Questions students and parents ask

• UK: Oxford £75 (≈ ₹9,500) for taught courses; UCL £90 (≈ ₹11,400); LSE £95 (≈ ₹12,000); Warwick £75 (≈ ₹9,500); Imperial £90 (≈ ₹11,400) (£125 (≈ ₹15,800) for Business School MSc). Several universities charge nothing, e.g. Birmingham (taught), Leeds, Newcastle, Coventry. Undergraduate applications go through UCAS: £34.50 (≈ ₹4,400).
• Germany: most public universities charge nothing; applications through uni-assist cost €75 (≈ ₹8,000) for the first and €30 (≈ ₹3,200) for each extra one.
• Sweden: SEK 900 (≈ ₹8,600) once per round on universityadmissions.se (up to several programmes).
• USA: set per programme, e.g. UIUC $90 (≈ ₹8,600), Purdue $75 (≈ ₹7,100), Stanford Graduate School of Education $125 (≈ ₹11,900). Waivers for international applicants are rare.

• UK: £558 (≈ ₹70,600) from outside the UK ^[3], plus the Immigration Health Surcharge of £776 (≈ ₹98,200) per year of visa (half for any part-year under 6 months) ^[4]. A one-year master's visa usually runs about 16 months, so expect roughly £1,164 (≈ ₹1.47 lakh) surcharge. You can apply up to 6 months before the course starts ^[3].
• USA: visa (MRV) fee $185 (≈ ₹17,600) + SEVIS I-901 fee $350 (≈ ₹33,200); some consulates have started charging a $250 (≈ ₹23,800) visa integrity fee on issue ^[16].
• Germany: national visa about €75 (≈ ₹8,000) ^[11].
• Sweden: pay the fee shown by Migrationsverket when you apply online.

• UK: the first year's tuition still owed, plus living costs of £1,529/month (≈ ₹1.94 lakh) in London or £1,171/month (≈ ₹1.48 lakh) elsewhere, for up to 9 months (maximum £13,761 (≈ ₹17.4 lakh) London / £10,539 (≈ ₹13.3 lakh) elsewhere). The money must sit in the account for 28 days in a row, ending no more than 31 days before you apply ^[2].
• Germany: usually a blocked account of €11,904/year (≈ ₹12.7 lakh), i.e. €992/month (≈ ₹1.06 lakh) for 2026 ^[8].
• Sweden: at least SEK 10,656/month (≈ ₹1.02 lakh) for the whole permit (2026 applications) ^[13].
• USA: the full first-year cost on your I-20, set by the university (see the UIUC example below).

• UK: £1,529 (≈ ₹1.94 lakh) London / £1,171 (≈ ₹1.48 lakh) elsewhere ^[2].
• Germany: €992 (≈ ₹1.06 lakh) ^[8]. Public health insurance for students under 30 is roughly €140 (≈ ₹15,000)–€160 (≈ ₹17,100) of that ^[11].
• Sweden: Uppsala University's sample budget is SEK 9,500 (≈ ₹91,100)–SEK 11,600 (≈ ₹1.11 lakh): housing SEK 4,000 (≈ ₹38,400)–SEK 6,500 (≈ ₹62,300), food SEK 3,400 (≈ ₹32,600), transport SEK 500 (≈ ₹4,800), phone SEK 300 (≈ ₹2,900) ^[15].
• USA: UIUC estimates room and board at $19,253 (≈ ₹18.3 lakh) for 12 months (about $1,604/month (≈ ₹1.52 lakh)) ^[18]. Big coastal cities cost more.

• London: a university-owned en-suite room averaged £226/week (≈ ₹28,600) on a 41-week contract; comparable private halls £341/week (≈ ₹43,200) on 50 weeks (2024 survey) ^[7]. Outside London rents are usually much lower — check each university's accommodation page.
• Germany (shared-flat room, 2025): average €505/month (≈ ₹54,000); Munich €790 (≈ ₹84,500), Heidelberg €633 (≈ ₹67,700), Berlin €624 (≈ ₹66,700), Aachen €483 (≈ ₹51,600) ^[10].
• Sweden: SEK 4,000 (≈ ₹38,400)–SEK 6,500/month (≈ ₹62,300) in Uppsala's sample budget ^[15]. Housing queues in Stockholm and Uppsala are long — apply as soon as you get an offer.

UK, one-year master's in London (King's College London Physics MSc): tuition £38,100 (≈ ₹48.2 lakh) + living £13,761 (≈ ₹17.4 lakh) (9 × £1,529) + visa £558 (≈ ₹70,600) + health surcharge about £1,164 (≈ ₹1.47 lakh) = about £53,583 (≈ ₹67.8 lakh), before flights and deposits.
USA, UIUC MS Policy Economics 2026–27: tuition and fees $52,554 (≈ ₹49.9 lakh) + living, books and supplies $25,268 (≈ ₹24.0 lakh) = $77,822 (≈ ₹73.9 lakh), with a recommended $3,000 (≈ ₹2.85 lakh) contingency ^[18].
Germany: most public universities charge no tuition, but TUM charges non-EU students €4,000 (≈ ₹4.28 lakh)–€6,000/semester (≈ ₹6.41 lakh) and Heidelberg (Baden-Württemberg) €1,500/semester (≈ ₹1.60 lakh) plus a semester fee — see the University finder.

• Commonwealth Master's (UK) — India and Bangladesh are eligible. Covers tuition, flights and a stipend of £1,712/month (≈ ₹2.17 lakh) (£2,000 (≈ ₹2.53 lakh) in London). You apply through a nominating agency in your country; the 2027 deadline is 20 October 2026, 16:00 BST ^[22].
• Chevening (UK) — tuition, monthly allowance, flights and visa fee for a one-year master's. Needs 2,800 hours (about two years) of work experience. The 2027/28 round closed on 6 October 2026; the next opens around August 2027 ^[21].
• GREAT Scholarships (UK) — at least £10,000 (≈ ₹12.7 lakh) off tuition for a one-year taught master's at named universities (for India 2027–28: Manchester, Manchester Met, Salford, RNCM) ^[23]; Bangladesh has its own list ^[24].
• DAAD (Germany) — about €992/month (≈ ₹1.06 lakh) for master's students and €1,300 (≈ ₹1.39 lakh)–€1,400/month (≈ ₹1.50 lakh) for PhD, plus insurance and travel ^[25].
• Swedish Institute (SISGP) — full tuition, SEK 12,000/month (≈ ₹1.15 lakh), a SEK 15,000 (≈ ₹1.44 lakh) travel grant and insurance; India is eligible (check si.se for Bangladesh). Applications usually open in February ^[26].
• Fulbright-Nehru Master's (USA) — for Indians with at least 3 years' work experience in listed fields; mostly fully funded. See usief.org.in ^[27].

No. All the scholarships above are applied for directly, for free, on their official websites. Be careful of anyone who promises a guaranteed scholarship or visa for a fee.

• UK: up to 20 hours a week in term time on a degree-level course; full time in official vacations ^[5].
• Germany: 140 full days or 280 half days a year, or up to 20 hours a week in the lecture period; student-assistant jobs at the university are not limited ^[9].
• Sweden: new rule — for bachelor's and master's permits granted from 11 June 2026, up to 15 hours a week during semesters; no limit in June, July and August ^[13].
• USA (F-1): on-campus jobs only, up to 20 hours a week in term and full time in vacations ^[17].

• UK Graduate visa: 2 years if you apply by 31 December 2026; 18 months for bachelor's and master's graduates applying from 1 January 2027; 3 years for PhD graduates ^[5]. In the year to June 2026, 157,356 Graduate-route extensions were granted ^[6].
• Germany: up to 18 months to look for a job after graduating ^[9].
• Sweden: up to 1 year to look for work (12–18 months after a PhD), if you can support yourself on SEK 10,656/month (≈ ₹1.02 lakh) ^[14].
• USA: 12 months of OPT, plus 24 more months (STEM OPT) for STEM degrees with an E-Verify employer ^[17].

“=” means a tie. Not in the QS top 100: University of Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, Newcastle University, Coventry University, RWTH Aachen, TU Berlin, Chalmers. Source: ^[29]

Rankings measure the whole university, mostly research reputation. For your choice, the course content, the department's strength in your subject, total cost, location and job outcomes matter more. A university ranked 150 can be better for your subject than one ranked 30.

• About 18.82 lakh Indian students were abroad in 2025, in 153 countries; top destinations Canada (4.27 lakh), USA (2.55 lakh), UAE (2.53 lakh), Australia (1.96 lakh), UK (1.73 lakh) — Ministry of External Affairs reply in the Rajya Sabha ^[20].
• USA: India was the largest source of international students in 2024/25; Open Doors counts 363,019 Indian students, 143,740 of them on OPT ^[19].
• UK: 82,523 study visas went to Indian main applicants in the year to June 2026 — 23% of all 365,868 ^[6].
• Germany: a record 69,816 Indian students in winter semester 2025/26, up 17.5% in a year ^[12].

• Emergency numbers: UK 999 (or 112; NHS non-emergency 111), Germany 112 (police 110), Sweden 112, USA 911.
• Save the university's 24-hour security number and the international student office's email on the first day.
• Indian students: register on the government's MADAD portal so the nearest Indian embassy or consulate can reach you ^[28]. Bangladeshi students: note the contact details of your Bangladesh High Commission or Embassy.

• Pay visa fees only on the official government site (GOV.UK, the US State Department, German missions, Migrationsverket).
• Police and immigration officials do not ask for money over the phone. Hang up and call the official number yourself.
• Never pay a rent deposit for a flat you or a trusted person has not seen; prefer university halls in the first year.
• Never let anyone use your bank account to move money.

Almost certainly. Durga Pujas are held in hundreds of cities worldwide; the Global Puja Parikrama map shows the nearest ones with distances. Most large universities also have Indian, Bangladeshi or Bengali student societies through the students' union, and you can talk to current students through each university's official chat page in our University finder.

From the university's international admissions team (email them directly), the British Council, DAAD, the Swedish Institute and USIEF/EducationUSA — all free. If you are studying abroad already and would like to help others, join BiswaPath as a volunteer.