Abstract: The escalating outflow of Nepalese students seeking higher education abroad represents one of the most consequential demographic shifts in contemporary Nepal, raising fundamental questions about agency, socioeconomic determinants, and the institutional forces that mediate educational migration. This study investigates the central question of who makes the final decision for a Nepalese student to pursue higher education abroad the student or their family members and identifies the socioeconomic and motivational factors that characterise the aspiring population. Adopting a descriptive–analytical research design, primary data were collected from 135 students enrolled at five educational consultancies in Banepa, Kavrepalanchok, Nepal, using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics via SPSS. Findings reveal that the majority of respondents (57.04%) identified themselves as the primary decision-maker, challenging the assumption of family-dominant decision processes common in collectivist societies. Educational motives (39.3%) and economic motives (24.4%) were the dominant drivers of abroad aspiration. Japan emerged as the most preferred destination (31.1%), followed by Australia (20%). Most respondents came from private secondary schools (61.5%), belonged to the Brahmin ethnic group (31.1%), held management faculty backgrounds (56.3%), and depended primarily on parental funding (74.8%). These findings partially validate push-pull theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour by demonstrating that individual-level agency, economic rationalisation, and social referencing jointly shape the decision to migrate for education. The study provides actionable evidence for policymakers, educational institutions, and the consultancy sector seeking to understand and respond to Nepal's growing student exodus.