JOIN USDear Madam,
I am currently doing my mechanical engineering course. I am an average student and aspire to pursue higher studies in Germany. But I am not sure if I can score enough in the competitive exams. Could you shed light on what kind of preparation such exams demand and give details of scholarships, if there are any?
V S Mukesh
Dear Mukesh,
Apart from a good GPA in your bachelors, you need to write GRE and TOEFL exams. Please visit www.ets.org to work on practice papers. Most German universities offer free education or if they do have a tuition fee, it is extremely nominal. Do the language course at the Goethe Institute. It will come of use in the job market. Germany is very student friendly and offers long-stay visas. So, if you know the local language, you will be at an advantage.
Dear Madam,
I am currently in my second year of BBM course and wish to pursue MBA after this. Financially, I can’t afford to study in a foreign university. Also, my score have been average till now. I scored 77 per cent in my 10th standard and 86 per cent in my 12th standard. My average in college has been 74 per cent (in the past 3 semesters). Are there any good universities in the UK, Canada, or USA that I can apply to, considering my marks? Kindly let me know of scholarships and loans that I could avail.
A student
Dear Student,
Don’t worry. There are enough and more universities for all budgets. Your scores are not so bad, you are just being harsh on yourself. All universities offer scholarship, research assistantship, graduate assistantship and teaching assistantship opportunities. Take the GMAT and the IELTS exam. Get good scores in both these exams. Entry to most MBA programmes would require two to three years of work experience. If you wish to pursue an MS or MSc in management or any other business-related subject, you could apply soon after your BBM. Many UK and Canadian universities offer courses that have study and work options. In UK, for instance, all masters programmes are for one year, except in Scotland, where the duration of programmes is for two years. If you pick a sandwich programme (work-study) in an university in England, you would study for the first year and pay tuition fee for that year alone and in the second year, you would work and get paid. Canada also offers similar options but their masters programmes are for two years.
Dear Madam,
I am interested in pursuing masters in electrical and computer engineering in
the fall of 2016. I cannot apply for educational loans as the assets owned by my parents are not registered as khata. So, I want to know other sources through which I can support my
educational ambitions.
Noor Zahara
Dear Noor,
If you have a good GPA and excellent GRE & TOEFL scores, you would be eligible to apply for scholarships in all the universities. Many universities also offer graduate assistantship and teaching assistantship programmes. Universities in Germany are free for all students. However, admission to these universities is highly competitive. Published research work, projects carried out, internships and work experience will strengthen your resume.
In UK, the duration of all masters programmes is one year. So, you end up saving on tuition and living expenses for an additional year. You are also allowed to work part time for 20 hours during the week and up to 40 hours during holidays. Apart from the regular banks that you are familiar with for your student loans, you also have banks like HDFC Credila that help students finance their studies.
You can also explore scholarship options in India that fund meritorious students for higher education abroad.
These are:
The Lore India Foundation Scholarship Trust (www.scholarshipsinindia.com/lore-india-foundation-scholarships.html).
The Narotam Sekhsaria Scholarship for Higher Studies (www.pg.nsfoundation.co.in/Home/Scholarship).
Aga Khan Education Services (www.akdn.org/akf_scholarships.asp).
Inlaks Shivdasani foundation (www.inlaksfoundation.org/inlaks-scholarship.aspx).
JN Tata Endowment for Higher Education (www.dorabjitatatrust.org).
Dear Madam,
I am currently in first PUC and am keen to study marine biology after this. Kindly suggest some good universities that I could look into and exams required.
A student
Dear Student,
The best universities for marine biology are:
In the US: Harvard, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Caltech, MIT, Columbia, Stanford, Princeton, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Washington and University of Arizona.
In the UK: Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Bristol, Imperial College London, Durham, Leeds, Manchester and Southampton.
In Australia: The Australian National University, University of Melbourne, The University of Western Australia and Curtin University.
In Japan: The University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Tohoku University and Nagoya University.
In Canada: University of British Columbia and University of Toronto.
ETH Zurich Switzerland, University of Bremen Germany, National Taiwan University, Utrecht University Netherlands, The University of Hong Kong and Peking University China are other well-known universities for earth sciences and marine biology. The exams required for admissions to US and Canada are SAT, Subject SAT and TOEFL/IELTS.
For the rest of the world, IELTS is enough.