Nambiar, 28, an engineer with over five years of experience in automation, motion control and robotic dynamics, discovered his academic focus during an industrial robotics role in his second year of engineering. Now on a career break, he is applying for the Fall 2026 master’s intake across Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
“Five years ago, many of my friends went for their master’s in the US when the exchange rate was around ₹70 to a dollar. Today, it’s significantly higher. Inflation has hit both India and the US, and salaries have increased too—but not enough to counter the gap created by the weakening rupee. So even with job experience and hikes, the same education feels like a much bigger financial risk now,” says Nambiar.
Hidden costs
The impact of the falling rupee is being felt by first-time students as well.
Jainil Piyushkumar Patel, 19, has applied for a student visa to Flinders University in Australia and says currency depreciation quietly pushes up both tuition fees and everyday expenses.
“When students plan their study abroad journey, they often focus on tuition, rankings, and visas. But the weakening Indian rupee silently increases the cost of every month—tuition remains the same in dollars, yet in rupees, a course that once cost ₹30 lakhs can now cost ₹35 to 40 lakhs,” said Patel.
He added that monthly expenses like groceries, transportation, and insurance are also rising, making the journey more expensive than many realize.
Rising forex
“The weakening of the Indian rupee has had a substantial impact on the overall cost of education. Furthermore, the annual increase in tuition fees by universities, coupled with the rise in visa and living costs, has compounded the situation,” says Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director of Global Reach, an overseas education consultant.
According to Vinay Nanjappa, director (India) at SilverPeak Global, an education and business consulting group, the surge in overseas education costs over the past five years has been driven more by currency depreciation and inflation abroad than by tuition hikes alone.
“Between 2021 and 2025, fees and living expenses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, and France have jumped by 35–40%, reshaping household budgets and stretching loan assumptions,” Nanjappa said.
Even modest currency movements can have outsized effects. “Every time there is a jump in the dollar, it affects all the people; the fees go up and lots of other things also go up. Families often plan to pay in installments, but phased payments leave them exposed to sudden cost spikes,” he added.
Prepare early
Experts say early financial planning is key to managing these risks.
Indian equities remain an important long-term asset class. “Starting early and by ensuring a prudent and well-monitored investment plan, one can use India’s growth story to propel their investment portfolio significantly. This in turn can help counter not only rising global inflation but also currency depreciation sufficiently,” said Thomas Stephen, director and head–preferred, Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Limited.
Nambiar followed a similar approach. “I invested rigorously after engineering, starting with around 30% of my salary and eventually increasing it to nearly 50%, mostly into mutual funds. The goal was to build a strong base for studying abroad,” he said.
Dollar exposure
Advisors also recommend allocating part of the education corpus to dollar-linked assets.
“One critical component is investing in dollar assets. A good way of doing it is through very large, established exchange-traded funds in the United States. Go for as broad a tracker as possible, like an S&P 500 or S&P Equal Weight. Do not go for very narrow ETFs like FANG ETFs because they carry considerable concentration risk,” said Himanshu Pandya, Sebi-registered investment advisor and founder of HP Private Wealth.
Pandya noted that ETFs are currently the most practical option for dollar exposure, given overseas mutual funds have hit investment limits and direct stock investing requires expertise.
Ideally, the corpus should be built gradually, starting as early as the 10th standard, when a child’s academic interests become clearer. Over time, this creates a natural hedge—benefiting from US economic growth as well as rupee depreciation—making withdrawals less painful when education expenses arise.
Loans, not retirement
Experts caution parents against draining retirement savings to fund overseas education.
“Planning for education coincides with retirement planning, and both are heavy asks on an earner’s wealth profile. So separating them and using practical tools like loans and dollar assets helps parents manage finances more effectively while also teaching children responsibility,” said Pandya.
Suresh Sadagopan, founder of Ladder7 Financial Advisories, agrees.
“The entire weight of funding should not sit on the parents. Ideally, the student should self-fund as much as possible, take scholarships where available, and even work part-time abroad to cover rent and living costs. Loans should be considered, and parental funding should remain the smallest, last layer—not the first.”
Education loans typically offer a three-year moratorium—covering the course duration and a year after—allowing students to begin repayment later through manageable EMIs.
“I still keep part of my savings intact and plan to supplement with an education loan. The biggest advantage is that repayment begins only after the course ends. That deferred timeline gives you breathing room and lets you focus on upskilling without immediate financial stress,” said Nambiar.
A falling rupee quietly but steadily raises the cost of studying abroad in Indian terms. Early planning, dollar-linked investments, scholarships and well-structured education loans can help families manage the risk—without compromising long-term financial security.
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