Study Abroad News & Alerts

International students are experiencing a long visa waiting time for a schengen visa. Students who have to start their session have been waiting for their interviews as their classes have started already. EU authorities have taken the important steps to reduce backlogging. But still no improvement has been made in the procedure. Students have expressed their discontent towards the delayed visa process.

Booking and appointments for visas are taking longer than usual. Many people have also complained about brokers and middlemen getting involved to book visas. This is increasing the total cost of a schengen visa which is already very high.

Chevening Scholarship 2024 which is a fully funded scholarship for international students for the students of the UK is now open for international students. Students who want to study in the UK can start applying for this scholarship. This scholarship is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The application is open from 12th September to 7 November 2023.

It is a great opportunity for students who want to study in the UK, but do not have the financial resources to support their dreams. This scholarship covers the total tuition fees, travel cost to the UK, departure allowance, a monthly stipend, and a lot of other expenses as well. it is important to note that the scholarship holders have to return back to their country for at least two years after completing their education.

IELTS one skill retake facility will be available in India. This will allow students to take one of the four tests out of the IELTS exam again. Earlier students had to give the whole exam again to give the IELTS exam. But now students can improve the score of reading, writing and listening separately by giving any of the tests. This will save a lot of money for international students as they can target their weak areas and retake the exam. Earlier this facility was not available for Indian students but now looking at the number of the test takers in the country, this facility has been introduced. This initiative will help a lot of students in improving their overall IELTS band score without having to prepare for the whole exam over and over again.

The latest rates of tax collections from source will be applied from 1st October, 2023. 20% TCS will be applied on all four and transactions. Although there will be no TCS on any transaction, the most Rs.7 lakh, but above this amount, 20% TCS will have to be paid. 0.5% TCS will have to be paid on transactions around Rs.7,00,000 and any transaction above this amount will attract 5% TCS. In this case, all the money sent to the students who are studying abroad by parents will be taxed by the government. Although this is not a part of the direct expenses of studying abroad, this will surely increase the total amount of money that has to be spent on studying abroad. This will be applicable on all sorts of transactions whether it's for personal needs or for tuition fees.

The University of Bath has started accepting applications for students for undergraduate courses. These applications are for the session 2024 to 2025. The University of Bath is offering multiple courses in the field of humanities to international students. Students can pursue their bachelors degree in various fields like psychology, social science and philosophy. The University of Bath will also offer various scholarships to international students on the basis of merit and need. For more information students can contact the University of Bath or check the official website to get the latest updates.

The University grants commission has introduced a new program for training teachers to improve the quality of education in India. A new capacity building programme for the holistic development of children will be introduced. Some of these programmes will be online while  others will be off-line. All the authorised schools of the country will have to become a part of this program. These programmes will range from a week to 2 weeks. This is all a part of the new education policy that aims to revolutionise the conventional education system of Indiato come in terms with the international standards of higher education.

The University of Strathclyde has decided to offer a scholarship worth £4000 to students pursuing MReS in physics program. Five selected students will be offered the scholarship on a competitive basis. The scholarship funds will be used to pay the tuition fee of the students. To apply for the scholarship students can visit the official website of the University of Strathclyde and fill in the details before the deadline. The University of Strathclyde keeps coming with new scholarships from time to time to help students, especially international students with their expenditure related to studying abroad. This scholarship is only open to international students and native students cannot apply for the same.

Since the pandemic, many countries have been facing problems in processing visas due to the high pace of immigration. For almost 2 years, borders of all the countries were closed for international students. Now that life has come back to normal, students have started going to foreign countries in huge numbers. This has caused back logging of visas and students have to wait for a very long period of time to get the visa approved. But countries have been constantly working on the same to improve the situation. Recently, the Australian Department of home affairs has made a significant achievement in the same field. They have been successfully able to reduce their average visa processing time to 16 days. This means that if you apply for an Australian study visa, then you're most likely to get it within 16 days. If all your documents are correct. This is great news for students who want to go to Australia as they can prepare stress free for the same.

All the students who want to take admission in management courses in 2024 have to register for the CAT exam in India. It is on the basis of marks in this examination, students are able to get admissions in various management colleges in India. The deadline to register for the CAT exam 2023 is 13th September, 2023. All the interested students can register for the same by going on the official website of CAT. This year, the CAT exam will be conducted by IIM Lucknow. Every year different IIMs conduct the exam. The application fee for SC ST candidates is 1200 whereas for all other candidates its Rs. 2400.

The National Eligibility Entrance Test round three counselling for postgraduate courses will conclude on 12 September 2023. All the students who had registered themselves for round three will be considered for the seat allocation. The result for the same will be announced on 15th September, 2023. After the third round, a straight round is also expected to be conducted to fill all the vacant seats. The NEET PG exam is conducted for programs like MD, MS and MDS.

For the longest time, Indian families have considered studying abroad a luxury that not everybody can afford. But in the past decade, the global education scenario has changed a lot. India has become the biggest contributor of international students for the top study abroad destinations. In 2022 alone, more than 7.5 lakh Indian students were studying in foreign countries as per the data provided by the Ministry of education. This number is expected to grow even more in 2023 and the coming years. There has been a total 68% increase in the number of Indian students going to different countries for higher education. India is on the path of a revolution in the field of education. The government is also working consciously to bring the global standards of higher education to India itself by opening many campuses of international universities in India.

Delhi University will be releasing its third allotment list on 11th September, 2023. As per the schedule the allotment list will be announced on 11 September at 5 PM. To see the allotment list, you can visit the official website of Delhi University. You can login with your details.Earlier, the third allotment list was expected to be released on third September, 2023. But it was delayed by Delhi university for reasons unknown. Delhi University also conducted the mid entry admissions from 7th September to 9th September recently.

Candidates will have two days to accept the seats allotted by Delhi University in the third allotment list.

Majority of the seats for the new BTech programme in Delhi universities have remained vacant because of less registrations and applicants. Just one seat for electrical engineering, 20 from computer science and two from electronics and communications have been filled. Rest of the seats are still vacant which is why Delhi University is planning to fill the seats through spot round. The admission to these courses is being conducted by the Faculty of Technology of the Delhi University. Students will be able to get admission through their scores in the JEE mains exam.

To avoid centralisation of education in West Bengal, the state has come with an education policy of its own. This education policy will stress on the importance of learning at least three languages during classes 5th to 8th. Students will be encouraged to learn their mother language, which is the language of the state. Other than this they can choose one language from international languages like German, French or Spanish.

Also, the state will follow the 5+4+2+2 criteria for schooling. At the higher secondary level, new patterns of education will be introduced to make the transition from school to college a lot easier for students.

The Andhra Pradesh government introduced a new Overseas Scholarships for students who wanted to study in international universities but did not have the financial means to do the same. Students from various backgrounds were selected by the state government of Andhra Pradesh for the scholarship. These students have been sent to various countries for higher education with the help of the scholarship fund. Now the students are stuck in different parts of the world because the Andhra Pradesh government has yet not deposited the fees. Many students have yet not received any money from the state government whereas some students have received partial funds. In such a situation parents have to take loans to commence the program for their children. Parents and students are urging the government to take a step as soon as possible.

Australia is soon going to make a lot of changes in its post study work right policies for international students. Pandemic event visa was a particular kind of visa that allowed people to stay in Australia and work temporarily if they have a job or an appointment letter for a job. From 2nd September, 2023, the Australian government will no longer offer pandemic event visas to anybody. Only people who already have this visa will be eligible to stay in Australia till it doesn't expire. All the immigrants who still have a valid pandemic event visa can apply for extension up to 6 months 2nd September, 2023.

The dream to work and study in the US is shared by many people in the world. The United States of America has some of the most strict policies when it comes to giving visas to students. Among the various kinds of visas available for students and immigrants, the EB5 visa is a special visa that allows you to work and study in the US. This visa was established in 1990, and the purpose is to attract foreign direct investment in the US. To be eligible, you will have to make a qualifying investment in the economy of the US after which you will get the right to study and work in the US.

Many people want to settle in the powerhouse of Europe that is Germany. It has some of the most unique opportunities for people in the field of STEM. For Non-EU residents who are seriously considering moving to Germany, the golden visa ticket is the best option. This requires you to make some investment in Germany after which you can enjoy benefits like that of a German citizen. These benefits will also extend to your immediate family. You can work and study in Germany and also get a passport which is valid across 26 European countries that allows you to travel freely.

There are various types of investments that you can make which include at least €250,000 of investment in real estate or €500,000 of investment in business. It is a lot easier to become a permanent resident through a golden visa than any other kinds of visas.

More than 75% of Indian students who go to France for higher education choose management courses. France also offers scholarships worth Rs.15 crores to Indian students through various sources. Some of the scholarships are offered by universities whereas the others are offered by the government. 

The average tuition fees for a bachelors course in France is €3700 annually and for a Masters degree is €2700 annually. Almost 95% of the courses are taught in English. So students also do not have to face any language barriers. Most of the universities in France also offer training courses in French language that students can pursue along with their course. This helps them learn basic to advanced levels of French for day to day life.

Now that the NEET scores are out and counselling has started for medical colleges, many students must have scored below their expectations. Pursuing medicine from India from a private institute is extremely costly. This is why most of the students go to foreign countries like Russia and China to pursue MBBS. Here are some of the top medical grants for students who want to study MBBS but have low NEET scores.

1. Harvard Medical School Scholarship

Harvard Medical School offers scholarships to students who want to study medicine in the Harvard university, but do not have the financial capability to pay the fees.

2. INSPIRE Scholarship

The Inspire scholarship is offered by the Department of Science and Technology. It is offered to students who want to pursue UG courses in the field of science and technology. Selected students are given Rs.5000 as monthly stipend and Rs.20,000 as mentorship award.

3. Beijing Government Scholarship

China offers some of the most affordable programmes to international students in the field of medicine. The Beijing government scholarship is also given to medical aspirants who want to study in China.

4. All India Youth Scholarship Entrance Examination

AIYEE is a national level entrance examination for engineering and medical aspirants who Want to get a scholarship to support their education. For government colleges, students get up to a hundred percent fee, waiver or maximum Rs.40,000 per semester