Foreign under-graduation opens up a wide range of career opportunities, however, the process of applying, getting admission and, finally, going abroad is long and needs meticulous planning. Here is a step-wise guide to making it work.
The top six countries -- the US, Canada [Images], the UK, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand emerge as the preferred destinations.
Choose your field
By the time you are through with school you should have an idea of the area that you want to build your career in and/or what you are good at. The choice of the exact course and specialisation can then follow.
Do your research - Before starting off, a student should go through the information that is available on various websites." It may be time-consuming and confusing, but there is no substitute to being well informed.
Another effective way of doing due-diligence is visiting educational fairs of different countries. "At such fairs, many colleges come in and tell you what exactly they have to offer; even the faculty of the colleges is present.
Guidance and location
The next place to go to would be the official educational representatives of the countries in India. Alongside, you can take help from agents and/or educational counsellors, who can guide you throughout the entire process. Sircar advises caution here: "Check if the counsellor is an approved agent. You can even check with the colleges concerned. Do a background check. You can also tap into alumni networks and contact Indian students who have used an agent to get recommendations."
Charges. -The services of the official representatives are mostly free. Agents, however, make money from commissions from colleges and service fees from students. Some take a refundable deposit that you lose if you do not take admission through them. US universities don?t give agents a cut, so counsellors often charge a package fee for five to six universities. You can budget for around Rs 10,000 for these services
Choose the place
This is a bit tricky. Ideally, this should depend on where the best course in your field is offered). Singh, who also wears the hat of the president of the Association of Australian Representatives in India (AAERI), says: "While the US is known for research, the UK scores in pure studies, and Australia in applied sciences and vocational courses.
An Indian student who did his Bachelors in Business Administration and HR Management from Keene University, UK, says, "The UK is one of the best places for management education; you get exposure to an economically advanced business environment."
Costs. Herein comes the question of what you are comfortable spending since you are likely to be paying your way through. Course fees and living expenses vary across countries. Often, the duration of course will be determined by the country you are going to. The longer it is, the higher the costs. So please do the maths before you choose
Part-time jobs.
If you are borrowing to finance your studies, you would want to earn to keep your liabilities down. You might even want some cash in hand to live a little better. Pachisia, for instance, works as a computer lab assistant for $10-11 an hour but he cannot manage all the 20 hours allowed per week because of semester timings.
Working after graduation. International job exposure looks good on a CV in today's globalised environment. If this is priority, your course should be in a country that allows you to stay on. New Zealand is the best place for this. Australia, too, welcomes foreign students. The permanent residence application system is very transparent. The US and the UK are a bit stuffy in this respect. If you are planning to stay on in the UK, you are barking up the wrong tree, the route is tedious. Some people who are not familiar with city life prefer to experience the traditional English Life. If you have such preferences, factor them too.
Courses and applications - Select the Course
Whether you will take this step before or after you have chosen your destination will depend on your priorities. You could even get lucky and find the best course in your preferred country. If the course is more important than the destination, you could find yourself grappling with a range of admission and visa requirements.
However, admission into a top programme makes it worth the trouble. After you go through the eligibility and other criteria, try to narrow the list down to five.
While doing this, check how well the degree is recognised across the world and whether it opens doors in the job market or academia, depending on your preference.
Also check out the course and university rankings. The admission process can throw up surprises, so it's better to apply to more than one university unless you are sure of yourself.
The top six countries -- the US, Canada [Images], the UK, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand emerge as the preferred destinations.
Choose your field
By the time you are through with school you should have an idea of the area that you want to build your career in and/or what you are good at. The choice of the exact course and specialisation can then follow.
Do your research - Before starting off, a student should go through the information that is available on various websites." It may be time-consuming and confusing, but there is no substitute to being well informed.
Another effective way of doing due-diligence is visiting educational fairs of different countries. "At such fairs, many colleges come in and tell you what exactly they have to offer; even the faculty of the colleges is present.
Guidance and location
The next place to go to would be the official educational representatives of the countries in India. Alongside, you can take help from agents and/or educational counsellors, who can guide you throughout the entire process. Sircar advises caution here: "Check if the counsellor is an approved agent. You can even check with the colleges concerned. Do a background check. You can also tap into alumni networks and contact Indian students who have used an agent to get recommendations."
Charges. -The services of the official representatives are mostly free. Agents, however, make money from commissions from colleges and service fees from students. Some take a refundable deposit that you lose if you do not take admission through them. US universities don?t give agents a cut, so counsellors often charge a package fee for five to six universities. You can budget for around Rs 10,000 for these services
Choose the place
This is a bit tricky. Ideally, this should depend on where the best course in your field is offered). Singh, who also wears the hat of the president of the Association of Australian Representatives in India (AAERI), says: "While the US is known for research, the UK scores in pure studies, and Australia in applied sciences and vocational courses.
An Indian student who did his Bachelors in Business Administration and HR Management from Keene University, UK, says, "The UK is one of the best places for management education; you get exposure to an economically advanced business environment."
Costs. Herein comes the question of what you are comfortable spending since you are likely to be paying your way through. Course fees and living expenses vary across countries. Often, the duration of course will be determined by the country you are going to. The longer it is, the higher the costs. So please do the maths before you choose
Part-time jobs.
If you are borrowing to finance your studies, you would want to earn to keep your liabilities down. You might even want some cash in hand to live a little better. Pachisia, for instance, works as a computer lab assistant for $10-11 an hour but he cannot manage all the 20 hours allowed per week because of semester timings.
Working after graduation. International job exposure looks good on a CV in today's globalised environment. If this is priority, your course should be in a country that allows you to stay on. New Zealand is the best place for this. Australia, too, welcomes foreign students. The permanent residence application system is very transparent. The US and the UK are a bit stuffy in this respect. If you are planning to stay on in the UK, you are barking up the wrong tree, the route is tedious. Some people who are not familiar with city life prefer to experience the traditional English Life. If you have such preferences, factor them too.
Courses and applications - Select the Course
Whether you will take this step before or after you have chosen your destination will depend on your priorities. You could even get lucky and find the best course in your preferred country. If the course is more important than the destination, you could find yourself grappling with a range of admission and visa requirements.
However, admission into a top programme makes it worth the trouble. After you go through the eligibility and other criteria, try to narrow the list down to five.
While doing this, check how well the degree is recognised across the world and whether it opens doors in the job market or academia, depending on your preference.
Also check out the course and university rankings. The admission process can throw up surprises, so it's better to apply to more than one university unless you are sure of yourself.
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