As the second term almost comes to an end and the year is about to get over, a lot of third year students are getting busy filling out applications, going for counseling to career consultants to decide the best course for themselves, giving IIELTS, TOEFL, GRE and worrying about funds- education loans and various scholarships. Hence, with so many banks and consulting firms facilitating education abroad, foreign education isn’t a farfetched thought for most of us anymore.
The USA still tops the list when it comes to Indian students applying abroad. At present 94,563 students are studying in the US, with Business and Management leading the list of popular fields of study. Websites like www.education.state.gov help you guide through life in America, the USIEF guide the students at every stage of their application process and facilitates interactive sessions with a diverse panel of resource persons. Shahista an alumni of Wharton University presently working with UB group says, “I think I might have matured as person studying abroad, my parents can see that too.”
UK being the next most popular (especially for post graduate courses) has a major plus point over the US, reason being their one year masters degree program for most of the fields of study. www.britishcouncil.org provides you with all the information about studying in the UK, from scholarships to the best universities for the course of your choice, online chat with Education in UK experts and even promotional visits by UK Universities in British Council, Delhi. Guidance for Scholarships by the University or by the country is provided in detail on the British Council Website. Here’s more, they also have open house sessions to clear out all your queries about studying in the UK! Simar Manaktala, currently studying in Kent University says, “Coming here is like a whole new world, the exposure is mind blowing.” City University, Cardiff, Cambridge, Manchester, LSE are the most famous among Indians studying in UK and most of them offer plenty of scholarships on a post graduate level. (Check out their websites for more information.)
While, UK and USA lead, Australia is not far behind either. Safety in Australia is assured now, by the Australian Government as they have initiated visible police operations in both Victoria and New South Wales targeting most priority areas. But newsflash students, unfortunately there are some Australian Universities that shut down recently, including Sterling College, Melbourne International College, ASBT College and Sydney Global College.
Canada, France, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore are the various other options for students depending on one’s budget and course. France being more popular when it comes to culinary and fashion courses but for most of us language becomes a handicap (Fluency in French is major plus point if you plan to study in France as English is hardly spoken out there). Italy, on the other hand is more famous for fashion and design courses, Polytechnic of Milan and Polytechnic of Turin being one of the best Fashion Institutes there. Singapore is also recently becoming a rage among the students nowadays, keeping in mind the lesser cost of living there and the fact that its closer to India as compared to the European countries; it gets more convenient for both the parents and students. National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University being one of the top campuses over there, and admissions aren’t as easy in this country, as a very high score in academics is what these Universities are looking for!
But no matter how beautiful and exciting the idea sounds of studying abroad, adjusting to a new country with new people and a new culture isn’t that easy as it sounds. Part time jobs are common among the international students abroad, while some countries have a certain limit of hours of time for students, others allow students to work and earn part time as much as they want. Although housing and tuition fee gets paid by scholarships (that is if you’re lucky enough to get one!), cost of living and basic pocket money has to be covered by part time jobs, on or off campus (until and unless you happen to be a millionaire’s kid in which case you don’t have to worry about scholarships either!).
So to all you Gargi third year students out there, good luck! We at the Oracle team hope you make it to the best of universities in the coming year, in India or abroad!
Tarini Peshawaria.
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