India has also seen a surge of liberal arts universities establish themselves successfully over the past few years. Ten years ago, there was hardly a whisper of liberal arts universities. Now, private universities are leading the charge and establishing new world-class institutions across the country. Following the government’s 2020 New Education Policy, even public universities are soon to be established, which calls for a focus on multi-disciplinary education. These options are not only affordable but offer students an international and experiential learning experience which is highly sought after. 

While the US still has the greatest number of universities and continues to be a leader in recruiting international students to their campuses, it is no longer going to dominate the higher education market.

2. Standardised testing is not going away 

While The College Board has made some big announcements regarding the elimination of the SAT II subject tests and the essay component of the SAT I, testing is here to stay. However, by deemphasising the SAT II Subject Tests, students will flock to taking the APs, which too is a College Board product. Students studying in local curricula in India can stand to benefit from this as they can potentially study courses outside of their “stream”. For example, a student in the commerce field can continue to study biology through the AP curriculum. However, students already studying an international curriculum, such as the IBDP or A-levels, should not be swayed to add an AP to increase their workload as they already have a well-rounded curriculum.

Apart from this change, last year, we saw a majority of US colleges going test-optional as students couldn’t physically reach test centres. As a result, several universities saw a surge in application numbers as testing was no longer a hurdle. With the unpredictability of vaccine roll-out, physical test-taking is still a challenge. Add to this the large application volumes, it is likely that many colleges will continue to adopt the test-optional policy for another year or perhaps even indefinitely. All the Ivy League and many competitive universities have already announced that they are test-optional for fall 2022 applicants, with more institutions likely to follow. 

Test-optional also doesn’t mean test blind, so while we welcome this policy, it’s a double-edged sword. It would be interesting to see how many students admitted to competitive colleges have not submitted test scores. The University of Pennsylvania published their early decision results saying that 76% who were admitted submitted test scores, while only 24% of the admits did not. If I asked what percentage of that 24% are legacy, I am pretty sure that number would go down further. Looking at these data points will lend to future decisions on testing.

3. Resilience in what you do will count 

Even though there has been a pandemic, students who are genuinely passionate about what they do outside the classroom have found a way to make it happen and this is what universities will value.

In the rat race of college admissions, many Indian students run helter-skelter to pad up their resumes. By volunteering at NGOs to show community engagement, creating apps to demonstrate proficiency in coding, learning a sport or even identifying internships opportunities to show competency and drive, they try to dabble in everything! 

The COVID-19 era has forced everyone to slow down (thankfully!), rethink priorities and focus on what is most important to them. Without the ability to physically run around and “tick the boxes”, the lockdown has encouraged students to think out of the box and engage in activities that they genuinely love (and give up ones they are doing for the wrong reasons).

As schools resume and students think about how they want to spend their time outside the classroom, I believe students will do activities that are the most purposeful and meaningful to them, which will lend a hand in college admissions. Admission committees are made up of people and they are looking to connect with the real you. 

4. More students will be open to taking a gap year

Taking a gap year, which is a break between high school and college is not as common in India as it has been abroad. In the UK, approximately 230,000 people (aged 18-25) take a gap year for several reasons. Whether it is to earn money for college, improve language skills or travel, gap years are very common occurrences in the UK.

The pandemic forced several students to consider a gap year especially as universities moved to online learning. In fact, 20% of Harvard University’s first-year students are opting to defer their admission, while in the UK, universities saw a 9.4% increase in deferrals. Students didn’t want to miss out on the campus experiences that international education offers. Of course, planning and executing a gap year during a pandemic is a huge challenge in itself, but several students chose this option over online learning.

It is expected that after COVID 19, families will be more open-minded to their children taking a gap year. Programmes such as Verto, which offer a gap year experience, but also offer credit programmes such that students can enter Year 2 of a university directly, will become more popular. 

5. Connecting with colleges virtually through webinars and online information sessions is here to stay

Visiting college campuses was crucial when crafting a college list. Indian students would dedicate a break to planning and visiting colleges, where they would attend information sessions and take physical campus tours. 

With COVID-19, this has not been possible as it is unsafe to travel. Universities have become innovative, creating online virtual tours and admissions committees have connected with prospective students online through webinars and virtual fairs. While these new recruitment options are not ideal, they are likely to change the face of college recruitment. Admissions officers will certainly come back and visit their respective regions when it is safe to do so, but it wouldn’t surprise me if travel decreases and online modes of students recruitment and outreach are incorporated into their plans indefinitely. 

These are just some of the changes I anticipate in the upcoming year. How do you think the pandemic will change the higher education landscape in the years to come? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!