Education Abroad: Initial Hurdles

It has been mentioned that you must come to a decision to pursue your education abroad only after careful consideration of finances. There are various means of funding for foreign education: foreign scholarships, Indian scholarships, one's own savings, parents' savings, sponsorship from relatives who are in India or abroad, bank loan and so on. The next step is to begin preparations. The first among these is to clear relevant entrance tests.

Most foreign universities do not have the Indian pattern of every university having a different entrance examination; especially for overseas students. Each country has a few common tests. But the rank or score in these tests is not the criteria for admission. These tests are only one among the many conditions for admission.

There are three types of tests that overseas students are, most often, asked to appear for:

1. A test to prove proficiency in language.
2. A test to measure the aptitude and talent to pursue higher studies, in general.
3. Another test to measure the aptitude and talent in the specific subjects that you wish to opt for.

The language in which you must prove your proficiency in depends on the country you wish to emigrate to. Most Indians migrate to English-speaking countries, and there are many tests that measure your expertise in English. You may also require these English language proficiency tests if you are migrating to countries that do not have English as their fundamental language when some courses they conduct are in English; Germany would be an example for this.

International Language Testing System (IELTS)

IELTS is a test that most aspirants of foreign education would have heard of. What exactly is IELTS? An IELTS score benefits those who wish to travel to an English-speaking Country for education or job. The aim of the test is to measure your expertise in English. IELTS has a 9-band scale system, ranging from 1 for a non-user and 9 for an expert user.

IELTS tests are of two types: academic and general training. Those who are aspiring to migrate specifically for professional registration or higher studies must necessarily choose the IELTS 'Academic Stream'. IELTS 'General Training' is required by those who wish to migrate to countries such as Australia, Canada, and the UK, where English is the main language, to get a secondary school education, or participate in a training program as well as get a job. If you examine the structure of the test, you will see four modules: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking. The Listening and Speaking modules are the same for both Academic as well as General streams. However, the Writing and Reading modules vary for the two groups. The IELTS test takes two hours and forty-five minutes to complete. The test score is valid for a period of two years. Please visit the website https://www.ielts.org for more information.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

TOEFL is, again, a test for proficiency in English, specifically for admission to universities in the US. TOEFL scores are stipulated both in connection to applications for university admissions as well as scholarships. The test score is valid for two years only.

TOEFL iBT, an internet-based test, is the popular version. Paper-based tests (TOEFL PBT) are available too. The internet-based test has four sections, viz., Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing. The test duration is four hours. The score scale is 0-120. Each section has 0-30 scores. The individual score of each section is totalled to calculate the final score. The paper-based model has some differences, in comparison. The four tests are Listening, Structure and Written Expression, Reading Comprehension, and Writing. The score of the Writing section of the test is not added to the final score, however, and reported separately on a scale of 0-6. The band of scores are spread over Extremely Limited/ Non-User (TOEFL iBT 0-31, TOEFL PBT 400 - 449) to Expert User (TOEFL iBT 118-120, TOEFL PBT ≥ 645). For more information, please visit https://www.ets.org/toefl.

Proficiency Tests in Other Languages

In addition to English-Speaking countries, the two countries Malayalees often choose that insist on proof of proficiency in their languages are Germany and France. Countries like Russia, Japan and China do not insist on pre-existing expertise in their respective languages as a criterion for admission and instead spend the first year of education on language learning.

As the competition to attract overseas students has soared, many countries have commenced conducting various courses for their international student community in English. But the pool of universities available to us for application increases significantly if you know German, French, Japanese or Mandarin. And it also would reduce the competition that you face for admission considerably.

Aptitude Tests

Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)

SAT, previously known as Scholastic Aptitude Test, is a standardized assessment test administered by the College Board, an American not-for-profit organization. The test is intended for students who wish to seek admission for graduate programs in the US and Canada. The Scholastic Assessment Test is also recognised by institutions in Australia and the UK as well as some universities in India. The Scholastic Assessment Test is now available as SAT 1 and SAT 2. SAT 1 is the general test that examines the (English) language and mathematical skills of students. SAT 2 is more subject oriented. Your skills in a specific area are tested. It includes multiple options: subjects such as science, literature, [WHICH? AMERICAN] history, and mathematics along foreign languages such as Mandarin, French, Korean, German, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. The validity of the SAT score is for five years. Visit https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat for more details.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

GRE is a test that overseas students need to appear for admission to universities in the US and Canada. GRE score is necessary for both Masters and Doctorate programs in thousands of courses all over the world. Like SAT, GRE also has both general and subject tests. GRE tests your skills in analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative ability. Subject tests are based on specific areas you wish to specialize in. Those who seek to pursue Masters, especially MBA, legal studies such as JD - Doctor of Jurisprudence - as well as other doctoral programmes need to clear GRE. Both computer-based tests as well as paper-based tests are offered in general studies. Subject tests aim to assess the knowledge and skill of candidates in specific areas. Subject tests are available for Biology, Chemistry, English Literature, Physics and Psychology. Subject tests are paper based. GRE scores are valid for five years. For more information, kindly visit https://www.ets.org/gre.

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

The Graduate Management Admission Test is a computer-based test for admission to various Graduate Management programs. GMAT is the admission criteria to nearly two thousand business schools all over the world for programs such as MBA, Master of Finance, and Accountancy. GMAT is structured around the four skills of analytical writing skills, quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning, and integrated reasoning that are most crucial for management students. The candidate can choose the order of attempting these four sections. Of the four sections, quantitative reasoning and verbal reasoning are adaptive tests.

What are Computer Adaptive Tests?

In computer adaptive tests, the subsequent questions are posed based on the calibre of previous answers. For instance, the first question posited to you may be of average difficulty. If you answer it right, the computer generally suggests a tougher question for you. On the contrary, if your answer to an average question is wrong, then the next question you get will be relatively simpler. For GMAT, the total score is as important as the individual scores of each of the four sections. You cannot exceed eight attempts for GMAT. The GMAT score is valid for five years. For additional information, please visit https://www.mba.com.

Examinations for Doctors

There are separate tests for Doctors who go abroad for higher studies. In the US, it is the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE, https://www.usmle.org/) whereas in the UK there is the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB). USMLE is conducted in three phases and PLAB in two. The first phase tests of both USMLE and PLAB can now be attempted from India. https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/join-the-register/plab