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Minglebox, India's leading Education and Career Network today released the findings of its study on 'Education hot spots in India survey 2010', and revealed that cities like Bangalore and Delhi have emerged to be the best picks for Indian students when it came to preferred education destinations in India. Covering popular streams like arts, medicine, engineering and MBA among others, the survey also threw up cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Pune as popular edu- destinations. Talking about carrying out the first ever study of this nature, Kavita Iyer, CEO and Co-founder Minglebox.com said that while there have been surveys earlier to determine the top colleges across streams, there have not been any that take into account a student's perception of where they would like to study and for what streams. Carried out among 2190 students between the age group of 18-25, the online survey included respondents from tier I as well as tier II cities. 40 per cent of the respondent belonged to smaller cities not only going to prove that students from these centers where actively seeking information online, but also that they were willing to make the move to a new city to pursue better education. "Understanding the pulse of the Indian students has always been the forte of Minglebox.com, India's number one education portal. Our reach to nearly 4 milllion students through the Minglebox.com network gives us constant insights into the needs and aspirations of Indian students. The aspirations of the Indian student community have grown immensely over the years and they are looking for the best education options. The findings of the study are a reflection of that," elaborated Iyer. Some of the key findings of the survey were as follows: Delhi best for arts: Thirty five per cent of the students voted the capital as the best destination to pursue a degree in arts. It was followed by Mumbai (16 percent) Chennai and Bangalore (nine percent). Delhi best for commerce: Delhi also emerged as the favorite for commerce students at 31 per cent, followed by Mumbai (20 percent) and Bangalore (13 percent). Delhi best for Medicine: The capital was a clear winner even among medical aspirants with 30 per cent of the respondents voting for the city. The other top cities included Bangalore (15 percent), Chennai (14 percent) and Mumbai (13 percent). Bangalore best for science: 20 per cent of the students chose Bangalore as the best destination for a science degree, while the other top destinations were Delhi (20 percent) and Chennai (13 percent) respectively. Bangalore best for engineering (outside of the IITs and RECs): In keeping with the perception that science related courses are best provided in the south of India, the IT hub was the favorite edu-destination for engineering as well with 29 per cent of the respondent opting for the city. The other top cities included Delhi (16 percent) and Chennai (15 percent) Bangalore best for MBA (outside of the IIMs): The city again scored high with B-school aspirants as 18 per cent of the students chose Bangalore. Close on its heels however are Delhi (18 percent), Mumbai (16 percent) and Pune (16 percent) The survey also highlighted why students wanted to shift to new cities and reasons why they did not want to make that shift. Close to half the students wanted to pursue their education in a new city to gain experience in being independent (49 percent) while the lack of options in one's own city (30 percent) and desire to experience staying away from home(18 percent) made up for the other reasons. On the flipside, factors like high costs of studying (36 percent), unfamiliarity with courses and colleges (25 percent), safety issues (18 percent) and parental pressures (9 percent) are factors that prevent students from relocating to a new city. "It is our constant endeavor to understand the pulse of the student community, their needs and aspirations and thereby help them with helpful information and guidance. The Minglebox.com Education Hotspot is an effort in that direction. We are seeing a large number of students move to other cities for studies and this survey helps us understand the reasons that influence this movement." said Iyer.

Delhi, Bangalore best places to study: Survey