As discussed in the previous blog the education abroad process is a tough nut to crack. Let us try to understand the education abroad process in a simplified way. Understanding the education abroad process is important for the decision-making of the applicant to finalize the destination.
In order to study abroad first, the applicant should finalize the study course. The course in which the applicant is interested and capable to pursue is critical for the future of the candidates. The only interest of the candidate might not be enough to peruse education. It also requires capability and aptitude to follow the interest.
The financial management of the candidate also plays a key role in the selection of the course. Once the course is finalized, then the determination of the suitable destination is next selection of country depends on two many parameters. First of all entrance exam qualification. There are mostly two criteria that are English speaking countries and CSI countries. For English-speaking countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. IELTS/GRE/TOEFL exams are entry requirements. For an MBA course, the GMAT exam is required to be qualified. For CSI countries like Russia, Ukraine, Kazakstan, Kirgizstan, Philippines, etc. there are no entry exams in general. But for certain courses like MBBS, there are no CET exams or entrance tests.
After the entrance examination comes the budget and financial planning. In some countries, annual fees are high like Australia, USA, and UK but there is a funding option available. Most funding options are fellowships, scholarships, part-time jobs, internships, and loans. We are going to discuss this part in a separate blog in detail. For some high intellectual students, fully funded programs are available like Erasmus Mundus scholarship in environmental management, HUFS awards from Howard University in UK. Getting admission also depends on the financial availability of parents.
Documentation is one of the most challenging and widely ignored parts by the Indian students going abroad. First of all academic documents are required like mark sheets, degree certificates extracurricular and co-curricular activities certificates, etc. In academic documents, transcripts are demanded by the abroad universities for the admission process. The transcript is a sealed document mentioning the yearly grades/marks structure for the student. Besides all these, two main documents are to be submitted those are SOP and Recos. SOP stands for statement of purpose and Reco stands for recommendation letters. Again we are going to discuss these documents in a separate blog.
Once the admission is done, the visa docs are the next challenging part. Visa docs involve admission docs, financial docs as well as interviews in some countries. Visa procedures vary widely from country to country. In some countries like USA, you can apply for a visa immediately after rejection but in countries like Italy, your visa rejection does not allow you to apply again. Even after getting admission to the desired university, there is no certainty of visa Therefore visa documentation gets very critical and equally important.
Once your visa is done, you need to foreign exchange. For getting this done again there are too many options available. Mostly there are two categories government banks and private firms. The commission charged in government banks is very less but the documentation and slow process make it tedious. In private firms, service to customers is very good by it they charge a handsome commission to provide such services. As the foreign exchange part is a recurring need of the student the service provider must be chosen wisely.
As the end post landing requirement like temporary accommodation, airport pickup, food services, etc are necessary at the beginning of abroad studies. If anything goes wrong at the beginning, it may hamper the overall stay.
