Students who are going for higher study abroad in 2026 will run into a tougher reality. The combination of a weakening rupee, rising overseas living costs and underestimated budgets is creating a financial risk that families can no longer ignore.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s reference-rate data. When tuition fees, deposits, and day-to-day living costs abroad are priced in dollars, pounds, or euros, an INR loan becomes heavier with every movement in the exchange rate. What looks manageable today can turn into an unexpected financial strain by the time repayments begin. Living costs add further pressure. Housing, food, transport, insurance, and utilities bills have increased across major study destinations. 

Students planning to live alone overseas must be mindful and take extra caution while budgeting. Many families calculate only tuition and discover later that their real requirement is higher by twenty to forty percent once accommodation, health insurance, and visa-related costs are accounted  for.

Sonal Kapoor, Global Chief Business Officer at Prodigy Finance, has lived this reality herself. She says, “Coming from a background where my father had been my cosigner for higher education, I can say that the fear is real. Students must check the return on investment of their course and choose funding partners who offer no co-signer and no collateral. It gives confidence, and it removes the fear of risking a family asset at a moment when the currency is fluctuating. The one piece of advice I always give is simple: do not pledge your home or land as collateral. You never know what the market will look like back home.”

She adds that this is one reason Prodigy Finance opened its Spring application window early. “As a student, I once felt this uncertainty myself. Today, I encourage students to choose wisely, wherever they plan to study. The rupee’s movement affects everything from the first university deposit to the final repayment. When students borrow in the same currency they expect to earn in, they protect themselves from the swings that make overseas education more expensive. A USD loan offers stability that INR loans simply cannot during a period of currency pressure.”

This context makes the choice of loan currency crucial. International lenders such as Prodigy Finance are insulated from rupee movements because their loans are disbursed and repaid in USD. For Indian students relying on INR loans from traditional banks, each shift in the exchange rate increases the amount they must repay in rupees. A loan taken in INR for a course priced in USD becomes more expensive each time the rupee weakens.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s official exchange-rate data, the rupee remained around the mid-seventies against the US dollar in 2021, moved into the eighty-plus range through 2023, and stayed at higher levels across 2024 and into 2025. Even without looking at short-term spikes, the RBI’s published figures show that the currency has not returned to earlier levels. For students planning a long study-abroad journey, this makes one thing clear. The real cost of an overseas degree is likely to rise in rupee terms, even when the tuition fee abroad stays the same.

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Families considering using savings or selling assets to bridge the gap face the same challenge. A better approach is to plan early and use a loan in the same currency as the degree. A USD loan protects students from currency swings and minimises the risk of repayment shock once they start earning abroad. It also offers stability for postgraduate students who often secure employment within the first few months after finishing their programme.

Students can take small but practical steps to manage the shift. Gaining some work experience before heading overseas, understanding part-time work rules in the destination country, and preparing a detailed full-cost budget all reduce risk. Aligning the loan to the currency of future earnings provides an additional layer of security.

Spring 2026 application from Prodigy Finance can give students the chance to prepare early and choose financial structures that protect them from the volatility of the year ahead. A realistic full-cost budget and a stable USD loan help students start their international education with confidence rather than uncertainty.