82% of students of grades 11 and 12 consider career counseling in schools an imperative: 2021IC3 Institute Student Quest Survey

The survey shows Australia and India are similarly ranked in students’ choice of preferred country of study.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 30: In a survey conducted with over 6600 students from grades 9-12, 82% of the respondents agree that career counseling is important in high school, reveals the 2021 IC3 Institute Student Quest Survey report.

The survey, conducted in June-July 2021, in collaboration with Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR, examines the dynamics of students’ decision-making process for higher education. More than 6600 students between grades 9 and 12 from 2000 schools across India and South Asia responded to the survey.

The report suggests that students begin thinking about their career and related job prospects early – in high school itself. 71% of the students have already started thinking about their future employment. The top three factors in choosing a university include the institution’s placement record, rankings, and program design. Ranked fourth was fees, followed by location and the quality of faculty members. Interestingly, the quality of faculty as a factor for choosing a university was low-ranked by students in grades 9 and 10, while students in grades 11 and 12 ranked the quality of faculty significantly higher. When choosing a particular program, three factors seem to be most significant: about 35% of the respondents said that they would choose a program based on their interests, 27% favored future job prospects, and 21% per cent give the highest importance to their own perceived strength in a particular area of study. 32% of the students who preferred to study abroad favored the U.S., followed by the U.K. and Canada (20% and 16%, respectively). Following the top three countries, Australia and India are similarly ranked in students’ choice of preferred country of study.

“As educators, we are all striving hard each day to make the best possible support available to our students, both in the classroom and beyond. How these students are guided today, how they take decisions, what factors influence those decisions will really shape their educational and professional choices in the coming years. The choices of our future leaders will determine the talent and human capital this world will have, defining where we are headed as a global community. Taking a data-centric approach and asking students themselves how they want to be supported is critical to informing and developing the best practices of career counseling support in schools. The 2021 IC3 Institute Student Quest survey findings bring forth useful information for all stakeholders- schools, universities, industries, and policymakers”, says Ganesh Kohli, Founder, IC3 Movement & Chair, Board of Trustees, IC3 Institute.

About IC3 Institute

The IC3 Institute is a mission-driven nonprofit that brings together high schools, colleges and universities, and industry to ensure early access to career and college counseling, paving the path for students’ college readiness, workforce preparedness, and career success. The IC3 Institute’s core programming with high schools is supported by a global network of subject matter and industry experts who volunteer their time as faculty members in the IC3 Institute, as well as world-class and innovative higher education institutions who support the IC3 Institute by offering their campuses, faculty, and infrastructure while also guiding the programming and curricula of the institute. The IC3 Institute also serves as a think tank and thought leader on global higher education and career readiness through convenings of experts and timely research.

About Shiv Nadar University, National Capital Region (NCR):

Shiv Nadar University is a student-centric, multidisciplinary and research-focused university offering a wide range of academic programs at the Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral levels. The University was set up in 2011 by the Shiv Nadar Foundation, a philanthropic foundation established by Mr. Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL. The University is in the quest to become a globally acclaimed center for learning and innovation in the fields of Engineering, Natural Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Management. The core of the University consists of a select, world-class faculty with doctoral and postdoctoral experiences from ranked universities all over the world.