Research US varsities before enrolling in them: Swetha

India is the second-largest ‘exporter’ of skilled students to the universities of the United States of America.

According to the Open Doors Report of 2017-18, as many as 1.96 lakh students (18% of the total foreign students studying in the USA Universities) from India had enrolled their names in one or the other universities there.

And looking at the number of students who had gathered at 'US Education Fair', held at KLE Technological University in Hubballi on Monday, one can be ‘rest assured’ the trend is set to continue. More than 1200 students from Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Belagavi and surrounding districts interacted with the representatives of 21 USA universities at an education fair organised in association with Yashna Trust.

Resource persons at the fair said, more number of Indian students wish to study at USA universities as the courses, especially Masters Degree, are more hands on, cutting edge technology, practical and research-oriented.

Not just marks

The fair provided a great platform for the students to clear their doubts regarding the admission process, Visa applications, courses offered, scholarships, paid internships and other details.

Speaking to DH, Yashna Trust Director Swetha Muthanna said, research and only research is the best way to ensure that the students are opting for the recognised universities in the USA. Students can visit www.Chea.org or ope.ed.gov/dapip/ to confirm the credentials of the university.

Explaining the process of how to get admission in a USA college, she said, the students have to apply at the colleges with their academic records, statement of purpose, letter of recommendation, and resources to manage their studies. Once the University is satisfied with the records, they would send the selected students ‘I-20’ form, which is useful to apply for Visa. She said, engineering courses can range anywhere between $ 40,000 to $65,000 (roughly translating to Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh) for two years course.

She advised the students not just to look at reputed Universities like Howard University and others. “Just because you have not heard a name of university does not mean that they are not good. There are several universities in USA that have programmes that are world class and those for the future,” she said.

Swetha said, Computer Science continues to be one of the most sought after courses by Indian students in US. Alternative courses such as designing, gaming, animation, architecture, business management, data science and others are also drawing huge students.

She said, if Indian government puts in proper procedure and guidelines in place, more number of American Colleges are willing to set up their colleges in India.

Anitha Natarajan of USA Education said, the USA universities look for ‘overall skilled’ student than just academic records.

Sudha Kumar, one of the representatives of the Universities said, Hubballi is emerging as one of the technological hub and the sophisticated students coming out of these colleges are no less inferior to students from metro cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and others.

One exam

For Shreyas Joshi and Prateek Uppin, final year BE Civil students, the fair was best way to understand the admission process. They said, unlike in India, competition for US Engineering is comparatively less and by clearing two exams (Graduate Record Examinations and International English Language Testing System) one can apply for any technical university in America.