Exchange rate fluctuations are affecting Turkish students' study abroad preferences. With the rising expectation of a possible U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike, currency volatility affects the cost of education abroad.

Turkey's International Education Fairs General Coordinator Deniz Akar said students are shifting their preferences for study abroad locations following the Turkish lira losing value. More students and parents now prefer Eastern Europe, Asian and Baltic countries, Akar continued. Highlighting the significant devaluation of the Turkish lira against the dollar, euro and pound sterling since the beginning of 2015, Akar said students willing to study abroad are choosing international schools in Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia and Russia as well as Baltic countries and China, South Korea and other Asian countries alongside the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. He said Hungary, Poland, Russia, China and South Korea have prestigious universities, some of which are included in the top 500 universities in the world. "Those countries willing to take a higher share of the international student market try to surpass the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia with competing prices," he said.

Akar added that Turkey is in the top five among countries that send the highest number of students abroad. Each year, almost 90,000 students from Turkey study abroad, with 35,000 of them attending language courses. Akar said the annual expense of a student studying abroad is around $20,000. "More than $600 million is spent on university education abroad. Turkish students spend almost $1.5 billion on education abroad. He stressed that the number of students studying abroad is expected to reach 8 million by 2020, adding that Turkey should focus on this field as well.