HYDERABAD, India, Jan. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ —

When aspirations were threatened by Covid-19
Rohit grew up in a humble, middle class family. From his childhood days, he dreamt of studying at a top university in the US. Like most of his peers, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, found a job in the IT sector in India, and bided his time to find the right moment to apply abroad. He knew that funding his study abroad dream would be a challenge, but he was determined to work hard and take up a loan if required. Just as he was about to take the plunge, the pandemic struck, his father lost his job, and the family’s financial condition deteriorated. But Rohit remained committed to his dream.
Before the pandemic struck, almost 600,000 students were issued student visas to study abroad in 2019. Despite a temporary slump due to Covid travel restrictions, the trajectory of Indian students studying abroad remains strong. The number of students who manage to travel abroad form a thin slice of the large pool of aspirants planning to study abroad from their teenage years. Most students miss out on their plans due to the steep cost of an international education. Students hailing from humble backgrounds lack personal financial resources as well as the financial know-how to navigate the world of education loans and scholarships. Rohit found himself in a similar position in 2020.
GradRight opens the doors to Prodigy Finance for Rohit
Despite the challenges, Rohit kept himself motivated, balanced his job with studying and planning, took the GRE, scored well, applied to his dream universities in the US, and got accepted to three of them. He was confident of his academic abilities and brought himself thus far. However, he wasn’t well versed with the inefficiencies of the Indian education loan marketplace and got turned down for loans by five different lenders. While some required collateral, some cited poor credit history. A few said that his father was not a reliable guarantor as he had lost his job. Dejected, Rohit was about to give up. But with a stroke of good fortune, he stumbled upon GradRight. The team guided him on how he could leverage his academic profile and admissions offers to secure a collateral free loan with partners like Prodigy Finance.
Prodigy Finance goes the extra-mile, faster than anyone else
While all other banks had taken 1-1.5 months to process and eventually reject Rohit’s loan applications, his education loan got approved by Prodigy Finance in a couple of days. Prodigy Finance is one of the select few tech-powered, student-centric lenders which provides approvals to deserving students in a matter of minutes. Through GradRight’s education loan bidding platform, Rohit received three more loan offers, but he chose Prodigy Finance as it offered him the lowest rate of interest and the best service experience. “I am immensely grateful for the support that GradRight and Prodigy Finance have extended to help me realize my aspiration of studying at my dream university in the USA. Platforms like these bring hope in the lives of students who find the current financial system cumbersome. The entire process was unbelievably easy to follow. I hope that more aspirants like me can fully utilize such platforms,” says Rohit.
Rohit’s cause for celebration didn’t end here. Both GradRight and Prodigy Finance understand how young India’s aspirations to study abroad are often crushed by the existing paradigm of education loans and financing. The Co-Founder of GradRight, Mr. Aman Singh, says, “We, at GradRight, understand how crucial a study abroad opportunity is for students to enjoy social mobility. To do away with the prevailing information asymmetry, GradRight aims to partner with students, universities, and financial institutions like Prodigy Finance to soothe palpable anxiety and uncertainty regarding the vital decision of choosing a college and subsequently financing partners. Ultimately, we have built a one-of-its-kind ed-tech platform that promises optimum results to all of its stakeholders.”
To encourage Rohit and others from similarly humble backgrounds to remain committed to their dreams, they offered Rohit a scholarship worth USD 5,000. Going forward, GradRight and Prodigy Finance remain committed to offering scholarships to bright, young minds like Rohit in 2022.
“If you analyse the numerous Indians who are currently leading global companies, an obvious recipe comes to light. A majority of these visionary leaders, after completing their undergraduate studies in India, stepped out of their comfort zones and chose to study abroad. The experience of working with the best, brought out their A game and enabled them to attain phenomenal success. We at Prodigy Finance aim to unlock this potential for students from 100+ countries across the globe, including from India,” says, Mayank Sharma, Country Head – India, Prodigy Finance.
Today, Rohit is pursuing his master’s degree in electrical and computer technology at Ohio State University. Coming from a middle class background, he is grateful for the mentorship and financial assistance provided by GradRight and Prodigy Finance. He smiles generously and shares his plans for the future – he wants to be an entrepreneur too. He says, “I truly believe that I am privileged to study at such an esteemed institution. By utilizing the knowledge I will earn through the international exposure and world-class curriculum, I wish to help others move up the social and economic ladder through my entrepreneurship skills. If my experience can make a difference in the lives of people who are hustling for employment and education opportunities, I would have achieved my purpose.”
About GradRight
GradRight is an ed-fin-tech startup focused on global higher education. We are committed to enabling global youth aspirations by helping students find the “right education” at the “right cost.” Since September 2020, we have received over US$500 million in loan requests and successfully secured over US$75 million in loan approvals for more than 1600 students. GradRight is now the one-stop destination for Indian students applying for higher education abroad. GradRight was founded in 2019 by Sasidhar Sista, an alumnus of BITS Pilani, and University of Pennsylvania; and Aman Singh, an alumnus of  the Indian School of Business and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Know more about us on www.gradright.com
Media Contact:
Anand Patingeanandp@gradright.com
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