As of January 2021, more than 1 million Indian students are studying in 85 countries outside India. The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India estimates a 15% year-on-year increase in the number of students going abroad for studies.
The surge in the interest of India’s youth in pursuing higher education abroad is primarily due to safety, infrastructure, global exposure, quality education that the international universities offer, supported by the increasing per capita incomes of Indian households. The journey to getting admissions to the top universities abroad requires immense perseverance and proper guidance as the competition to get admit is at an international level.
To help the students in need, the best study abroad consultants in India have come forward and are lending a helping hand as they are professionally trained, qualified, and offering end-to-end admissions consulting.
In India, you come across many overseas education consultants. They are operating in the market, bestowing best-of-the-line services and helping students attain their dream of studying abroad. However, numerous options leave students in chaos, and it becomes difficult to choose the right study abroad consultant.
This article will share details about how you can make the right choice while selecting a study abroad consultant. Before that, let’s first understand:
Benefits of signing up with a Study Abroad Consultant
- Being the domain experts, the consultants are well aware of the recent developments and updates of the field
- Higher-ed consultants conduct an in-depth analysis of your strengths and weaknesses and guide you accordingly
- Support you in getting financial assistance, including scholarships and education loans
- Handhold you throughout the admissions process and mentor for test preparation (GMAT, GRE, SAT, ACT, IELTS etc)
Factors to consider while choosing a Study Abroad Consultant in India:
- The journey and success rate: The best way to learn about a study abroad consultant is by browsing through their websites, google search, and social media pages. Learn about their journey, qualification, experience as consultants, and success stories. Try to cross-check if the consultants engage personally during the applications process.
- Mentors’ qualification and experience: This is one of the essential aspects you need to enquire about when enrolling with a study abroad consultant. The consultant should inevitably be well experienced and aware of the latest developments and complete admissions process requirements of the universities of your choice. Moreover, alumni from top universities and experienced trainers could make a good choice as they would understand the process to the core.
- Mode (Online/Offline): When you look for test preparation, you will find several consultants offering classroom coaching and others offering online coaching. Here, it is recommended to understand your needs and what suits you better. Classroom coaching offers a well-built infrastructure and networking options, while online coaching provides you with convenience, flexibility, and 24*7 availability of study material and recorded lectures. Make a decision based on what would suit your needs.
- Transparency: A genuine consultant will be willing to address all your concerns with utmost sincerity. Beware of the study abroad consultants making false promises and over-the-top guarantees. The consultants act as a guiding light through the process, and you must consider the ones who are transparent towards their approach and pattern.
- Leverages technology: This is an era of digitalisation, and your consultant must be resilient to the transformation happening all around. The best study abroad consultants offer AI-enabled dashboards and technology-based products to make your admissions consulting process seamless. Technology not only saves time, but the overall results are more effective and fruitful.
- Value Added Services (VAS): The university fee is usually slightly expensive for most Indian households, and hence the study abroad consultants need to guide the students on their finances. Securing the best terms for an education loan, assisting on the foreign exchange needs, and helping with the accommodation nearby universities of their choice. Based on their expertise, the consultant can guide you on course selection, admissions procedures, fee structure, and the government rules for a student visa.
Know the difference between Educational Agents and Consultants?
By and large, the tasks performed by the Educational Agents and Consultants do overlap, but the difference lies in the approach they implement. The university pays Agents for the number of students enrolling in their university. As a result, Agents are lining up to enroll students in their partner universities, wherein they are likely to get a higher commission.
So, there are chances that you would be compelled to join a particular university in which you are not interested.
Whereas, Consultants, on the other hand, charge you for the services they provide and hence do not compel you to go for a specific university as such. Moreover, Consultants tend to provide more realistic and unbiased opinions about universities and programs as they are not affiliated to a particular university for their professional existence.
Consultants focus on supporting a student’s dream of studying abroad by understanding their needs and priorities, while Agents relentlessly work to fill up the seats in the designated partner universities.
Enquire in-depth before making a decision
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You must be completely aware of the process the consultant will follow and how they will be handling your application. Ask if they will help you with end-to-end admissions consulting, test preparation, and profile development.
Analyse the study abroad consultant on the factors mentioned in the article above, and you should be able to make the right choice for you.
We, at LilacBuds, facilitate access to quality mentoring and unbiased advice to enable long-term career success for all global education aspirants. Our mentors are alumni of renowned universities and bring forth significant expertise in the field.
LilacBuds is one of the most trusted study abroad consultants in Mumbai, Delhi and entire of India. Pumped up, we continue to march towards our mission of empowering Higher-Ed students to make informed decisions.
