Study Abroad News & Alerts

The NEET UG 2024 results just got declared and this time things have been quite an expected. This year around 67 students have been able to score a perfect score in NEET UG that has led to all of the students securing AIR 1. Students from around the country are suspecting the use of some malpractices in scoring such high scores by the students. Many of the students who have scored a perfect score in NEET happen to be from the same examination centre. Students are also suspecting a change in the marking scheme. NTA however has maintained a stern stance claiming that the exam was conducted impartially and there was no paper leak.

Due to the relentless student visa rejections by the New Zealand government, many universities in New Zealand are requesting the authorities to address this issue. Many student visas are not processed or not confirmed putting students in the spot. Now the situation related to studying in New Zealand has become pretty similar to Canada and Australia. In 2022, the rate of New Zealand visa rejection for Indian students was 28%. Currently in 2024, the visa rejection rate for Indian students stands at 40%. Between January to April, the New Zealand immigration department received over 5018 student visa applications from India. Out of these, 2010 were rejected. Most universities in New Zealand, are requesting students to provide the immigration department with all the necessary documents and be prepared for the visa interview in advance.

Stanford University is one of the top universities in the world. The Knight Hennessy Programme Scholars Programme 2025 by Stanford is not just any other scholarship that sponsors the education of an international student. It is also responsible for engaging the student in many extra-curricular activities including multicultural events. The scholarship is specifically meant for students who want to explore the different cultures at the university campus and inculcate the qualities of leadership. Only students who have completed their undergraduate degree and want to study a postgraduate degree can apply for the scholarship. The last date to apply for the scholarship is 9th October, 2024.

IIM Sambalpur has started the registration process for its dual degree doctoral programme for students who want to pursue a PhD degree. This programme is being offered in collaboration with the IAE Bordeaux University. This three year dual degree programme is specially designed for students who want to get a degree in the field of research without disturbing their ongoing life and career. The last date to submit the CV for the programme is 15th June, 2024.  The programme will be conducted in a hybrid mode where students will have to attend three days of classes from IIM Sambalpur and the rest two days of classes from IAE Bordeaux. Additionally, students will also get the opportunity to participate in a writing class organised by Cambridge University.

IIT BHU gets a worldwide ranking of 531 in the QS World University rankings. In the citations per faculty ranking category, the university has got 48 positions worldwide. The institute has got 12th position in the 46 institutes that have been listed from India. It has got its position among all the listed IITs. There has been a significant improvement in the rankings of the university as compared to the previous year. On this occasion, the dean of the institute expressed his optimism about the hope of improvement in future rankings. He also thanked the faculty members for their relentless efforts. 

IIT Delhi will be inviting students to the Abu Dhabi campus of IIT through the JEE advanced scores. This is going to be the first batch of undergraduate students at the Abu Dhabi campus of IIT. Two new undergraduate courses will be offered to students. 20 seats will be specially allocated to the CAET which is a standardised entrance test meant to give admission in the IIT Abu Dhabi campus. All the students were clear the JEE advanced exam will be entitled to get admission in IIT Abu Dhabi campus. The students will only have to pay the tuition fees as per the norms of IIT Delhi. The rest of the fees for the Abu Dhabi campus will be waived off. Additionally, the students will also be entitled to a monthly stipend.

The University of Sheffield has announced that it will be offering two LLM scholarships worth £4320 each to the two selected students. This will support the selected students on a masters level while pursuing their law degree. The deadline to apply for the same is 16th June. Candidates can apply for the scholarship along with the common application for the university. The university will make the decision of allocating scholarship while giving admissions to students only. Students selected for the scholarship will be given the notification by the end of July. It is compulsory for the student applying for the scholarship to be an overseas student. Also, the student must be a self-funded student.

A bachelor's degree in Germany is generally 3 to 4 years long, depending upon the discipline that a person is pursuing. Germany is already a very popular study abroad destination among Indian students because of its affordable tuition fees and great living standards. It is also very good for STEM courses. The length of your degree will be determined by the amount of time you have spent in the school. Most German universities also offer courses in English. Around 300 courses in Germany are offered in English whereas 200 courses are offered in German. Additionally, Germany is also a very social and hospitable country. There are also plenty of part-time jobs for students to support themselves.

The latest rankings by QS World University rankings have been released. IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay have been featured among the top 150 institutes of the world. IIT Delhi has grabbed the 150th spot and IIT Bombay has grabbed the 118th spot. IISc Bengaluru has gained 211 position in the list. Other institutions that have been able to get a spot in top 300 institutes include IIT Kharagpur that is on the 222nd spot and IIT Madras at 227th spot.  Last year IIT Bombay was at the top among Indian institutes, gaining a position of 147 followed by Delhi University. This year. However there has been a drastic change in rankings. At the top remains MIT for the third consecutive year. The second position has been gained by the Imperial College London, followed by the University of Oxford and University of Harvard.

This year 67 students have got an all India rank 1 in the NEET UG. NTA has explained that this has happened because of a change in the NCERT books. In the chemistry section of the exam, there was a question on atoms. In the provisional answer key, NTA marked two of the options correct.  There was a change of statement in the old NCERT book, and the new NCERT book that led to a differentiation in the answers of the students related to that particular question. As a result five grace marks had to be awarded to each and every student. 67 students now have a perfect 720 score that gives them AIR 1. Many parents and students are worried about the results it would have on the overall cut-offs and seat allocation. NTA has also said that this is not the only reason for so many toppers as the paper this year was easier as compared to the previous year papers.

Currently, Goa University is the only university in South Asia that offers a full fledged, undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Portuguese. It is a great option for students who want to build a future in countries like Brazil and Portugal that are dominantly Portugese speaking. The university has also collaborated with language centres in various cities of Portugal, such as Lisbon and Porto for better curriculum. Currently the admission into undergraduate programmes at the university are live. Get into the BA in Portuguese programme, students can submit their applications till 6 June. There are 19 seats in the programme. The application fee for the same is INR 700.

The Rhodes Trust of the Oxford university has officially started the registration process for the very well-known Rhodes scholarship. Interested students from India who want to get a full fee waiver to study at the University of Oxford can start applying for the same. This is a postgraduate fully funded award that students will get upon the submission of all the necessary documents and fulfilling the criteria as stated by the trust. The deadline to submit the application is 8th August, 2024. It is compulsory for the student to be a citizen of India. Moreover, the student must have completed at least 4 years out of the 10 past years of education that they had completed. Students must first apply for a scholarship and then apply for the course that they want to study at the university through a common route.

Delhi University is inviting candidates to apply for its competency enhancement scheme that is offered by all the colleges of the university in semester 1, 3, and 5. This is an opportunity for people who could not complete their education previously and want to study at the university. Registered students will get the opportunity to study with the regular students in the ongoing regular classes. This will foster knowledge, innovation, and fulfilment of dreams. The selection process will depend upon the availability of the seats and the previous record of students. For more information related to the competency enhancement scheme, students can check the official website of Delhi University.

The King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia is offering a fully funded scholarship. This scholarship is available for both international and domestic students who want to pursue a master's degree or a PhD programme from the university. The scholarship will cover the total cost of the student selected. The students will be getting a monthly stipend, tuition fee, waiver, cost of travel, project, funding, health, insurance, books, and all the other necessary things. The deadline to apply for the same is 29th June, 2024. For a masters degree, the student must have a GPA of 3 or an equivalent grade in their English proficiency test along with a relevant bachelor's degree. For a PhD programme, it is necessary to have a GPA of 3 out of 4 in English proficiency along with a relevant masters degree. Applicants will also have to submit their GMAT, TOEFL, and other necessary scores.

Australia has modified the temporary graduate visa rules for international students. These changes will be applicable from 1st July,2024. Temporary graduate visa route allows candidates to study and work in Australia after completing their education in the country. Currently, there are four types of temporary graduate visa routes. This includes post-study work stream, graduate work stream, temporary graduate visa, and replacement stream. The graduate visa stream will be now known as the post-vocational education stream. Post-study work stream has been renamed as the post-higher education work stream. Now the qualification for each temporary graduate visa route will depend on the degree that a student has. With an associate degree, diploma, or a qualification in trade, students can only apply for post-vocational education stream visa. Also all the students who want to apply for a temporary graduate visa this year should fill all the necessary forms and submit documents before 1 July, 2024. 

The Indian Institute Of Technology Madras has released the provisional answer key for the JEE advanced 2024 on 2nd June. Students can raise objections against the answer key till 3rd June. The final answer key is expected to be released by ninth June, 2024. Once the deadline for objections is over, and not be able to register their grievances. On the basis of the final answer key released by IIT Madras, students will be given the ranks, cut-offs, and admissions into IITs. JEE advance exam is conducted after JEE mains. Only students who were able to clear the JEE mains get selected for the JEE advance exam. 

Delhi University has released the schedule for admission in undergraduate courses, masters courses and MBA programmes. The admission process will begin on 3rd June, 2024. Bachelors in English is one of the few courses that will accept students from any stream that they have taken in class 12th. Although the subject requirement is any two subjects from list B1 and any one subject from list B1 or list B2. English is obviously compulsory. The detailed information about the same is present on the official website of Delhi School of Open Learning. For further information related to eligibility and fee structure, students should first check the prospective release by the university and only then register.

A new IIM will be established in Assam's capital, Guwahati. The initiative to establish the new management institution has been given approval by the centre. The same was announced by the CM Himanta Biswa on X. The project has been approved by the Education Ministry. The new institute will be a game changer in Assam and will be a new phase for education in the North eastern part of India. It will help start a new phase in India. The courses being offered are yet to be decided by the institute. IIM Ahmedabad is going to be the mentor for IIM Guwahati. Further information related to the establishment of IIM Guwahati is going to be released soon by the institute. 

Queen's Belfast University, which is a research university in Ireland is offering the scholarship worth £7500 under the Indian Academic Excellence Award. This scholarship will be given to 15 deserving students. all the students who are interested in the same can submit their applications till 7th June, 2024. Students who are interested in the same will have to submit a 750 word essay describing how studying at the university is going to change their life. This scholarship given will be used as a tuition fee waiver. For more information related to the same, students can visit the official website of the university.

In 2023, a total of 253,355 student visas were rejected by the US consulate. Despite this, the US embassy told the international students to not focus on the rejections and rather stay motivated and make their applications better. Understanding how the visa granting process works is going to help a student make sure their visa application does not get rejected.

One of the most common reasons why a student visa gets rejected is the inability to clearly demonstrate the intention of going back to one's respective country after completing their education. Sometimes visa applications are rejected because the documents provided are not authentic enough or do not have proper information.