How many Pune engineering students go abroad for a master's?

In its NIRF 2025 submission, COEP Technological University reported 124 of 741 B.Tech graduates - about one in six - selected for higher studies in 2023-24. NIRF's higher-studies field counts domestic postgraduate study alongside study abroad and does not break out destination, so treat it as a direction, not a count of people leaving India.

Where do Pune students attend their US visa interview?

There is no US consulate in Pune. Maharashtra falls under the US Consulate General in Mumbai. However, applicants in India are not restricted to their home-state post and may book an interview at another consulate, and the biometrics appointment can be in a different city from the interview. Check current policy and appointment availability on the official US Embassy India site before planning around it.

Is an MS abroad worth it for a COEP or Pune engineering graduate?

It depends on the gap between what you would earn staying and what the degree costs. COEP's NIRF-filed median for placed B.Tech graduates was Rs 10.5L in 2023-24. Against a typical Rs 40L all-in cost for a US master's, that gap is wide enough for the arithmetic to work - which is precisely why the specific programme, not the country, decides whether it does.

Guide · Pune

Choosing an MS consultant in Pune: what to check, and the number that decides it

Last reviewed: August 3, 2026

We do not rank, rate or name consultants, and this is not an argument against using one. It is about walking into that meeting already knowing the number that decides your answer. We take no commission from any university.

Start with what you would earn if you stayed

Every honest version of the "is an MS worth it" question is a comparison against staying. For Pune that comparison has an actual number behind it, filed by the institution itself.

Year	Graduated	Median salary	To higher studies
2021-22	714	₹9.70L	135 (18.9%)
2022-23	756	₹9.75L	80 (10.6%)
2023-24	741	₹10.50L	124 (16.7%)

COEP Technological University is NIRF rank 90 in Engineering, and in 2023-24 it reported a median of ₹10.50L for placed B.Tech graduates, with 79.2% placed and 16.7% of the cohort selected for higher studies. That median is the number your whole decision turns on. It is also the number a conversation about universities almost never starts with.

Source: COEP Technological University submission to NIRF India Rankings 2025, Ministry of Education, institute data PDF, transcribed 2026-08-03. NIRF requires a median, not an average - which is why it differs from the "average package" figures on aggregator sites. NIRF's higher-studies field includes domestic M.Tech, MBA and PhD as well as study abroad; it is not a count of students going overseas.

Why ₹10.5L is the interesting number

A master's abroad has to beat what you would have earned anyway, and then repay what it cost. At a median around ₹10.5L, the gap to a US or European starting salary is wide enough that a well-chosen programme genuinely can pay back inside a few years. One in six of the cohort is already going.

That is exactly why the choice of programme matters more here than the choice of country. When the gap is wide, a good programme pays back fast and a poor one still looks superficially fine - which makes it easy to sell you either. The question that separates them is cost against realistic salary for that specific course, not the university's rank.

Worth knowing before anyone quotes you a brochure number: COEP's own median rose from ₹9.70L to ₹10.50L over the three years above. The India-side option is not collapsing. Any pitch that depends on it collapsing is not describing your situation.

The two questions to ask first

Both are fair, both are answerable by a good consultant, and you learn as much from how they are answered as from the answer.

“Do any universities on my list pay you a commission when I enrol? Which ones?”

A good answer: names them plainly. Commission is legal and standard - a good consultant discloses it without being defensive.

A weak answer: "That doesn't affect my advice" without saying which schools pay. The point isn't whether it affects advice - it's whether they'll tell you.

“If every university paid you exactly the same, would this list change? What would you add or remove?”

A good answer: engages with the hypothetical and defends the list on your profile and outcomes.

A weak answer: dismisses the question or repeats the same list without reasons tied to you.

For a Pune profile there is a third worth adding, because of that median: what starting salary are you assuming for this programme, and where is it published? A recommendation that beats ₹10.5L on paper but not in the published outcome data is the specific way this decision goes wrong here.

The full set of questions, and how to think about each answer, is in the national guide.

One practical Pune detail

There is no US consulate in Pune. Maharashtra falls under the US Consulate General in Mumbai, so that is the default post for a Pune applicant. But applicants in India are not restricted to their home-state consulate, and the biometrics appointment can be in a different city from the interview itself - which matters when appointment availability differs sharply between posts in peak season.

We are not going to quote wait times; they move week to week and a number here would be wrong by the time you read it. Check availability on the official portal before you let anyone build a timeline around a particular consulate.

Source: U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India - Visas, checked 2026-08-03. Consulate policy changes; verify before relying on it.

Check it yourself before the meeting

Shortlist check - which programmes on your list have published outcome data behind them, and which do not.
Loan reality calculator - the EMI you would carry afterwards, against a ₹10.5L alternative.
What the NIRF data shows nationally - the same government filings, across the established IITs.

Run your own numbers first

The Honest Scorecard takes your academics, budget and target countries and returns payback for each programme on your list - so the meeting starts from arithmetic instead of a shortlist someone else assembled.

Get my Honest Scorecard →