The answer would probably be `To the fair'. Career fairs, education abroad fairs and the like. That is where the crowds are these days. So what if September 11 happened, `We wanna go to America still'.

When the Linden Tour U.S. University fair was held about a week ago, parents and students turned up, in large numbers. There were no less than 1500 visitors that evening at the Taj Coromandel. There were representatives from around 12 educational institutions in the U.S., led by Ms. Deborah Hefferon, of Linden Educational Services.

What began as a generic presentation of educational opportunities in the U.S., soon moved on to discussions and interactions on details such as academic programmes, costs, qualifications and region specific information. A clarification session on U.S. visas was the highlight and interviews with students and parents followed the next day.

``The response was very good, much better than in Latin America and the Middle East, countries we visited before India,'' says Ms. Hefferon, excited about the reaction from Indian students and parents. It is not that the students are not asking questions, but they are not postponing their trip, like the students on the other leg of the tour are.

At least that is what Ms. Hefferon says. The students in other countries had actually told the team that they were willing to study in the U.S., but would postpone the visit. On the other hand, though `our' students had a number of questions about the safety in campuses, they had not given up plans to study in the U.S. As far as they were concerned, September 11 and the general recession notwithstanding, the U.S. was definitely greener pasture.

But an increasing awareness about safety prompted students to ask a number of anxious questions. The representatives of the universities had ready answers. Though they did not categorically rule out trouble, they assuaged the students by telling them about the various measures that had been taken on campuses. In fact some universities, worried about the possible fall in Indian students coming over, have taken special precautions and increased concessions for them. But, take Ms. Hefferon at her word and it `really depends on where you are'.

Another top question was whether the scholarships had been reduced for non-native students. The visitors from the U.S. were able to tell them that there was no such reduction as on that date. Some universities had actually increased the scholarship fee provided to the students.

Has there been a moratorium on issuing visas to Indian students wanting to study abroad? This question, more or less made it to number one position, as eager beaver students worried about entry into the U.S. A question that visa officials and the educationists were able to clarify with absolute certainty. ``There is no such moratorium. But a lot of incorrect information has been doing the rounds and the students were anxious. They seemed to have a burden off their shoulders when we told them that it was not the case,'' Ms. Hefferon said.

As the organisers said, the effective impact of the show was a reflection of continuing interest in higher education in the US. Greenbacks are, no doubt, still alluring.

By Ramya Kannan