U.S : The Global Destiny
With the presence of top ranked universities like Stanford and Harvard, U.S. remains the leading destination for Indian as well as International students to pursue their academic excellence. Even though there was slight dip in the number of Indian students choosing U.S. as their study location in the recent times, around 764,500 international students flew to this country chasing their dreams. While majority of them opted to study courses like management, engineering, mathematics and computer science, the American universities also provide courses in the fields ranging from Law to Agriculture.
The huge number of diverse universities in U.S. gives aspirants the confidence of finding a suitable institution in their preferred surroundings. Even if the students feel that the institution that they picked was a wrong choice for them, then they can move to some other universities of their choice. The universities also allow the students to earn a ‘Minor Degree’ in a subject of their interest while undergoing a ‘Major Degree.’ To experience the advantages of studying in U.S seems costly for Indian students with fall of rupee against dollar comparing to the older days. However, majority of students receive financial aid, via various grants, scholarships, loan and work-study schemes.
The high standard of US universities is not the sole reason that draws students in. How can a person refuse to visit the misty Niagara Falls, breathtaking view of Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and the wonders of Disneyland? The bright-lighted fast-paced cities, miles of unspoiled wilderness, sun-kissed beaches; America has something for everyone.
United Kingdom: Through the Shores of Thames
From the shores of Thames River, Oxford and Cambridge are most familiar names even for school kids in India, as both are famous English dictionaries available in the market. More than 70 universities from UK featured in World University Ranking done by various organizations last year. Surprisingly, the country falls next to U.S. in receiving number of international students. Apart from universities, there are a total of 29 UK higher education institutions in the global top 200, and 61 in the top 700. Finding the best of best is the only headache remaining to the students who are looking for a higher education at UK.
The education systems are fairly similar in the constituent states of UK such as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Typical undergraduate degree in UK can be finished three years, but in Scotland, it is four years longer. Some of the Universities also provide faster undergraduate courses, which can be finished in one or two years. The UK has a centralized university admissions service called University and College Admissions Service (UCAS), which handles all undergraduate applications. Students need to register on the UCAS website before completing and submitting your application. The website has all the details on how to apply, what to include, how to track your application and how to respond to your chosen universities. It also has a guide for international students, including information about visas, student finance and more.
Australia: Travel, Play and Study
For majority of Indians, Australia means a team of 11 cricket players in yellow jersey who are tough to beat for men in blue. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are familiar among the young lads of India, as these are the famous Australian cricket stadiums, where Indian cricket team goes and bleed the blue jersey. However, for Indian students who are looking their higher education in abroad, these are the places where infamous Australian Universities exist. University of Sydney, University of Melbourne and University of Adelaide are usual entries in the list of top 100 Global Universities. Only U.S. and UK have more number of universities in the global ranking than Australia. Universities in Australia are also known for internationalization, as it is the fourth largest industry there, which brings more money into the country.
Students can apply directly to any Australian University, as there is no federal or state-level application system for international students. From university to university and subject to subject, the cost of education will vary. At present, the average fees in an Australian University will be more than Rs. 12 Lakhs. Apart from fees, the country provides many other fun activities for their visitors to spend money. From large sandy beaches to a nail biting cricket match at Perth Stadium demands a good amount of Australian Dollars. Living at Australia is also a chance to meet the brown jumping Kangaroos with inbuilt cradle on stomach, which is familiar to Indians in the form of a statue in public places with ‘Use Me’ board.
Canada: A Second Home for Indians
In 2011, Canada host prestigious International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA awards) at Toronto, the largest city of Canada. One of the major reasons to host such a ‘Desi event’ was the dominating population of Indian community people in this region. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is home to more than 500,000 Indo-Canadians. Concreting this fact, the government officials of Canada says that over one million Canadians can trace their roots back to India. Consequently, the Canadian government has taken several initiatives to bring more students from India to their several high ranked universities. The Student Partners Program (SPP), implemented in partnership with Canadian visa offices in India and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC), was one among them.
With more advantageous to Indian students, Canada has more relaxed immigration rules for international students in comparison with U.S., UK and Australia. The relaxed visa policies allow students to work and repay their education loans. Students can work off campus for 20 hours per week apart from working on campus. Post graduation students are allowed to work for three years in Canada. They can also become a permanent resident of the country under the Canadian Experience Class policy, if they choose to. With an excellent education system, Canada is a safe, peaceful, affordable and attractive destination for international students, especially for Indian students. The natural beauty of this country is only added advantage. Notwithstanding the fact that, only few nations in the world can boast anything close to Canadian wealth of forests, lakes and mountains and for its multicultural diversity.
Singapore: The Research Hub
Spitting pan masalas on the pavements and waiting for trains that never arrive on time are hard to remove from the Indian culture. However, on the eastern side, for the country called Singapore, these are intolerable offences, even chewing gum as later it will end up in the pavements. The small and highly populated country is known for its cleanliness and punctual trains. The strong economy and high quality life style accompanied with high cost living made Singapore one of the expensive Asian country to pursue higher education. Comparing with international education hubs like U.S., UK and Australia, the fees at Singapore Universities are inexpensive and more than 50 percent of international students will receive financial aid.
Singapore has 34 universities including six national universities. Among those universities, University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University are ranked within the top 50 in the world, offering courses in wide range of subjects to their student populations of over 30,000 each. Both universities focus vastly on research and innovation and played lion share in lifting Singapore into a world leader in research and innovation over the past few decades. Offering a more specialized range of subjects, the Singapore Management University is also among Singapore’s best known institutions, ranking among the world’s leading providers of education in the fields of accounting and finance, computer science, economics, law and statistics. With south Indian language Tamil as one of the official languages, Singapore has many migrants from India, especial from the southern region.
