What goes into studying abroad?
S. HARIHARAN
HIGHER EDUCATION abroad comprises three phases - the testing phase, the admission phase and the Visa phase. Students applying for US universities appear for GRE first and then sit for TOEFL.
Of late, many students of Agriculture / Engineering / Paramedical sciences have been appearing for both TOEFL and IELTS to widen their opportunities.
Though universities in Canada (except Alberta and McGill) do not require GRE score, many universities consider it an additional qualification. Paper presentation and published articles, apart from good academic record and decent scores in the tests generally impress the admission committee.
While selecting the universities, prudent students consult their seniors abroad and consider the department ranking rather than the university ranking.
In the US and Canada, the candidate's merit in M.Sc. or Ph.D. coupled with good communication skills fetches internship, which in turn, gets a decent job.
Contacting professors after giving GRE, TOEFL or during the testing phase sometimes helps prospective candidates obtain partial or full assistantship. The internet also helps candidates seek the latest information on visa process, admission / assistantship, contacting professors etc.
A negative reply or no response from the professors abroad does not mean denial of admission or assistantship. Such professors appreciate prospective candidate's interest and motivation.
In addition to a good academic record, if candidates have scores such as between 240 and 250 out of 300 in TOEFL, 6.5 out of 9 in IELTS and 1,100 out of 1,600 in GRE, then they are in a comfortable position. It is also wise to apply for two top-ranking universities and five mid-level-universities. (www.usnews.com)
Sending the application by November 30 or December 15 for the Fall will facilitate candidates get admission and assistantship, as the selection is based on merit and first-come-first-serve basis.
It is wiser to take abroad, authentic syllabus books of UG and PG programmes, as the Department evaluates the courses by its content, and not mere course titles.
There is no need for a training in visa counselling. Clear documents, especially the latest income-tax clearance certificate of the sponsor(s) and feedback of the candidates who have obtained visa would be of help. The students could draft their statement of purpose (SOP) and get it corrected by a subject specialist and a professor of English.
Normally, agriculture graduates get research scholarship and engineering graduates get graduate assistantship in teaching or research. Employers prefer people with research assistantship to teaching assistantship.
Completing Test of Spoken English (TSE) with good scores between 40 and 50 will help graduates get teaching assistantship; or they have to appear for Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in the U.S.
Indian students, with or without assistantship adapt to the hard realities of life by going for campus jobs. It is very rare to see Indians returning due to financial constraints.
It is sensible to try for internship in summer vacation i.e. from April to July. This gives students an opportunity to gain work experience.
Some who get full fellowship, become complacent and perform poor in the semester(s), and their assistantship is withdrawn. And some others divert their attention to unwanted pursuits of life and put their future at stake. But usually students become more conscientious when they go abroad for higher studies.
To conclude, employers abroad select candidates based on a winning résumé, telephone interview, presentation and interview skills and above all, the work experience gained during the academic tenure.
(The author is Professor of English, Directorate of Students' Welfare, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Reach him at tnauest@yahoo.co.in )
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