Planning ahead is crucial for study abroad. Right from researching universities, to preparing the perfect application and seeking financial aid, there are a million things to be done. Rohan Ganeriwala walks you through the process in detail
RESEARCH THE COllEGE
Courses and majors offered: Invest time looking at the different kinds of majors on offer and the way they are taught. Also have a look at core requirements, the combination of majors and minors, opportunities to gain practical exposure by means of study abroad or student exchange programmes and so on. Going on www.coursera.org and viewing college courses which have captured your fancy lets you get an inkling of the kind of learning you can look forward to at that college.
Alumni: This allows you to look at what previous students from the college have achieved. Alumni give you a glimpse into the ethos a college fosters and allows you to judge which college resonates more with you and your career goals. Getting in touch with alumni is a great way to collect information.
Faculty: More often than not, the faculty of a college is distinguished and knowledgeable, so glancing through credentials will get you nowhere. You need to go on student blogs and research about student-teacher interaction at the college, find out about the research projects the professors are pursuing and see what resonates with you.
The nitty-gritties: Proximity to a city/town and weather conditions are also things that need to be considered. For example, if you’re the kind of person who wants sandy beaches and sunshine all year round and a cocoon of pulsating city life, UClA would be the ideal college for you. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of snow, mountaineering and a contained campus far away from the bustling city, look at Middlebury College or even Vassar College.
Campus life: look up activities and extra curricular activities offered by the clubs and societies. Don’t forget that diversity and size of student body are important factors as well. You’ll have complete freedom to choose the activities that interest you and unlimited opportunity for participation. Maybe you want to try your hand at archery or you’ve always been passionate about a variety of social causes. look for ways and means to realise these whacky and eccentric interests. College is your oyster. For an easy way to get statistics about a college look up the ‘Class Profile’.
Work experience: There are colleges that offer research opportunities to undergraduates as well. Internships could be a great way to get well-rounded exposure to the hard life that’s going to follow after college. Work experience will also help you decide if your chosen field is right for you.
(The writer is Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder, Collegify)
THE PERFECT APPlICATION
Preparation of a strong application is crucial for getting selected into a good college. It is an elaborate and complex process and therefore, most students have limited and/or incomplete understanding of what it entails. Choosing the right college, filling out forms, choosing the right programme, work experience requirement, community service involvement, and of course, writing the college admission essay — all are important aspects.
Students often take the application process lightly and miss deadlines, fail to prepare sufficiently and effectively for standardised tests, and scribble off an incoherent application essay, throwing away the life changing opportunity of an international college experience.
To put together a flawless college application, one must follow a structured process and start at least three-four months in advance. Students must keep the following things in mind before attempting to prepare the perfect application:
The Application Procedure
At the outset, it is important to narrow down the colleges that interest you and decide on prospective majors and degrees. Ideally, apply to between five to eight colleges. This will ensure a higher probability of admission/acceptance.
The cost of application can vary from $30 to $100. While some colleges do not charge at all, the average application fee is $50.
BEST SCHOlARSHIP
Studying abroad is an expensive investment. Inflation in India, coupled with a slow re-surfacing of the world economy, has brought down the value of the rupee, making the investment that much costlier. The US is a popular destination for many Indians who want to study abroad. While Indian students will not be able to get Federal Aid, there are other options for financial assistance.
The two options generally offered to international students looking to study in the US are need-based aid and merit-based aid. Need-based aid is strictly for those who cannot afford university fees, and it requires students to send signed bank statements as proof of their parents’ annual earnings. On the other hand, merit-based aid is offered at the discretion of the admissions board, usually to students with exceptional achievements in academics, extra-curricular activities, sports and community service.
Need-based aid is a slightly more complicated affair since the university’s decision regarding whether a student will be awarded aid is directly tied with their admissions decision. This means that if your plea for aid is rejected, you will not be accepted as a student at the university, even if you manage to get the money together at a later date. Merit-based aid is more unpredictable since you do not actually get an opportunity to ask for it. However, there have been trends in the past where most students applying to colleges just slightly below their potential are offered aid frequently. Institutions such as Wooster, DePauw and Clark, for example, are known to be generous with their merit scholarships for international students.
In most cases, even with a certain amount of financial assistance, you (as an international student) will probably be paying more than local students. It isn’t too unreasonable to assume, therefore, that an international student, even with a $10,000/year scholarship, would be a more attractive student to universities as compared to someone paying in-state tuition.
Besides loans, there are also a number of third-party funding agencies that give scholarships to Indian students studying abroad.
(The writer is co-founder, Collegify, college education consultants)