Time to Promise !

*** An old one from my GRE days (2 yrs back)

Hi,
My name is Sidharth Kumar and i belong to delhi. I recently gave my GRE (Graduate Record Examination) with the aim to persue my Masters from US next year. I'd like to express my concern over all that i have gone through during application process.

So finally through with GRE (thats Coaching + Exam) , i headed for the application process. Its good but not mandatory to join some consultants to help you carry out your admission process. After researching a lot about many consultants, i came to a conclusion that most of them were simply money minting institutes providing no quality work for students.
Candidates/Students/Aspirants invest heavily in them and are not satisfied with the overall performance of the consultants. For every bit of extra work, they are charging more from students. When i asked my dad for money to join their admission celll, he fired me sayin that wasnt 20k (thts for coaching) inclusive of everything. I just couldnt say anything, i knew thats the way it was.
He was terribly angry and said that every institution should take pride in sending their children abroad so almost everything shud be included in coachin feees or be free. Well, nothing is in my hand but I knew my dad (a retired Commander from the Indian Navy) was right and where i was wrong!

I went to my university in Jalandhar and needed 10 transcripts for universities i am applyingto.They charged me 300 for each, dats 3000 Rs. Even the institution which i owe to them for making in me a Computer Enginner is charging hell lot of money. They know that every year students would be sitting for GRE/GMAT and be needing official documents, so lets think of ammasing this booty. The attitude of officials in university also bothers me a lot, their way of handling notes (money) etc clearly gives a picture of some lala type people managing these educational institutions. Clearly everyone is busy in Bizness!

Then lately, i had to collect bank drafts from bank for application processes. The drafts range from 50-100 US $ depending on universities. I approached ABN AMRO bank and for each draft ( i needed 8), the bank charged 300 Rs + service tax. I requested the lady that these drafts were solely for education purpose and if the bank could give some concession to students like me, i and others would certainly be very obliged to them. She couldnt do anything saying it was bank policy but promised she would forward this suggestion to the concerned manager. Well who knows if someone really will work upon it or not!

I have spent more on applying than on coaching. All these miscellaneous expenses seem to trouble me a lot. Total cost of a single document package to each university comes out on an average Rs.5000-6000 (including courier charges). And most of the students are applying to 6 universities minimum. So one can get the idea of how much expenditure is involved. Seekin this, some even might drop the idea of US or UK and head for countries like Australia or New Zealand which are still much reasonable and cheaper on the world map. I applied to 8 universities and have got I-20 (eligibility packet from univ giving me the right to apply for visa) from all of them. I am nodoubt happy but confusion now surrounds me as to where should i leap forward.

Thats what happens, the more the complexity and not the more, the merrier. We all are just blindly following what others do. My so called experience to other aspirants would be not to apply in more than 5 -6 univs. THATS MORE THAN ENOUGH!!! (even on your pockets part)

It really is very difficult today to afford education outside becuz today we have made our own barriers so high that it wont be possible for every child of this country to climb it and reach the other side, thats US owing to all these hurdles. I feel pity for some people i came across and they couldnt afford this prime education. I remember once asking my senior in college about what he had planned for future. He was a topper and from a middle class family. He said slowly that education outside is very costly. He still teaches in the same college from where i graduated.

What is Government doing for us? When it knows that 95% of students going abroad wont return back to India and contributing much to US only, then why send students outside the country or why not get them back after completing education. May be thats why, these expenses compel students give up their dreams to study abroad. It was one of me who could afford but not many will be in this going-to-be expensive nation. I dont see any aid or help coming here but hear that our country will be the best supremo in next 10 yrs. But where? And for whom?

I dont want to hit directly at all consultancy firms/colleges/banks , after all they do offer us their services but just hope that they are reasonable and dont exploit everyone. 20k-30k is a very big amount for me or anybody else. Also surprised by the fact that when i asked one of my frends if his dad felt the money being charged for admission cell was justified or not, and he said, dad was ok with it. With times, people (who just go ahead and give money without giving thought in this bhedchaaal) have given up to raise their voices unlike me. We ofcourse cant do anything about private institutes but would request and urge government to do whtever it could for students like me.

Through this mail of mine, i have no intentions of mentioning how much money i spent or pleading government to recover any dues. I have discussed these feelings of mine with you and every other person who looks forward to goto US (cuz they too are sailing in the same boat as me) through various mail groups. I on behalf of all of them request justice! Please help us all.

Think i should signoff now.

Regards,
Sidharth