Studying Abroad: ALL You Need To Know

• Studying Abroad: ALL You Need To Know
  
• 
  
• Come September, students and their parents start crowding airport terminals, bidding farewell to each other. As parents wave goodbye, they wonder what awaits their children in an unknown land. Will they cope well? When will they see them again? But these thoughts are accompanied by a sigh of relief as applying and getting admission to a foreign university is a long drawn affair.
  
  The first leg of the journey starts 12 to 16 months before. Trips are made to university for transcripts, recommendation letters, to the bank for education loan, to coaching institutes, while parents arrange for funds by breaking their fixed deposits, selling land or mortgaging property.
  
  Since the colonial days we have looked to the western world for enlightenment. But now when there are more than 370 universities in the country, students still continue to go abroad. There are reasons for this.
  
  Why study abroad?
  
  One, high quality institutions are fewer in number. Hence, many students fail to enter institutes of their choice, or miss out on getting admission to the&nbspcourse of their choice, as competition is intense and seats are limited. Two, of late, a large number of private Indian institutes have started charging international fees. For the same fee (or a bit more), a student can study in a good foreign university. Last of course, is the opportunity to settle abroad!
  
  
  

  Beware of scams
  
  Over the years, because of economy and migration laws, foreign education has gotten split into higher education and permanent residency (PR) markets. The USA and the UK are primary markets for higher education Australia, New Zealand and Canada are the popular immigration markets. Due to a&nbspshortage of skilled manpower in these countries, it's easier for Asians to join their workforce.
  
  But beware this has&nbsplead to a&nbspscam, where&nbsplocal PR agents (for huge sums of money) get Indian students enrolled in third-rate vocational institutes abroad. The issue was recently brought to light by the racial attacks on Indian students in Australia. And let's face it, after taking staggering study loans, you do think of working in that country, earning in that currency so that you can pay back the loan. But just keep in mind that not all foreign universities are good.
  
  Go through university ranking on US News, Times Higher Education or The Guardian. This will give you an idea of the better ones. And always find out about the university's credentials from its web site or the educational counselor. We have provided a list of accrediting agencies for your reference. Sourcing information from reliable sources is crucial, as both money and life can be at stake.
  
  Exams, scholarships 'n' more
  
  As for competitive exams for admissions, they vary from country to country. Some offer admissions on the strength of your academic record, others ask for GRE, GMAT, TOEFL or IELTS or proficiency in a foreign language. University web sites furnish all eligibility criteria and required tests. So look it up.
  
  In case, you don't have a&nbspscholarship,&nbspinquire about full or partial scholarship opportunities from the university that has offered you admission. Some have a quota of awards for international students.
  
  And while you are at it, ask the university for e-mail contacts of some Indian students. They can advise you on the cost of living, especially on accommodation. There is home-stay this means living with a family university accommodation, which is safe and convenient but expensive and last, student flat, where three to four students rent a flat. This is the cheapest option as grocery bills to electric bills, all gets shared.
  
  In case, you wish to decide on the accommodation after you arrive at the university then book yourself in a youth hostel or a YMCA close to the university area. Keeping in mind what students seek while applying to foreign universities, we bring you the best each country has to offer. The selection is based on their popularity with Indian students. To be an alumnus of the world's best institution is a dream for any student.
  
  To help you short-list, we present a country-wise university listing:
  
  

  University Country Australian National University Australia University of Melbourne Australia The University of Sydney Australia University of Vienna Austria University of Ghent Belgium McGill University Canada McMaster University Canada University of British Columbia Canada University of Toronto Canada Aarhus University Denmark University of Copenhagen Denmark University of Helsinki Finland &Eacutecole Normale Sup&eacuterieure France University of Paris 6 (Pierre and Marie Curie University) France University of Paris 11 (Paris-Sud 11 University) France University of Strasbourg I (Louis Pasteur University) France Free University of Berlin Germany Humboldt University of Berlin Germany Technical University of Munich Germany University of Bonn Germany University of Freiburg Germany University of Goettingen Germany Heidelberg University Germany University of Munich Germany The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel Sapienza University of Rome Italy Kyoto University Japan Nagoya University Japan Osaka University Japan Tohoku University Japan Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan The&nbspUniversity of Toyko Japan University of Groningen Netherlands University of Leiden Netherlands Utrecht University Netherlands University of Oslo Norway Moscow State University Russia

  University Country Karolinska Institute Sweden Lund University Sweden Stockholm University Sweden Uppsala University Sweden ETH Zurich Switzerland University of Basel Switzerland University of Zurich Switzerland Imperial College London UK University of Birmingham UK University of Bristol UK University of Cambridge UK University College London UK University of Edinburgh UK University of Manchester UK University of Nottingham UK University of Oxford UK University of Sheffield UK California Institute of Technology USA Columbia University USA Cornell University USA Harvard University USA Johns Hopkins University USA Massachusetts Institute of Tech USA Princeton University USA Stanford University USA University&nbspof California, San Diego USA University of California, San Francisco USA University of Illinois In Urbana Champaign USA University of Minnesota - Twin Cities USA University of California, Berkeley USA University of California, Los Angeles USA University of Chicago USA University of Michigan, Ann Arbor USA University of Pennsylvania USA University of Washington USA Washington University In St Louis USA Yale University USA

  Top Institutions, Subject-wise
  

  ARTS & HUMANITIES	Country
  Harvard University	US
  University of Oxford	UK
  University of Toronto	Canada
  Australian National University	Australia
  Free University of Berlin	Germany

  
  

  SOCIAL SCIENCES	Country
  Harvard University	US
  London School of Economics	UK
  University of British Columbia	Canada
  Australian National University	Australia
  National University of Singapore	Singapore

  
  

  NATURAL SCIENCES	Country
  Massachusetts Institute of Tech	US
  University of Cambridge	UK
  University of Toronto	Canada
  University of Tokyo	Japan
  ETH Zurich	Switzerland

  
  

  LIFE SCIENCES & BIOMEDICINE	Country
  Harvard University	US
  University of Cambridge	UK
  McGill University	Canada
  University of Tokyo	Japan
  National University of Singapore	Singapore

  
  

  ENGINEERING & IT	Country
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology	US
  University of Cambridge	UK
  University of Tokyo	Japan
  University of Toronto	Canada
  National University of Singapore	Singapore

  Accreditation agencies at a glance
  

  Country	Agency	Web site
  USA	The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)	www.chea.org
  UK	Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education	www.qaa.ac.uk
  Australia	Commonwealth Register of Institutions (CRICOS)	cricos.dest.gov.au
  New Zealand	New Zealand Qualifications Authority	http://nzqa.govt.nz/
  &nbspCanada	Association of Canadian Universities + Provincial Charter	www.aucc.ca
  Germany	Agency for Sciences and Engineering	www.asiin.de
  The Netherlands	The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands	www.navo.net
  Russia	Education Ministry of Russia	http://eng.mon.gov.ru/
  Singapore	No central authority (Singapore Class- a private initiative)	www.spring.gov.sg
  Switzerland	The Conference of Cantonal Education Ministers	http://edkwww.unibe.ch
  Italy	Department of Education and Sciences	www.irlgov.ie/educ
  France	Education France	www.education.fr
  Norway	Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education	www.nokut.no

  
  

  DATA COLLECTED FROM THE CARRERS360…….