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UK

1) Why Study In UK

1) A country  boasting a history of the establishment of some of the oldest universities(dating further back to more than 400 years of academic and research excellence),such as Oxford and Cambridge. Right from the discovery of DNA to a breakthrough investigation on stem cell and cancer research have all taken place in British university laboratories.

2) Srinivasa Ramanujam- one of India’s greatest mathematical geniuses, went in to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1914. On 16 March 1916, Ramanujan graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Science by Research (the degree was called a Ph.D. from 1920).Artists such as Amitabh bacchan and A.R Rahman have also been conferred upon with PHD degrees from  De Montfort University at Leicester and Middlesex university , UK, respectively.

3) The Duration of a masters course is one year, and for undergraduate courses, it is three years [compared to a four year and two year course {respectively} in most other countries]. This means you will save a great deal on both tuition fees and living costs.

2) Study in UK and Admission Procedure

The education systems for UK universities have a mixture of lectures, seminars and tutorials (small group discussion) that a student should ideally expect to encounter. There is a strong student tutor dynamics strongly strung together in the UK educational system. However, independent research is also given precedence.

There are continuous assessments (in the form of written and oral examinations) that happen all through the year. Students are also supposed to involve themselves in a dissertation and final exams. Students are expected to invest a lot of their time on extensive research as nothing is spoon fed. Courses lay emphasis on critical and novel thought processes. Innovation is looked out for, in whatever enterprise a student pursues.

The admission procedure for Undergraduate students is via UCAS (University College Admission Services). This is basically a common application form through which a student can apply to five universities. The deadline to apply via UCAS every year is 30th June, after which the student can apply to one university via UCAS clearing. The application fee for UCAS is 23 GBP.

For Postgraduate Courses, the application process is direct, wherein a student can apply either via hard copy (of the application) or through the online application process. Some universities do have an application fees ranging from 20 GBP to 50 GBP.

3) Student Visa UK

Any student holding a non- British or non EU passport needs an entry clearance visa to study in the UK. To apply for a student visa, the student needs to submit his visa application with the required documents and visa application fees at the nearest VFS or the British High commission in their home country. To apply for a student visa one would need the following:

1) The student must hold a valid offer and a CAS letter from a UK institution that should be a Highly Trusted Sponsor.

2) The course should be full time.

3) The student should be able to finance for his course and living expenses without recourse to public funds.
Further information  available on www.ukvisas.gov.uk

4) Cost of Study in UK

UG and PG courses in Universities: 6500 GBP (Range should start from 7500) to 12000 GBP (can go upto 16500 GBP) depending on the university and the course.
MBA at universities: 9000 GBP to 30000 GBP depending on the university.

UG and PG courses at colleges: 4000 GBP to 7000 GBP
MBA courses at colleges: 5000 GBP to 8000 GBP

Cost of Living in London: 9000 GBP to 11000 GBP
Cost of Living outside London: 5400 GBP to 8000 GBP

5) Scholarships

Most scholarships in the UK are merit based. In order to be eligible for a scholarship, a student needs to first apply and get an offer in order to be eligible for it. Some universities automatically consider students for scholarships once they apply for the course, while for others there is the scholarship application form. The deadlines for scholarships usually fall between March and June.

There are 2 kinds of scholarships in the UK:

1) Internal- These are university and department based scholarships which range from 500 GBP to 5000 GBP depending on the university or the course.

2) External- These are private organizations which offer scholarships. The most popular scholarships are: British Chevening Scholarships, Commonwealth Scholarships, DIFD scholarships, INLAKS, Paul Foundation etc. Please note that the application procedure for each organization is separate.