An Informed Choice

by SRIJANA CHHETRI

FROM ISSUE # 110 (February 2005) | IN THIS ISSUE
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If you ask the average Nepali student what his/her plans are after 10+2, the most likely answer you will get is – "I'm trying to go abroad." The idea of studying abroad has gained significant determination in Nepal in the last five years. How many leave to genuinely pursue further studies and how many use the opportunity, as means to escape from their homeland, however, remains a question in itself. Till the early years of the last decade, studying abroad was generally to get a degree from a foreign country like Russia, or the US and UK, in subjects that one couldn't study adequately in Nepal, such as architecture or fields of computer science. Somewhere during the last six years it became a social symbol for families to talk about their children graduating from an American college. Today, taking into consideration the turmoil and instability in Nepal, parents find it almost necessary to send their children away for further education or otherwise. This situation has led to a natural boom in the number of organizations that help students study abroad. In January, WAVE invited about 15 leading educational consultancies in Kathmandu to discuss the situation from which Landmark Educational Consultancy Center, Orbit International Education, Nobel Institute, Alpha Beta Institute, Right Educational Consultancy, Cyprus Institute and the British Council took part. The following article is based on that discussion.

Role of Educational Consultancies
It is hard to miss an increasing number of alluring advertisements about studying in a foreign country in newspapers and magazines. The SATuration of such consultancies has definitely led to the question of credibility. According to Dwiraj Sharma of Alpha Beta Institute, there are more than 250 educational consultancy organizations in the country. The basic services provided by these institutes include counseling regarding finance, academics, and documentation required to receive a visa; preparation classes for TOEFL, SAT, ILETS, GRE, GMAT; and language as well as basic computer courses in certain institutes with the total fee structure averaging between Rs.10,000 to 15,000. According to Pranay Rai , the Education Promotion Officer of British Council, in addition to counseling sessions that are available on weekdays from 8:30 AM to 5:45 PM, the British Council offers free internet access, books and CD ROMs for research and educational purposes as well as free presentation and research skills training. With regards to counseling, he says, "British Council is very point-blank honest. We are not going to give false ideas and false dreams. We are a reality check."

Sincerity of Students
The genuineness of the students that come into such consultancies has posed major problems. Umesh Pandey of Nobel Institute says, "It's amazing how many students come into our institute asking questions like 'Will you guarantee visas?' or 'I'm planning on leaving next week; what can you do for me?'" According to Kumar Karki, the Managing Director of Landmark Educational Consultancy, more than 30% of the students seeking help from his center are academically sound and have already given tests like TOEFL and SAT. 10-15% of the students are academically very poor and the larger ratio falls under average students. Likewise, according to Pranay Rai , students seeking help from British Council are of three tiers – some are very genuine and are interested in academics, others are exploring their options while there are those looking for an escape route.

Filtering students is a challenge in itself. Figuring out the sincerity of the students, providing them with prospective universities or colleges according to their academic and financial status, and finally preparing them to leave can be tough, but that's what they do.

What's Real, What's Not
To ensure credibility of educational consultancies and control the uprising of phonies, we would think there must be a monitoring body. Sadly enough, these institutes are not monitored by anyone and the government has turned a blind eye to the threats posed at the local educational system as well as the general public. These institutes are in no way observed by the Education Department. Thus, it seems the solution to the problem of counterfeit consultancies and their never-ending promises of opportunities in a foreign country remains to be determined.

When it's Time to Go
As mentioned earlier, educational consultancies help students pick out the best college or university according to their academic and financial status, help them with the application process and grants, advise them on documentation and finally prepare them for the visa process. When all of that is taken care of and it's time to get onboard, the consultancy's work is still not finished. Final preparatory advice for the trip, pick up for students upon arrival, and tips for adjustment at university are also provided. The British Council gives much importance to the "nitty-gritty details" and equips students with life-skills, which are essential to survive in a foreign country. Pranay Rai says, "The British Council provides pre-departure briefing for any candidate going to the U.K. We could be discussing anything from how much money to carry to what to put in your luggage and carry in handbag. We go from there to what to do on the first day of arrival, when to land in the U.K. We also talk about the things to do for fun and how to register for them. We talk about HIV Aids and our job is to create awareness about HIV. We talk about religion, food, traveling, making friends, opening a bank account, and accent differences. We talk about every nitty-gritty detail and teach them to be confident about themselves in a new surrounding."

What's New
AEISC (Albert Einstein International Study Center), which has been operating as an educational consultancy for the past 3 years, has recently introduced ACT (American College Testing) program in Nepal. It is the sole registration as well as testing center for the test, with its head office located at New Baneshwor. The ACT is designed to evaluate high school students' educational development for admissions in American, Canadian and in some Singaporean colleges. The test consists of four individual tests: English, mathematics, reading and natural sciences. For more information on the test or AEISC, log on to www.act.org and www.einstein.com.np .

Basics to Making an Informed Choice
While there are more than enough consultancies in Nepal for students trying to study abroad, it is very important that you do your own research and enter such agencies so that you are not just buying what they are selling, but making as much an infomred choice and decision as possible. WAVE has prepared for you a few basic guidelines for those who might be interested to study in the US.

Use the Internet: You can use the Internet to find some of the best colleges and college deals, a trend that's catching up the world over. It's a simple process that you can do at home or any cyber café, which you can use for as little as Rs.15 per hour.

www.essayworld.com - at the bottom of the homepage, you will find a link that says "Colleges by state, By Title, Admission Essay etc." These links are extremely useful for doing your research through the Internet.

You can directly log on to: http://www.essayworld.com/links/colleges/state/
In this page you will find an extensive list of colleges that has been categorized according to the States of the US.

Keyword for Yahoo: "CUNY College," or "SUNY College" Type those two words Yahoo's search bracket and it will give you a list of colleges under the board of City University of New York. These colleges are some of the finest not just in NY but the entire US. NY and California also offers ample work opportunity for students. Public transportation makes doing anything much easier in these places as compared to places like Tennessee, Texas, Indiana or Idaho. You can also try the keywords "UK College," "Australia College," to get a basic list of colleges in those area. To narrow down the search, you can always add one more word like "UK College + Film studies."

Work: Before you even plan to go abroad to study, you should try your best to start getting into the habit of working, be in social service or at a corporate office. Not only will this get you used to a working lifestyle, something that still barely exists amongst the youth, it also looks good on your application forms. It will help you mature and understand realities of life better.

Find and understand your interest: Before you even decide to go to any college, you should sit down and think about what you truly want to do with your education. Find an interest. If you don't know what you want to do, log on to any American college website, www.conncoll.edu (Connecticut College), for example, and check their Academic / Programs Offered section for Undergraduates. This list might help you expand your horizons to a certain degree.

Correspond: Applying to colleges is not cheap, an application can cost anything from $35- $50 in the US. Correspond with the colleges you are interested in and ask them how you might be able to get a "waiver" for your application form. Its not guaranteed they will waive it for you, but it's worth the try. Ask the college about things that confuse you regarding application or courses, but make sure you have looked for the answers yourself in their website, because most likely, it is already there.

Don't go where the wind blows: Don't do things and go directions your friends are going just because you want to hang on that group. Be confident and explore life- this is a learning experience not just in college class rooms, but in life itself, with new settings, new people, new experiences. Don't just go where the wind is blowing. You can always hop abroad a Greyhound and visit your friend with student discounts on tickets bought in advance.

Transfer: If you're getting into a moderately okay college just to make the whole visa thing easier, make sure you don't settle for a college that isn't up to your expectations. You always have the option of transferring so make the most of it and find yourself a good college. Just keep in mind that your grades in the first semester are very good so that your chance of admission and scholarship on transfer is higher.

Keep a liberal mind: Remember that you have complete a certain number of pre-requisite courses regardless of what major you are doing. If you're not sure what you want to study, go for liberal arts as it gives you a lot of options for a college major and masters.

Come back home: Going abroad and studying, working, earning and living is all good and fine. Just make sure that you don't forget your roots. Hope you make an informed choice. We wish you all the best.