Saturday 22 December 2012

Interviews

Originally published in Hindustan Times Education

You got an interview call! An interview could be a normal part of the application for everyone, or it could indicate that you have made a first cut for selection. For undergraduate studies, usually only highly selective colleges conduct interviews (e.g. Ivy League), but they do so for all applicants. For MBA studies an interview call is a positive sign that you have not been rejected yet.

Gap Years

Originally published in Hindustan Times Education Supplement

As the time draws near to submit college applications for programs abroad, even some of the most qualified students opt to take a gap year – i.e. a year off between high school and college. How do you decide if this is the right choice for you and if you are planning to take a gap year what should you do to use the time wisely?

Getting Your Act Together By November


Originally published in Hindustan Times, Education Supplement

You’ve been thinking about getting your college applications together for a while now. But between class work, homework, tuitions and life, you haven’t made much headway yet.  Don’t despair - if you want to apply to colleges in the US or UK, there is still time to meet the January deadlines.

Essay Topics


Originally Published in Hindustan Times Education

Study abroad applicants should already be well into the drafting stages of their college essays by now. If you are applying for undergraduate studies in the UK (except Oxford or Cambridge or medical, dental or veterinary courses) your UCAS application and required ‘Personal Statement’ is due on January 15th (check  http://www.ucas.com to find out the specific deadlines and requirements for your course). For the US, regular decision deadline on January 1, 2013, you have about two months to finish your required essays.

Early Decisions


Originally Published in Hindustan Times Education

Many students applying to the US for undergraduate studies are intensely focused on early application rounds coming up on November 1st.  Should you apply? The basic idea of the early deadline is that if you apply early you will get a decision before Dec 15th (as compared with the regular decision deadline on Jan 1 where you get a decision by April 1). The variations on this deadline are Early Decision, Early Action and Single Choice Early action.

Extra Curricular Activities


Originally Published in Hindustan Times Education

I once heard an Ivy League admissions officer say “We understand that the opportunities and demands for Indian students are different than for American students. But that makes Indian students weak in extra-curriculars and, unfortunately, our process is unforgiving.”  This seemed like a harsh assesment of an Indian students, but a few years of advising I now understand his comment – many indian students lack depth in a particular extra curricular and the breadth they demonstrate is mundane and similar to all their classmates. So what can you do to make yourself stand out to admissions officers like the one quoted? 

MBA Primer, Part 2


Originally published in Hindustan Times Education

Most MBA applicants assume the best way to get into competitive business schools is by showcasing all of their work-related achievements. While this is true, it is what you have done beyond the workplace that often makes the difference between finding yourself on a flight to start your MBA abroad and finding yourself back at the office for another year.

MBA Application Primer

Originally published in Hindustan Times Education

Most MBA applicants assume the best way to get into competitive business schools is by showcasing all of their work-related achievements. While this is true, its what you have done beyond the workplace that often makes the difference between finding yourself on a flight to start your MBA abroad and finding yourself back at the office for another year.

Tips From Parents


Originally published in Hindustan Times Education


While 12th grade students and high school counselors are ready for the college admission process, parents sometimes wake up a little late and are surprised by the rigor of the process. Applying to college abroad requires a tremendous amount of work and often the brunt of it gets shifted to parents as students get busy with exams and compulsory activities over the next 4 months. Here is some advice from parents who went through the process last year that will help this year’s support their 12th graders who are applying to study abroad.

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Who Needs a College Counselor


Originally published in HT Education 

Planning to study abroad for your Bachelor’s degree is exciting! It’s a huge decision for you and your family and taking the right steps to get through it successfully is crucial. Fortunately there are a lot of resources available to help you succeed. Among these is the option to engage a private educational consultant or college counselor. As Indian students’ interest in study abroad rises, so do number of consultants and organizations offering their services for a fee. But do you really need to hire someone? Could you get through this on your own with available free resources? And if not, what is the best way to find the right consultant and get the most out of the relationship?

The Tests!


Originally published in HT Education Times

If you are applying for college in the US this year, you should have already taken some of the required standardized tests, such as the SAT, ACT and/or SATII. If you have not, you still have time. In addition, some colleges in the US as well as Canada, Australia, UK may require you to give an English language exam – either TOEFL, IELTS or PTE. Here is some help to demystify this alphabet soup of required tests.

The New Schools


Originally published in HT Education

New schools popping up everywhere, what does it mean for your study 
abroad plans?

There seem to be announcements on the side of every BEST bus these days advertising a new “international school”. Whether it’s the Ascend’s school’s new elementary programs, HBV’s IBDP efficiently squeezed between the Western Railway tracks and Marine Drive or the recent shift by the well established Bombay International school to transition their curriculum to IGCSE and IB, many entities are vying to prepare students with an ‘international’ education.  But the question is why are these schools growing like mushrooms? And what does it mean for your plans if you’ve set your sights on higher education outside India?

Thursday 7 June 2012

Busting Some Study Abroad Myths


Originally published in The HT Education Supplement

Who should consider study abroad?
When you think of study abroad several stereotypes come to mind: rich kids from IB schools, total brainiacs from HSC schools or IITians who want an MBA. Well here I hope to muddle those stereotypes a bit and dispel some of the myths around the kind of students who can study abroad.

Wednesday 30 May 2012

It's May, What Should Undergraduate Applicants Be Doing?

Originally published in HT, Education Supplement

“Aaah, the recommendations!” was the exasperated cry of one of my clients at the end of last year. He had worked tirelessly on every part of his application, but had failed to request letters of recommendations from his teachers. By mid-December his teachers were swamped with requests and wouldn’t be able to give the letters their full attention. This is just one example of why, if you are planning to apply to college abroad for admission in 2013, you should understand the steps involved and when to execute. Below are a few things for class 12 students to remember as they start planning the application process.