Why did a 20-year-old take a ₹40 lakh loan to study abroad? A viral video on social media, explaining the reasoning behind a now 22-year-old’s decision to take on an expensive loan to complete her Masters abroad has divided netizens.
The video has generated comments that praised the decision, wanted clarification on details in her story, or questioned the quantifiable worth of the supposed return on investment (ROI) of such a .
‘I know money is important, but…’
Explaining her decision, the social media user, identified as Ekta said that she took a ₹40 lakh loan when she was 20. “Hi, I’m Ekta, I’m 22, and I did my from INSEAD, one of the top B-schools (business schools) in the world. And to fund it I took out a ₹40 lakh loan. Now everybody asks me about the ROI and here’s what I tell them: ‘I know that the is important, but if you graduate from a good university then you will pay it back. Because you will have opportunities that come with it’,” she claimed.
Till time of writing, the reel by ekta.explains has been watched over 47,700 times and gained 1,224 likes.
Calculating ROI of masters abroad? ‘Count everything else too’
According to Ekta, while calculating ROI on loan for , one should “consider the other things too”. She listed them: “Now I have friends in 33 different countries, I have access to an alumni network of more than 20,000 people, who are all over the world in the biggest companies. I have had experiences at the age of 22 that no 40-year-old would have and most importantly, I have made friends for life.”
“All of this is my return on . This might sound cliche, but your network is genuinely your net worth. So, if you are calculating the ROI of a Master’s (degree) abroad and the number is scaring you then you’re probably only considering the money. You should count everything else too,” she added.
ROI on ₹40 lakh loan more than just money: How did netizens react?
Netizens seemed divided. There were multiple responses expressing pride: “So proud of you” and some comments were in complete agreement: “Absolutely correct Ekta” and “Couldn’t agree more. Network = ”.
But there were a lot of queries about the practicality of paying off an expensive loan. One comment asked: “33 different countries people won’t pay the and how much you make now?” and another added: “So, how are you gonna quantify other stuff you talked about?”
There was also scepticism expressed. One user questioned: “How are you doing Master’s at 20? I will be done with my undergrad at 21…” and another wanted clarification: “I have one question, you said you did your Master’s from INSEAD, but which course? Because an requires work experience of 5-7 years (so) how did you join at 20?”
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