Study Abroad News & Alerts

The United States of America is one of the most expensive countries in the world for studying and living. The cost of education here is really high and now that the US is facing High inflation, tuition fees for universities have increased even more. But through smart research and intelligent decision making, you can actually study in the United States of America on a very low budget. Here is the step-by-step guide for you to be able to study in the USA for cheap-

• Always check the English requirements especially if she were from a non-English speaking country. A lot of people undermined the importance of English proficiency tests such as IELTS and TOEFL. By scoring high in these tests you can actually get a lot of scholarships and discounts on your tuition fees. 
• Always be very clear about what you want to study. Shortlist two or three programmes related to the field that you are interested in and be sure about them. Now list down your priority universities and don't keep changing after sometime. Be hundred percent sure about your choices. 
• Now research about all the scholarships and financial aids that these universities offer to international students. Also find out about the scholarships that are given to students of your country in specific. By doing so your chances of getting the scholarship is higher than getting a scholarship which is meant for all the international students. 
• Find out about the requirements of the university and make sure that you are prepared for them. For example if your university focuses more on extra-curricular activities then you must begin the preparation from high school only. Have your target set and be prepared for them in advance so that you do not have to worry in the end.

You would have seen a lot of your friends and relatives going to Canada for studying or working and subsequently settling down there. This trend has become a bandwagon and everyone is just going to Canada in solidarity without giving it the second thought. It is a generic belief that Canada is easier to get into as compared to other countries and work opportunities are also better here. But there are a lot of reasons why you must immigrate to Canada for studying and working purposes. Here are the reasons why you should move to Canada for studying-

• Studying here is quite affordable. In fact, it is one of the most affordable countries to study in when it comes to North America. North America as a continent is known for expensive education but Canada has some very affordable study programs.
• The quality of life is very good here. But you will not have to spend a lot of money in order to have a good lifestyle. Things are not excessively expensive here and you can easily afford every thing even if you're earning moderately
• It is true that universities in Canada are not very strict when it comes to accepting students. They're actually very easy to get into when you compare them with the universities of the United States of America and other European universities.
• The number of jobs here are very high, especially for postgraduate programmes. Canada has been facing a major labor shortage and has been actively looking for human resources. This means the chances of getting a job just after your post-graduation are very high. 

SATs are the deciding factors for your future. It depends totally on these exams whether you will be getting into your dream university or not. Even though a lot of famous universities have made these tasks optional for applicants, they are still given a lot of weightage during the selection process. This is why you must take these tests very seriously and prepare for them with all your devotion and attention. Here are some tips for all the students were just about to give their SATs-

• Generally appearing for an SAT can cost you somewhere around $50. But you can actually give these SATs for free as well. There are a lot of offers and aids for students who cannot afford to give this Jazz. Make sure that you avail these offers to be able to appear for your SATs for totally free.
• Start preparing for these tests early on. You cannot risk scoring less in these tests as they have a lot of weightage in your university application.
• You need not give both SAT and ACT. You can just give either of them and you'll be fine. Selecting which you want to give totally depends from person to person . Both of these are different from each other and you must decide after taking a practice test. Figure out what you are better at and appear for that test only.
• Take formal training if you feel like it. You can enroll in an online test prep course as it will also save time of commutation. You can just study at home and clear all your doubts through these online programs. 

There are a lot of famous international scholarships that are specially meant for Indian students. Generally they cover the total cost of education and students do not have to spend a penny from their personal expenses. These scholarships are-

• National Overseas Scholarship Scheme

This scholarship is offered by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Only students from economically backward societies are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Students can apply to study in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. All their cost of education is covered under this scholarship. Students can apply for Masters and PhD programmes.

• Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship

This scholarship was meant to address the problem of climate change between India and the United States of America. Students can study different programmes such as Energy Studies, Earth Sciences, Geology, Environmental Sciences, Renewable Energy, Smart Cities, Agriculture, Public Policy, Environmental Engineering, and Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

• Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme

The scholarship allows Indian students to study in Canada, France, Portugal, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. This scholarship support students through granting 50% of the total tuition fees in aid and the rest 50% is given to them as loan which has to be repaid.

Famous universities like Yale, Harvard's and UCL have withdrawn themselves from famous university rankings like US news education and QS world rankings. They have stated that the criteria used by these famous rankings are full of flaws and not up to the mark. These rankings have been accused of being biased towards certain countries and universities. Since these universities do not stand for discrimination and inclination towards certain geographical areas, they have decided to withdraw themselves from these rankings.

 A lot of parents and students throughout the world are dependent on these rankings for admissions and selection of universities. If their goal is not at most transparency and accuracy, then there is no use of these rankings. A lot of universities are also against the parameters that are used by these rankings organizations as they feel like they give more importance to superficial stuff like infrastructure and other such facilities. Many universities have committed to providing need-based college scholarships to a lot of financially weak students. Factors like these are underlooked by these ranking organisations, which is why universities are now boycotting these rankings in solidarity.

If you're planning to study in Canada, then you must understand that Canada is home to hundreds of universities and colleges. Out of all these educational institutes, not every university or college is worth your time and money. This is why you must precisely and carefully choose your educational institutions. Here is a list of top management universities in Canada which you can enroll in as an international student for the best results-

• Schulich School of Business
• Rotman School of Management
• Ivey Business School
• HEC Montreal
• UBC Sauder School of Business
• Smith School of Business at Queen's University 
• Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University
• Alberta School of Business (BUS)
• John Molson School of Business
• Queen's University

Two year colleges in the United States of America are becoming very popular among international students. Instead of the conventional four year bachelor's degree, these colleges offer a bachelor's degree which gets completed in two years. This helps in saving up a lot of money in the form of tuition fees and accommodation. Also you are eligible to get a full-time job faster at a younger age.

In 2020 to 2021 around 1000 students enrolled in these two year colleges. Most of the international students still do not know about them which is why the enrolment rate is not so high. Here is a list of all the colleges and universities which offer at two year program-

• Miami Dade College
• Northern Virginia community College
• Orange Coast College
• Valencia College
• Montgomery College
• Dallas College
• De Anza College
• Santa Monica college
• Lone star College system
• Houston community college system

A lot of students have graduated with an associates degree from a community college. After graduating from a community college they have been successfully able to land a job with an annual package of US$50,000. The tuition fees in community colleges are also very low. This is what we can call smart decision making which has led to high returns. The investment has also been very low. Students have little knowledge about what an associate degree can do in your career. Associates or one of the highest paid professionals and their starting salary is also very high. Here are the highest paying associate degree jobs that you can select as your career path to achieve financial stability early on in your life. 

• Geographical and hydrologic technicians
• Medical equipment repairers
• Environmental engineering technologies and technicians
• Life, physical and social sciences technicians 
• Paralegals or Legal associate
• Civil engineering technologists and technicians
• Computer network support specialists
• Radio, cellular and Tower equipment installers repairers
• Drafters 
• Mechanical engineering technologist and technicians

Becoming a lawyer is Johnny of passion and honor. You have to give many years of your life in practice before you actually become a professional lawyer. It is not an instantly rewarding degree. It's a gradual process and you get the fruit of your hard work after a long period of time. But this doesn't stop a lot of students from pursuing this profession. Maybe it's the magnetic jam of this profession that propels a lot of students towards it. Pursuing a degree in law can be expensive. Generally students look for affordable options especially if they want to study abroad. Here are some law schools that you can consider for an affordable education-

• The University of Law, UK

This university offers a three-year online law degree course that students can enroll in. This course will cost you somewhere around £6800. You can also apply for their scholarship which can go up to £3000.

• Taylor’s University, Malaysia

This university is one of the most famous universities in Malaysia. It offers a Masters in Law degree that students from different countries come to pursue here. The judicial system of Malaysia is very similar to that of India which means that Indian students will be able to understand their curriculum very well. Malaysia is one of the most affordable countries to study and live in so you do not have to worry a lot about your budget.

• Free University of Berlin, Germany

We all know that Germany offers free of cost education to all the international students irrespective of their country of origin. Free University of Berlin is one such public university that offers top programmes at no cost at all.

• National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Indian students are one of the top groups of international students in Taiwan. The National Taiwan University is ranked at 77th number and QS world University rankings. It's College of Law is ranked among the top 10 law schools of Asia. Taiwan is also very inexpensive country to study in.

Universities in the UK are going on Uma strike from 24th November to 30th November. This means that around 70,000 faculty staff from over 150 universities in the UK arguing on a mass strike. This can be one of the largest or even the largest strike in the history of education. There was a similar strike in the UK bank in 2019. The strike was initiated mainly because of pension and salaries related problems. The faculty was demanding a hike in salaries as they claimed that the universities had not been taking their demands into consideration.

Due to the current ongoing crisis in the UK, the faculty is demanding a 3% rise in the pensions and salaries. Other than this a lot of extra demands have been put forward as well. This includes bridging up of gender based income gaps, decreasing weekly work hours to 34 hours a week, decreasing work load and paying attention towards discrimination related to ethicity and disabilities. Other than this difficulty has also put forward another requirement. Due to the excessive capitalisation of education, universities have been hiring teachers on short-term basis as per their own requirements. This has decrease the work security of professors and teachers. A solution regarding the same has also been demanded.

People these days are more interested in starting their own business and becoming the master of their destiny rather than working for others. Servitude has become a practice of history and now everyone wants to become the leader. This is the change that this generation is bringing due to which we are able to witness the birth of hundreds of start-ups. Not all of these become successful as people start off without formal training and education. You need to study entrepreneurship before becoming an entrepreneur. Here is the list of top  universities that offer undergraduate programmes in entrepreneurship that all the  business enthusiast can enrol in-

• University of Houston 
• The University of Texas at Austin 
• Babson College 
• Tecnológico de Monterrey 
• The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Baylor University
• University of Maryland
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Miami University
• Northeastern University

Business analysts have a crucial role in each and every organisation. They measure and analyse the growth of an organisation, evaluate their profits and the worth of new business strategy is that the company has overtaken. These jobs are very high paying which means that it is a good career option for people who are interested in the field of finance and business. Here are the top onlins courses in business analytics for 2023-

• Advanced Business Analytics Specialization by University of Colorado
• Excel to MySQL: Analytic Techniques for Business Specialization by Duke University
• Wharton’s Business Analytics Specialization
• Business Analytics Fundamentals by Babson College
• Business Analytics for Data-Driven Decision Making by Boston University
• Business Analytics – Nanodegree Program
• Business Analytics MicroMasters Certification by Columbia University – edX
• The MicroMasters Program in Business Analytics consists of four courses
• Strategic Business Analytics Specialization by Essec Business School – Coursera
• Introduction to Data Analytics for Managers – edX

As we know that engineering courses can be extremely expensive. If a student wants to pursue a degree in engineering from an international University, then it is even more expensive. Additionally you will also have to pay for higher accommodation rates and look after eating and other miscellaneous expenses. This increases the overall cost of education to a very large extent . Here is a list of countries where students can pursue BTech courses at affordable rates-

• Germany

Germany's new supplies in this list. This country is known as the IT hub of Europe and generates millions of jobs in the sector every year. Germany also offers free education to all the students irrespective of their native countries. In 2022, it was found that around 33,753 international students were pursuing engineering degrees in Germany.

• The Netherlands

Some of the universities in the Netherlands are so old that they were among the first universities in the world to offer a course in engineering. In 2022, around 3000 Indian students were pursuing engineering courses in the Netherlands. You can expect to pay around US$10,000 annually as your tuition fee. Your monthly expense can be somewhere around US$700-US$1000 depending upon how you spend your money.

• Sweden

Sweden has around 1000 courses that are completely taught in English for international students. People know Sweden because of its affordable education which also maintains quality standards. You can expect to page US$75 as your application fees. As  tuition fees you have to be somewhere around US$11,000 annually.

Mathematics is probably the most intriguing subject. On the surface level you would see the number but it's actually a lot more scientific than what it may seem. Most of the discoveries in the contemporary world would not have happened if not for math. This is why the world needs great mathematicians in every age. If you're somebody who is interested in math and fascinated by numbers, then here are some on budget university options for you from where you can pursue your BSC in math-

• China

China is among the top three countries in the field of global AI vibrancy. There are a lot of famous universities in China that offer so many courses in mathematics which are research driven. The tuition fees are also quite affordable and can go as low as US$2500 annually. They also offer a lot of general scholarships to students to support their education.

• Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the most affordable countries in the world. The total expense of living and studying in this country can cost you somewhere around US$4000 for one year. This might be surprising to a lot of people but it's actually true. It is also ranked 19th in the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings (HESS) 2018. This means that just because you're paying less money, you will not have to compromise with the quality of education.

• Russia

A lot of people don't know but Russia's mathematics curriculum is one of the most difficult curriculums in the world. You will have to go through rigorous training and practice in order to score well in their programmes. The tuition fee here can go as low as US$1500. In some universities you will have to pay around US$12,000 annually.

Imagine studying in a country where you get to experience the true beauty of nature and that too for totally free. Isn't that desirable and magnetic? Well it is very much possible for you. Sweden offers a lot of fully funded scholarships to international students under which almost all their expenses are covered by either the government or the university that is offering the scholarship. These fully funded scholarships are-

• Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals

This scholarship is given to students across different universities in Sweden. Sweden offers around 700 courses in English for international students. You can check which ones are eligible for this scholarship.

sisgp-eligible-master-programmes-2023_2024

• Adlerbert Study Scholarships

The scholarship is offered by the Chalmers University of Technology. It is given to 1st year Masters student and all their expenses are covered under this scholarship. There are only five seats for the scholarship and students from particular countries are elliptical for this scholarship. To check if your country falls under the list or not you look here-

Countries-Adlerbert-Study-Scholarships

• Lund University Global Scholarship

This scholarship is especially meant for students outside of the EU. It is a totally merit based scholarship and does not take need-based requirements into consideration. It is given to the person who is academically bright.

The recruitment criteria has significantly changed in the past few years. Employers around the world have become extremely selective due to many options available. This is why the competitiveness between young graduates has increased a lot. Every day you come across an article telling you how to improve your application, your resume and your body language in order to make yourself a desirable candidate. But there are some skills that all the employers around the world look for in candidates mutually. it has been found that 92% of the recruiters today look for digital skills. This means that you must be able to handle your work virtually as proficiently as you can handle it in person. This means that you should be well versed with the latest technology and trends. Here is the list of best universities that can offer you what you're looking for-

• Massachusetts Institute of technology
• California Institute of technology
• Harvard university
• University of Cambridge
• University of Stanford
• Oxford university
• The University of Tokyo
• National University of Singapore
• Princeton university
• Yale university

Recently the USA and the UK came into limelight because of low availability of accommodation for international students. Busy cities such as London and New York did not have any accommodation available due to which a lot of students had to push their off-line classes. A lot of students in a hurry ended up paying way more for their accommodation than the usual price. This is why you must choose your accommodation with a lot of precision and do not become a victim of any kind of forgery. Here are some ways through which you can select the best accommodation for yourself in the UK-

• First of all you need to list down all your requirements. Some people like to live in a luxurious apartment all by themselves whereas the others prefer having some sort of company. List down how you want to live and what other facilities you want to have in your apartment. On the basis of that you will be able to filter between so many options available. 
• Understand if you are responsible enough to manage everything by yourself or not. If you think you are a responsible person who can take care of everything including dishes,meals and laundry, then you can go for an independent accommodation. But if you feel like you're not that proficient in all these tasks then you must go for a hostel or dorm
• Figure out what kind of people do you want to surround yourself with. While choosing your accommodation you will have the liberty to choose your partner as well. This can make a significant impact on your day to day life as getting along with your partner mix a huge difference. Make sure that you choose your partner carefully.

Nowadays a lot of students are educated at home. This is quite different from home schooling as the pace and the curriculum can be subjective for each and every student. Home schooling was initially introduced for students who were always on the go due to which they couldn't attend conventional schools. Later on all those children who were mentally vulnerable and bullied in school were also homeschooled. Now it has become more of a trend as people believe that it saves a lot of time and helps in keeping a child a level up from the conventional education system. Here are some tips that a homeschooled student must know before getting into college-

• As you have been home school, it would be difficult for you to figure out the admission process of a college. This is why it is very important for both the student and the parent to sit together and list out all the requirements to avoid any future complications.
• Now create a compiled transcript for whatever exams that you have appeared for till now. Since homeschooling is different from conventional schools, application reviewers will go through your application deeply in order to assess you as a student. Include writing samples, essays, extra curricular achievements and all the exams that you have appeared for including SATs.
• Avoid getting your letter of recommendation written from your parents. Instead choose any other person of authority such as your mentor, your counselor, a coach or some guide. If you have done any sort of part-time job you may get a letter of recommendation from your recruiter or head as well.
• Lastly make sure that you indulge in a lot of extra curricular activities as it is always very attractive for the students. It doesn't matter if you are a regular schooled student or a homeschooled student, extra curricular activities will always add weightage to your application.

There are a lot of scholarships that the Swiss government offers for international students. Due to A lack of information, many international students end up not applying for these scholarships. Here is a list of scholarships that you can apply for in Swiss universities-

• University of Lausanne Masters Grants for Foreign Students
• EPFL Excellence Fellowships
• Graduate Institute Geneva Scholarships
• University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowships
• Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Scholarships
• IMD MBA Scholarships

As an international student you must be aware of certain rules and regulations that you will have to follow. Different countries have rules of their own. Likewise, different educational universities in particular countries have proper codes of conduct. If violated students can get suspended and even expelled from the university. This is why you must make sure that you do not violate any of the university's laws so that you are able to complete your education without any obstruction. Here are the things that you must never indulge in if you do not want to be expelled from your university-

• Do not ever get caught while cheating in exams. This is a very serious mistake that can end up making you expelled from a university. Even if you are unprepared for an exam, try to attempt it on your own or even miss it but never cheat on your exam. In 2014, 8000 Chinese students were expelled from the universities of the USA for cheating in exams and bad grades.
• Never indulge in any criminal activity no matter how tempting it may seem. For example stealing stuff from other students or becoming a part of violent activities. This can land you in legal trouble and your Visa might also get canceled because of the same.
• Make sure that you maintain a decent percentage of your classroom attendance. Foreign universities are very strict about your presence in the classes and if the proper amount of attendance is not maintained then you might face some issues.