Students from the State going to the U.S. are thronging only 12 universities ignoring the wide choice of 2,700 of them. Students from many States too flock to the universities for all the wrong reasons. The Government of India should promote awareness so that they could get into the best and utilise the financial aid, fellowship and ‘out of cap’ employment opportunities in public agencies, says Indo-American Student Council founder director Annavarapu Kumar.
Mr. Kumar, who has a Ph.d., has made an in-depth study of the universities in 2015-2016. He and his team of of six travelled 1,28,000 km, visiting 60 universities and interviewed 50 presidents, provosts, deans and directors, 250 professors and over 1,500 students.
Mr. Kumar, who belongs to Nandigama, was in the city to attend a family function. He told The Hindu that 1.8 lakh Indian students got visa to study in the U.S. last year. The Consulate in Hyderabad is the third largest in the world in terms of the number of visas it issued — 45,000 student visas last year. Of these, 26,000 joined just 12 universities while the remaining 19,000 joined others.
GRE and TOEFL
There are 2,700 accredited universities that make it mandatory for students to have GRE or TOEFL scores for admission. There are another 200 operating from single-room offices that offer admission without any scores at all. Indian students seem to prefer such universities more and those not having any accreditation, Mr. Kumar explained.
“The government should encourage students to explore new frontiers rather than follow the pack and land in some university. It should encourage the students to take advanced, innovative and customised curricula rather than paying money for degrees. Banks are giving education loans and government corporations the funds the instant a student gets I-20, but their entry is not being allowed by immigration,” Mr. Kumar explained.
First hand information
Since Indians are spending $3.6 billion per annum for education in the U.S., the burden of parents could be reduced tremendously, Mr. Kumar said. This could be done if the government assisted students in university selection by delivering them first hand information, helping them with getting scholarships and financial aid offered by the different universities and incorporating a research mindset in the students, Mr. Kumar said.
It should also offer guidance to parents to send their wards to proper accredited universities, Mr. Kumar said.
