It was a warm November afternoon in Begumpet, a bustling commercial area in Hyderabad. A knot of students were milling around in front of a shiny, glass building. Brimming with enthusiasm, they were there to fulfil the ultimate Indian dream of getting a US education. And they wanted to do it in just one day.
Educational consultancy services offer on-the-spot admission to US
universities in cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Indore and Vishakapatnam. Spot
admissions or ‘spot assessments’ usually
promise an offer letter within two days.
Going by Facebook notices posted by educational consultants, even students with ‘low scores’ can avail themselves of this ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to get an overseas education, quickly, without all the paperwork. So, what’s the problem?
Ostensibly, nothing.
But on digging deeper, it appears that in a bid to get students admitted to universities abroad and increase their business, educational consultants are finding ways to navigate around strict
admission requirements like GRE, TOEFL and IELTS scores.
Admission Jugaad, Test Scores ke Bina?
In order to obtain more information on how ‘spot admissions’ are conducted for students without required credentials,on behalf of The Quint, I contacted three educational consultantcies located in Hyderabad and Bangalore, posing as a student. These were Study Metro in Bangalore, Nexus Overseas Educational Services in Hyderabad and I20 Fever located in various districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
A new identity of Radhika Chavali, a girl from Hyderabad, was created, keeping in line with the profiles of students who approach such consultancies. Hence Radhika became a BTech student from a reputed engineering college in Vijaywada, looking to pursue an MS in any university in the US. To further strengthen the story, Radhika was given extremely low GRE and TOEFL scores – 70 on the TOEFL test and 240 in GRE.
These scores are so low that it should be impossible for anyone to get admission in any US university.
But The Quint found out that such was not the case.
“No Problem, There Are Other Options”
Study Metro is an educational consultancy firm with branches in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Indore and Gujarat. On calling a number advertised on its Facebook page, I was greeted
with an automated voice listing out their comprehensive educational
services. Eventually, my call was attended by a woman representative. On providing her with the said GRE and TOEFL
scores, she was taken aback. I inquired
whether it would be possible for me (Radhika) to attend the ‘spot admission’ fair hosted by Study Metro. When I
asked whether with my scores, I would be able to get admission in a
university in the US, she said:
No, no problem. See we are having some other option also if you are not matching the university criteria. We can get your admission in the university, no need to worry.Representative, Study Metro Educational Consultants
“It is Tough, But Can Be Done”
The website of Nexus Overseas Educational Consultants says
that it is an ISO 9000 certified company. It offers ‘Study Abroad’ programs in a variety of
countries like USA, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Italy and Malaysia.
On its Facebook page, there are various posters advertising ‘spot assessments.’
One of these posters promise education in the USA ‘with or without IELTS.’
To
test the veracity of these claims, I called one of the numbers advertised – but this time without any IELTS score. I said that I did not want to
give it. ‘Is there any way I can get admission to a US university without IELTS?’ I prodded. A pause. And then a reply.
It is tough, but it can be done.Representative, Nexus Overseas Educational Services Pvt. Ltd.
I was told that I could get admission, but I would have to take an English language class when I go to the US which would cost around $3000. The representative didn’t particularly encourage me to try for admission without an IELTS score, but he didn’t outright deny the possibility either.
However, the exuberance and the urgency of the posters advertised on the official Facebook page of Nexus Overseas Educational Consultants tell a different story.
“Give GRE and TOEFL Again”
But not every educational consultant service is playing fast
and loose with the rules. I20 Fever which
also provides guidance on acquiring an I20 visa (as the name suggests), were
forthright in their rejection of Radhika’s scores.
240 on GRE is equal to no-GRE.Representative, I20 Fever Consultants
I was admonished, as she told me that the only way I could get admission to a university in the US would be by giving the tests again. Interestingly enough, when asked about ‘spot admissions’, she said that there is no such thing as getting admission on the spot. If I wanted to go to the US, I would have to apply the normal way.
Universities, Agents and Students: A Win-Win Scenario for All
US Universities (and to a lesser extent, UK ones) have been known to enlist the services of international educational consultants to ‘recruit’ international students. The universities agree to pay the consultants a percentage of the fees that they collect from students. For example, Western Kentucky University pays Global Tree 15 percent of the first year tuition of students enrolled through them, or $2000 per student. For some universities, the amount is lesser, ranging from $1000 to $2000.
But what is in it for the universities? Why would they compromise their academic standards?
The short answer to that question is, money. US Universities have long been facing cuts in state funding. Coupled with lower figures of enrolment, this has led to lesser-known universities getting cash strapped. Though most university representatives try and justify their association with international recruiters as attempts to include ‘diversity’ in their student population and to provide ‘international exposure’
And so, everyone wins. Universities. Educational consultancy services. It is the students whose motives are hard to understand. On one hand, they get an easy way to go to the US. But on the other, they face a hard life and are stuck with a hollow education.
Of what use is bending the rules to them?
To find out, watch this space.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)