JOIN USStudy-abroad plans on hold for many
Many students who have gained admission in universities abroad are deferring their studies by a full year.
The restrictions brought about by the pandemic have left them unsure about what lies in store, and the idea of studying online in India after paying a full fee for a course abroad is not so attractive.
Smrithi Sampath, set to graduate from Christ University this year, started looking for universities in January. She got a seat offer from Claremont Graduate University a week before college ended in March. “I was supposed to leave in September, but now I’ve deferred studies to next year,” she told Metrolife.
She reasons it makes no sense to pay a fee in dollars and study from home in India. “It makes no sense for me to pay that much and sit in India,” she explains.
Online classes are not a big put-off for Pragathi Ravi, but she is worried about the huge cost of foreign education.
The media studies graduate completed her course last year and has since been gaining work experience.
“I’ve been accepted at a university in the US and the course begins in August. With the pandemic, there is a high chance this semester will go online,” she says.
While she’s worried about problems created by time zones and group assignments, she doesn’t want to delay her graduation any further. “I’m taking a loan for my fee and I’m sceptical about getting my money’s worth,” she explains.
Post-study work permits Abhishek Sinha, set to graduate from his computer science engineering course this year, has got admission at multiple universities in the US, and was eager to access their “state-of-the-art facilities”. As of now he feels reassured by the optimism of the colleges, but says his decision will change if online classes are implemented.
Gloria D’Mello has been researching universities and working on her applications since graduating last year. “I’ve applied to universities in Canada, USA and Singapore,” she says. She was looking forward to a completely new environment and post-study work permits.
“Many countries require you to study on the campus for at least a full year before you receive a work permit. With most courses that I’ve applied to being one year courses, moving half of it online would disrupt my plans even further,” she adds.
Engineering student Hrithik Pandey (name changed) says the pandemic has disrupted his final semester. While he is ready to take online classes, he says if the situation worsens he’d rather work for a year and reapply.
As Pragathi says, “Who knew the easiest part of this year’s admission would be getting in?”
Students okay with waiting for a year
Education consultants say most students are opting to defer their admissions.
“We recently had a virtual fair for Canadian universities and were expecting a low turnout. But it was quite the opposite, and their plans to go abroad remain the same. The question now is about when they will be able to go,” says Nicy Binu, director of Santamonica Study Abroad.
Vivek Veeraiah, founder of EdVista Consulting, says about 80 per cent of his clients have deferred their admissions to next year. This decision is also influenced by uncertainty over when final year exams are held in India.
As for online classes, Nicy says that those in Tier 2 and 3 cities are hesitant because of poor Internet connectivity.
Their advice for students is to engage in portfolio building. Gain work experience, do a personal project, or even learn a language.