Falling Rupee Burdens Parents of Telugu Students Heading to the US
Hyderabad: Fall of the rupee’s value against the dollar will have wide implications across sectors, but impact will be even more on parents from the two Telugu states, whose children are heading to the US to pursue higher studies in the ensuing spring season.
On a rough calculation, the rupee’s slide in the last two years has resulted in an eight to 10 per cent additional burden on the parents and guardians. In rupee terms the impact could vary between `4 lakh and `8 lakh depending upon the choice of the university in US, while it could be in the range of `12 lakh to `16 lakh as many students take long-term education loans.
Incidentally, the rupee has relatively held its own against other foreign currencies like British pound, the Australian and Canadian dollars as well as the euro.
Anil Reddy from Karimnagar, who secured admission in MS in computer science at Princeton University at New Jersey in the spring season, had failed to get his visa approval in the last fall as well as spring sessions.
Heading to the US now, he is being burdened by an additional `4 lakh. He points out that accommodation was costing him $180 per month more due to the falling rupee value: he will be paying $720 per month in a three-room shared accommodation against $590 earlier.
A majority of Telugu students typically take loans at 9-12 per cent interest rates. Assuming one takes at a 10 per cent interest rate against a 10-year repayment period for a loan that is `one crore, each student is burdened by an additional `16 lakh in those two years of study.
When it comes to just tuition fee for a middle-level university like the University of Southern California (USC), a student who had paid an average of `44 lakh annual fee in the fall of 2022, will now be forced to shell down over `47 lakh per year for the 2025 spring admissions.
In comparison of the average annual living expenses in the last two years, Indian students are burdened by over `1.5 lakh at an average of $20,000 per year towards rent, food and transport expenses.
For a two-year master’s programme, the tuition fee and other living expenses will cost at least `six lakh to `10 lakh depending on the university and place of study.
A number of existing students who are pursuing higher education have been struggling to get on-campus jobs or assistantships to earn in dollars and reduce reliance on rupee-denominated funds due to inflation and poor job market conditions in the United States.
Nikhil Vyas, heading to the University of North Texas, Denton said that the university has increased the tuition fee for a two-year MS programme from $34,550 a year ago to $36,930. If the fall in the rupee value continued at the same rate, the repayment of loan would stretch beyond the schedule, he said.
In view of the steep hike in dollar prices, many prospective students have been looking for universities that offer liberal scholarships or opt for varsities in relative smaller places so as to reduce their living expenses.
