Dear Sir,
I am a student of Class 12 with English, Accounts, Economics, Business and Physics as subjects. I want to go to the US for further studies. Is it a good place to study in? Which university should I apply to?

A Student

Dear Student,

Before you decide on your country of study ask yourself what career you want to be in and reasons for choosing that career. Today, the number of career choices is immense and should you have any confusion consult a career counsellor.  Don't forget the fact that at home the quality of education is on par with any other country.
The USA offers a wide range of options and flexibility to adapt and make any mid course changes, including changing of stream also. If you have not done any preparation you may lose one year to follow the preliminary steps and application process. You need to prepare for at least SAT 1 and SAT 2 if you have chosen a definite career. You also need to take a good grade in TOEFL. Don't be in a hurry. Make a proper choice and take the decision for the right reasons.

Dear Sir,
I am a 19-year-old year BCom student, studying in Christ College, Bangalore under the Autonomous System. I have two more semesters left to complete my Degree. I want to join a top management institute abroad or the ones in India like ISB. But they require 4-5 years relevant work experience apart from good GMAT and TOEFL/IELTS scores.

After completing my BCom I plan to take up a  job for 3 or 4 years and then try. Am I on the right track? In the UK, they accept 15 years of education; are the MBAs there good? How should I prepare myself for good GMAT scores.

What newspapers and magazines should I read, which news channels and what programmes should I watch? When should I start my GMAT and TOEFL/IELTS training? I want to write the GMAT twice so as to do better.

Faraz

Dear Faraz,

Being a commerce student graduating shortly you are on the right track for a management career. Since you have good ambition and are aiming high I hope you have checked either by yourself or with the help of a your personality traits and the skills needed or with a career counsellor. You are right about the fact that ISB in India and other top international management schools look for professional work experience as a pre-requisite for admission to the MBA programme.

On the other hand institutions like IIMs do not insist on work experience. UK is an option which accepts 15 years of education with TOEFL or IELTS and even without work experience. There are a number of institutions offering 12, 15 months and also 2-year MBA courses. But top Universities all over the world offer MBA programmes in several streams for those with 2 to 5 years of work experience, GMAT score and English language proficiency.

USA is the only country that insists on 16 years of education along with other requirements mentioned. 

Look in to all the parameters after identifying what your career aim is and then decide. Definitely an MBA from a top University takes you towards your career destination faster than any other route considering you put in hard work. In order to prepare for GMAT I suggest you pick up a Kaplan or suitable guide book which gives you the curriculum and all other details for preparation.

Ing K Raja Reddy

Dear Sir,

I am currently in my final year B.Com. I wish to pursue an MBA degree from the US. I hear that the eligibility criteria for an MBA in the US requires 16 years of education. I have only 15 as of now. So I wish to know what are the one year courses that I could take up and which are the institutes/colleges that offer such courses in Bangalore?

Tanmay

Dear Tanmay,
You are right about the requirement of 16 years of education as admission requirement to any masters programme in USA. There is no one year degree offered by any University in India except diploma courses, which do not account for the 16th year of university education.

Instead of looking for another one year programme what I would suggest is that you enrol in to a master's degree with a subject of your choice, preferably in the management stream or any other in an open university. Also, immediately get a job even with or without monetary compensation but a job which gives you work experience in the field of your future education. By this you will get a masters degree from the Open University and you will also have the necessary work experience to enter a good University in USA for your MBA degree. GMAT and TOEFL are a must, which you can take up at any point during the two years of your Open University degree.

Ing K Raja Reddy

Send in your queries to dheducation@deccanherald.co.in with ‘studying abroad’ in the subject line or to the Education Desk, Deccan Herald, 75 MG Road, Bangalore 1.