Study Abroad News & Alerts

Although Australia has quite relaxed part-time working rules for international students, there are still a lot of things that students must take care of before they begin working part time. Here are some rules that students must know related to working part time in Australia.

1. Per week, an international student is allowed to work for 40 hours considering the fact that the classes are going on. The work week starts from Monday and lasts till Sunday.
2. Remember that not all graduates in Australia are able to secure jobs after completing their education. This is why it is very important to start looking for a job just after completing your degree.
3. Many people who are native in Australia pay really less amount of money to international students. It is important to recognise your skills in values and make sure that you are not underpaid.
4. Students can take help from the local applications that help them find great jobs that also pay them well.

NTA is currently conducting the CUET PG exam across the country. Due to the increased participation of various universities, the number of students registering for the course had increased massively. This increase in participation has cost problems for CUET officials who were not prepared for such a large number of registrations. As a result, there has been a shortage of examination centres, due to which a number of exams had to be postponed. Now in a latest incident, it has been found that the student who applied for the mass communication course did not get their admit cards. The PG exam for mass communication has been conducted successfully. The CUET officials have said in their clarification that all of these claims are not at all valid. This is done by students on purpose to get another chance for the exam.

There is good news for all the international students who want to go to the US for higher education. The US has decided to make significant changes in the Visa granting process to boost the inflow of international students. One of the most important changes is the removal of the need for an interview process to get a study visa. The visa interview process, which was a roadblock for many students, is now removed. More officials have been made a part of the Visa granting process to prioritise giving visas to students within a matter of few days. The officials have said that they will work relentlessly to avoid any back logging. Also the officials have said that the US government is actively looking to partner with the government of various countries to offer scholarships to international students.

A lot of scholarships are offered by the government as well as universities to Indian students who want to study in the US. Today we will talk about the top scholarships that Indian students can avail while studying in the US.

1. Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
2. Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
3. Leadership Work Grant: International Student Ambassador (ISA) Apprentice At Green River College
4. Marcus Graduate Student Fellowship in Cinema Studies At San Francisco State University:
5. Presidential Scholarships At Clark University
6. Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarships
7. Tata Scholarship for Cornell University

The CUET UG exams are currently in their last phase. The examinations are most likely to continue till 17th June, 2023. NTA was looking forward to completing the exams earlier, but due to shortage of examination centres, and certain mismanagement, the exams have been postponed. The problem for the PG courses remains the same. The exam city slips and admit cards for many PG courses have not been released as of yet. Students are desperately waiting for the admit cards to be out to prepare for the exam like place. Examination of around 60 courses have been postponed because of shortage of centres. The CUET PG exams are likely to continue till the end of June. Results are likely to be out in July.

Around one third of the students from IIT leave the country after completing their education. 65% of the students head to the US. Around nine out of the 10 top scorers in the top entrance examinations of the country decide to move abroad. Out of the top 1000 scorers, 36% of the students move abroad. Most of the students moved to the US initially as students but later on become a part of the workforce and join jobs in the IT sector. The other top preferences of Indian students include Canada and Germany. The 23 IITs in the country have a lower acceptance rate, then Ivy League schools. High competition and uncertainty are the two reasons why students decided to leave the country.

A lot of students from India have shown an exceeding interest in studying in Ireland. Ireland is a country which is very popular for its rich culture and vibrant lifestyle. But for the longest period of time, the country was overshadowed by England, which is one of the top study abroad destinations in the world. But now it seems like Ireland is getting its due recognition. Many students from India are choosing the country over the conventional study abroad options. Most of the educational institutes in the islands are among the top institutions of the world. Not only this, the cost of studying in Ireland is a lot more affordable than studying in England. The top institutions in Ireland include Trinity College, Dublin, the University College Cork and the University College Dublin.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made some changes in the immigration process that will be applicable from 10th August, 2023. Now students will no longer have to score 6 bands in each section of IELTS exam for getting admission into a university in Canada and getting a study visa. Now students can just have overall six bands to study in Canada. This update will have a very positive shift on the number of students going to Canada for higher education. Language barrier is one of the biggest roadblocks faced by a lot of people. With the present relief, it will be a lot easier for everyone.

Pursuing an MBBS degree from a foreign country has become very common for Indian students. The number of government medical seats in India is not sufficient for the number of aspirants that apply for the seats every year. As a result, the remaining students have an option of either going for a private MBBS degree or pursuing MBBS from a foreign country. But the question is, is it worth the hassle? Well, there are a lot of pros to studying for an MBBS degree abroad. First of all, it is a lot more affordable than private colleges in India. Secondly, you get to meet a lot of new people and explore new places. But some common problems that are faced by international students include language barriers and homesickness. Other than this many students also face problems with licensing. So if you are someone who is thinking of choosing to study abroad, make sure that the university and the programme is licensed and recognised by the government of India.

A lot of times students who want to study abroad apply for scholarships that are only provided by the universities. What students do not know is that the government of India as well as a lot of private institutions in India also offer scholarships to well-deserving students. Here are some of the government scholarships offered by the Indian government that students can apply for.

1. National Overseas Scholarship for Scheduled Castes
2. The National Overseas Scholarship for OBC Students
3.  The Dr Ambedkar Scholarship for Studying Abroad Ministry of External Affairs Scholarships
4.  The Ministry of External Affairs provides scholarships to Indian students under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarship Scheme, which covers tuition fees, living expenses, and airfare.

Some private scholarships offered by Indian institutions include The Tata Scholarship and The Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation Scholarship. 

The union budget of India that was opposed by the finance minister of India in February 2023, made some spectacular changes in personal finance. When people move abroad for studying or for a foreign trip or just sending money to someone abroad, they have to pay a certain amount of TCS that is tax collected on source. This TCS rate has increased from 5% to 20% for the majority of transactions. Only the medical and Education-based transactions that are under seven lakh rupees will come under the 5% category. Rest 20% TCS will be applicable from July 1, 2023. This has been done to encourage the citizens of India to spend most of their money in the country only. So if parents send more than Rs.7,00,000 to the children then they will have to pay around 20% TCS

Courier has become a very famous study abroad destination. But one of the major requirements to study in Korea is to learn the Korean language. All the Korean universities do provide a lot of courses in English, it is still always recommended to learn to speak in the language as it makes daily life a lot easier. Here are some tips to learn the Korean language fastly.

1. First of all you need to understand that the Korean language is very different from English and doesn't share a lot of words with the English language like French, Spanish and Italian.
2. The Korean language involves the use of multiple consonants in vowels, whose pronunciation is a little different so initially it can be a lot for someone to learn.
3. Unlike English, the way that you say something depends on the person that you are talking to. For example, if you are talking to someone who is older, then you have to talk respectfully and there will be a different sentence. On the other hand, if you are talking to someone your age or someone younger, then you can talk a lot more carefree.
4. So you can start learning the language from the basics. You can learn words like yes, no, good morning, good night and other similar words.
5. Try to watch a lot of Korean movies. I am here Korean songs without translation. It will help you in catching the hold of the pronunciation.
6. Try to join a course as professionals always provide good help in learning language.

According to a latest survey, it has been found that international students from around 195 countries of the world have started searching for study abroad six months before the intake process of the universities. Students have understood that taking timely steps and having good knowledge is the key to getting into the right University. Also around 2/ third of the total students are worried about the security aspects of studying abroad. What concerns students the most is racial discrimination in Europe and North American countries. Around 52% of the students are from Africa followed by 18% from Asia. Smaller number of proportions come from Latin America and Europe.

There has been a decline of 7.2% in the Indian currency for the fiscal year 2022 to 2023. Even then the desire for studying abroad among Indian students has only witnessed a steady increase. The number of study abroad applications has increased by 13% from the previous year. This means that the higher cost of studying abroad has still not discouraged Indian students from studying in foreign universities. After the coronavirus pandemic, the trend of studying abroad has increased massively among Indian students. Even though the cost of education and accommodation has increased, there has not been any obstruction in the outflow of Indian students. In fact, many records has been broken with India becoming the largest contributed of international students in countries like the US and the UK.

The Chief Minister of Assam, Mr.Himanta Biswa announced that the state will not be organising the class 10th board exams from next year. The decision has been taken to give more focus on the class 12th board exams. Instead of the board exams, Madhyamik exams will be conducted in the class 10th. The students will have to give proper exams to pass the class 10th exams but these exams will be conducted at the school level. The Chief Minister has also notified that very soon the Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) and the SEBA will be merged. The class 10th exam of this year has been officially released by SEDA. This policy adopted by Assam is not in line with the NEP.

After putting a restriction on the number of dependency visas for international students, the UK had further plans of limiting the number of visas offered to international students. But this proposal by the government has been rejected by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education has said that by limiting the number of international students, the cost of education for native students will rise. International students provide subsidies and lower the cost of education for native students. Limiting the number of dependency visas has already disheartened a lot of students. Now limiting the total international visa will totally stop students from applying for the visa.

If you are taking your first flight during your study abroad journey, then it is obvious that you have a lot of inhibitions related to the whole process. But today we will talk about some expert tips that can help you overcome your fear and you can easily complete your journey of travelling to a totally different country.

1. Make sure that you book your tickets early. Booking early tickets saves a lot of money.
2. Make sure that your luggage weight is as per your baggage allowance. Do not exceed the baggage limit otherwise you will have to pay extra money.
3. Try to pack smart and only bad things that you won't be able to find in the country that you are going to.
4. Make a travel checklist and pack as per that checklist. This way you will not have any fear of forgetting things.
5. If you have a connecting flight, then gain all the knowledge that you can about the light and its layover. Try to stay calm as the airport has all the directions and you will not be lost. Even if you feel like you cannot find the right directions, you can ask any official about the same.

In a recent survey that was conducted among Chinese students who wanted to study abroad, it was found out that tuition fees and accommodation cost are the two most important factors that pull Chinese students towards a country. Other than this 54.8% students also said that after study employment opportunities are also very important for them. 53% of the students said that the ranking of the university plays an important role in the selection of the university. Tuition fees and the cost of accommodation is the most important factor not just to students but to the parents as well.

The University grants commission has released new guidelines for the creation of deemed to be universities that will be parallel to the national education policy. The union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the decision has been taken to establish more institutions that are in tune with the latest policies of the government. The Minister said that the term deemed to be university is from the UGC act, 1956 and cannot be removed as of now. They are planning to amend the act after which the term can be replaced or removed.

Some of the major objectives as per the latest guidelines for deemed to be universities include providing higher education, strengthening the research ecosystem and to contribute for social transformation through socially responsive teaching, learning, research, and field work.

The official answer key for NEET UG exam, 2023 is out on the official website of NEET. Students can download the answer key and check their total marks from the official website. If a student has any objection related to a particular question or a number of questions, then they can submit their objections on the official website of NEET for it to reconsider. For every objection that is raised, a sum of Rs.200 has to be paid.

The last day to submit these objections is 6th June, 2023. After this date, NEET will not accept any objections from students.