High cut-offs: Students eye foreign vistas

With cut-offs going up in all premier universities and colleges, securing a seat in RU and its constituent colleges or in Delhi University is getting difficult. Students with 80% and above are finding it easier to study abroad rather than get an admission in any good university in the country. Though aware that going abroad is not that easy, they are still running right from study abroad consultants to the banks to realise their dream. As per the data collected from study abroad consultants based in Jaipur, UK is the first choice for students, followed by US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The racial attacks on Indians in Australia have created a hostile environment leading to a drastic decline in applications for that country. Rahul Srivastava, managing director of JLN Overseas Consultants, Jaipur said: "No doubt, UK is the leading destination drawing students as it has many established universities." Of every three students going abroad, two are eyeing UK. Students from Rajasthan, especially Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer and Udaipur, where there are a good number of established English medium schools, eye abroad. "Students easily clear English proficiency exams such as IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT and GRE," said Srivastava. The craze this year is such that IELTS Jaipur has no seat available for exam till September. The response is so good that many premier foreign university representatives have conducted counselling sessions with city students. Divya Singh, a resident of Jaipur who scored 78% in Class XII science, didn't make it to honours Maths in DU. But now he has applied for three universities in Canada. "I am hopeful to get admission in any one of them. I am sure studying there would give me international exposure besides good job opportunities across the globe," added Singh. Students here are applying for MBA besides for courses like Biotechnology, Media and Journalism, Business Management, Accounting & Finance and HR. There is a chunk of students who either wanted to work abroad or settle abroad after higher studies. They prefer Canada and New Zealand. Heena Narang, admission counsellor, Make Your Own Destiny, Delhi said, "Students are taking a keen interest in Canada for higher studies due to its relaxed immigration policies and availability of part-time jobs." She has already processed hundreds of applications, including many from Rajasthan. In countries like UK, New Zealand and Australia, universities allow part-time to full-time jobs depending on the course structure. However, this opportunity is not available with all universities in Canada and US. Secondly, Canada has relaxed its permanent residentship norms in 2008, Narang said. It is advisable for the students to look for the shortage occupation list before applying for higher studies abroad. Different countries provide work permit on the basis of the occupation listed in this category. Every student aspiring to go abroad should be ready to shell out around Rs 10-12 lakh. Even they look up to various scholarships' available with the university and various organisations. Manu Rathore of Sawai Man Singh Vidhyalaya of Jaipur was fortunate enough to secure a seat in the bachelors degree programme of the prestigious Cornell University, US. The icing on the cake is that his four-year programme is fully funded. He was awarded a scholarship of Rs 1.3 crore by The Global Education and Leadership Foundation (TGELF). 29 June 2011     Shoeb Khan http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-29/education/29716100_1_higher-studies-uk-universities For more news and updates, assistance with your visa needs or for a Free Assessment of your profile for Immigration or Work Visa’s just visit www.y-axis.com