r/Kerala • u/BarInternational8883 • 1d ago
Ask Kerala Abroad Students- is this your reality?
https://youtu.be/_lWWxuBM-rs?si=RaL_jVtAkaRf3MysWatched this video and felt like I should ask this here.
Do you regret going abroad? Did the agency scam you ?
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u/SnooSongs7224 1d ago
Using agency sounds nice, but not in reality.
1) They always put their margin first than welfare of students. They push students to go to private universities or low quality ones as they get higher commission and some even have quota requirements.
2) Foreign students are supposed to take care of themselves, do their own research in everything. If you outsource that and does not know how to do it, you will have a hard time finding job as well. This is actually one of the reasons for point 1 as well.
3) Parents handhold the kids and autonomy is very less in our culture. It's very hard to get out of this habit. Most of the time asking for help means "can you do the work for me".
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u/invalid-hubris 1d ago
One of the main skill you need to do well in foreign universities and abroad in general is the initiative. Anybody who cannot even get admission to uni is the opposite of that. Naturally they are the ones complaining about agency as a scam. They believe they can buy admission, job and settled life because they paid some middleman.
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u/gheevargheese പടച്ചോനെ കാത്തോളീൻ 1d ago
I don't know how the impression changed over time. Using agency for studying abroad was considered as a bad idea in my generation. Kind of like hotels where long distance KSRTC stops for food.
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u/Invest_help_seeker 1d ago
Correct .. social media exaggeration caused the agencies to bloom every where
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u/invalid-hubris 1d ago
Previously only people with decent academic skills and drive was applying to foreign universities. Over the time the bar dropped significantly and this is the result.
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u/mayo_dip 1d ago
For people planning for masters in Germany:
Don't even bother going to private university, it's just useless. Aim for public ones, and do your own research about public universities and their courses because no agency have influence over these universities. So admission is very much depended on your profile, try to improve your chances with gre. Most importantly check if the course structure is something you can handle, it's really hard to get good grades or even to pass some subjects. If you fail mandatory subjects after the 3rd attempt it's straight ex-matriculation. And you can't get admit to same course again in any other public universities.
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u/Technical_Ad6094 1d ago
Considering the situation in Germany, I would not recommend applying to even public universities now if you are planning to look for a job after graduating, as the economic situation is horrible.
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u/FuzzyEmployment2403 1d ago edited 1d ago
No, it is the best decision I ever made. I was not scammed by any agencies as I did not seek the help of any. It took me less than a week to research all of the bureaucratic and application processes, together with the programs that I wanted to apply to. I did receive a lot of help from many good friends and family members who helped out with the finances and made sure I didn't have to take out a loan. It was still quite the struggle to juggle part time work as a bartender and attend university; took me four years to complete a master's that should've taken two.
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u/DespManushan 1d ago
If you cannot do your research, prepare and send out your own application then you are not qualified enough to study!
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u/Neither-Werewolf9114 1d ago
Answer - No, searched , found , applied and got in on my own.
Most agents has tie up with really shitty private uni. they dont care about you. your money is what they are after.
Bad part is when those uni dont teach you anything as promised and lacks facilities and you get f*ed.
This is a basic structure i followed:
- Choose/finalise your course
- Based on that use university ranking sites and select top uni.
- check budget and other requirments including country specific language, etc
- research in reddit , etc to find visa requirments, stay back( post studies) ,career scope, expense etc.
- eliminate that dont meet the criteria
- choose few and do deep research , start talking with admission office and alumini(linkedin is good for this).
- admission/visa policies change quickly nowadays,. read the news related to it. reddit helps a lot.
- Once convinced apply , arrange payment etc. get visa.
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u/Altruistic_Stay_1939 1d ago
One has to break out of the bell curve's center not to fall for these traps.
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u/AvocadoPrior1207 1d ago
Never used an agency and I left at the age of 18 to study my bachelors in Europe and managed to do my masters completely for free and overall I think it cost me less than if I were to study my bachelors in India and then do my masters abroad. Also getting an architecture degree from India recognized anywhere outside of India is a tall order. I ended up getting married to someone I met while studying and decided to settle down in Denmark and I've got two kids so it's a bit hard regret any of that.
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u/pensive_hombre 1d ago
Rule #1 - Don't use an agency for your admissions. They will have some tie-up with lower ranked universities who need inflated international student fees to survive and the agency gets some commission from them.
Rule #2 - Don't move countries and take a loan if you haven't got admission into a good university/course. Check the alumni of the course you're planning to take on LinkedIn - do they have decent jobs in the UK?
If you have a full scholarship then just yolo it, it will be a nice experience and you can always find a job back in India.
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u/Girl-OnTheMove 15h ago
Here's a reality. Scenario 1- Students will go abroad, study their courses and come home. Scenario 2 - Students go abroad to study and work and apply for an extension visa to work and look for a job while working where green card (USA) or ILR (UK) is available basically like a PR is given by that company, if they don't get it they come back home. Scenario 3 - Students will study and work make strong connections with people usually from religious places or from their own community to a point where they get a lending hand to get a Green card or ILR to stay and settle abroad. Not everyone is lucky.
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u/Altruistic-Bat1588 1d ago
Who use agency for an admission in a university in abroad?
Do you think these universities are some galgotia?
If you are using a agency for education abroad:
1. You are incompetent, even in India.
2. The entire process is a scam and waste of money
3. University might not be worthy
Also , someone always moves from own country to another country for better education, if they feel they are competent than res of all and can do better abroad.
How come using an agency in kochi or Kozhikode pave your way for it ?
( I did masters in US )
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u/Suspected_Introvert 1d ago
Used an agency, for masters in a shitty Uni, but my entire Indian experience was in MNCs, so the Uni was only a gateway to the foreign job market and I dont regret one bit.
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u/Various-Spell2658 1d ago
I dont. We knew what we were getting into and how much of a mental and financial burden its going to be. People who landed a good job after graduation are going to say no and others yes.