The ABCDE of Study Abroad

Moreover, with the amount of clatter generated by education fairs, advertisements, institution visits

and the likes, making the right choice can seem like a monumental task. If students are able to keep

certain basics in mind, the decision process can be made much simpler, and they can be confident that

they are making the correct choice.

I will try and highlight the key points which, in my opinion, should be carefully considered by students

and their families before they embark on that long journey overseas. Literally as well as metaphorically,

these should be considered the ABCDEs of study abroad.

A) Academics:

Ordinarily, one would assume that anyone seeking higher studies would look very closely at various

institutes, the quality of teaching, as well as the curriculum. However, having interacted with thousands

of prospective students over the past many years, I have noticed that a significant percentage of

students actually give more weightage to extraneous factors such as part-time work, ease of admission,

turnaround times for offer letters etc. While these factors are no doubt important, the SINGLE MOST

important factor continues to be the reputation and quality of the institute. Going to a dodgy institution

based on factors other than the quality of the institute is a short-sighted tactic which can have

disastrous long-term consequences.

The one factor you should never ever compromise on is the quality of the institute. You should try and

select the best possible institution based on your academic percentage, work experience etc. While

everyone may not be able to get admission in Harvard or Wharton, there are many reputable

institutions across the globe to consider, whatever your academic percentage.

But you have to go out and look.

The important thing here is to get the thinking process right - do not consider education as an expense,

but instead as an investment. You may find yourself listening to consultants and college representatives

telling you that it's only the degree that matters, and not the college where you get it.

That is as false abroad as it is in India.

Just like students from top notch institutions in India tend to have better career opportunities available

to them, the same is the case with international institutes as well.

As a general rule, Government institutes tend to have better infrastructure, better research facilities and

better faculty. As such, these should be on everyone's preferred list. There are a few private institutes

also which provide very high quality Education Loan for Studying Abroad, and students should consider

them as well.

Remember that the name of the institute you study at will be on your resume forever, so try and ensure

that it is one of the best. A lot of international placement consultants do not even accept resumes of

students from dubious institutes, so one needs to be very careful and not make the wrong decision just

to save a few bucks.

B) Budget:

Once you have short-listed a few good institutes, the next step is to get an idea of your budget. So talk

to your family, and also research what kind of loans you can get. Nowadays, almost all government

banks and a lot of private banks offer education loans for overseas study. In most cases, loans are

granted at the local branch level (though final approval may come from the Head Office of the bank).So

try and meet with the manager of your local bank branch and get some information about your

eligibility. Banks will normally need your parents or siblings as guarantors, so the process will be much

easier if you have a documented source of income to show them. At times they may also ask for

property documents as collateral, but that usually happens only if your loan amount exceeds Rs. 7.5

lakhs.

Another important point to note here is that at the time of applying for visa, you will need to show

availability of funds. The amount of funds needed and the instruments they are parked in varies

according to the visa policies of each country. As a general rule, you will be required to show enough

funds to cover your tuition plus living expenses.

However, what varies from one country to the other are the types of financial instruments that you can

use, the kinds of guarantors that are acceptable, and the exact amount of funds that you need. For

example, some countries may only require proof of availability of funds just for the first year, while

others may require it for the entire program. If you have this information upfront, and have discussed it

with your family early enough, then you can save yourself a lot of time, effort and money.

Source: http://www.avanse.com/education-loan/study-abroad-loan