REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING ABROAD

Greetings everyone!

In this evolving era of highly advanced engineering and technologies, most of the graduates after completing their under graduation in their respective fields of engineering move to international universities in order to gain worldwide exposure during their post-graduation or doctorate studies abroad by studying the quick and rapid growth in the field of technologies and make research. These technologies have become essential and phenomenally mandatory in our day-to-day life in this accelerated world.

Mandatory Requirements :

For those who aspire in pursuing their post-graduation in international universities abroad, there are some important and necessary requirements to be undertaken seriously as expected by the universities the aspirant wants to study and the nation as well.

They are GRE Examination, IELTS Examination, TOEFL Examination, National Language Requirement, Statement Of Purpose (SOP). Academic reputation in under-graduation however matters important.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) :

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is one of the eligibility exams, that is highly required for even applying to the university the aspirant wishes to study. The maximum marks the aspirant can score in GRE is 340. This exam has two sections, quantitative (Math) and verbal (English). Maximum mark that could be scored in each section is 170. Likewise, the minimum mark to be scored for passing is 130 per section. Some universities don’t require GRE scores. But every reputed university in the globe, that gives the aspirant a very good quality education and enhances his/her knowledge, requires the GRE scores on compulsion and they also have the information put in the admission requirements section in their university website itself. Some of these reputed universities also put down the minimum requirement of marks to be scored in GRE to get admitted in their university, mostly above 320 out of 340.

Hence, scoring good GRE scores will get the aspirant a highly reputed university to study. The score validity for the test is five years. The test could be taken anytime in a year because tests are conducted nearly 5 times every month. But, booking seats for taking up the exam has to be done before 2-3 months from the date the test is taken, to be on the safer side.

IELTS Examination :

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. This is another greatly necessary course in all the countries while pursuing the higher studies in international universities abroad. This exam tests the aspirant if he or she could be able to understand the advanced English words because most of the universities have their syllabus framed in a very technical manner. It also tests he/she could grasp the meanings and the synonyms of the words since, most of the test takers are not the native speakers of the language. There are four sections in this test. The sections are Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW).

This is an online-based test. The marks are on a scale 0 – 10. Commonly known as 9-band scale in its terms.

Each section is tested and the scores are made average for the test taker. Some universities require only 6 or 6.5 IELTS scores. But the average score required for the aspirant to apply to most of the good university that provides good knowledge is 7.0 or 7.5. There are also some highly reputed universities that sometimes require IELTS score even above 8, since they might have framed their syllabus with advanced English vocabulary. The score validity for IELTS Examination is 2 years.

Hence, taking IELTS test is of utmost importance and is compulsory for all the aspirants who wish to take ups their higher education abroad.

TOEFL Examination :

TOEFL stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language. This test is also similar to that of IELTS. This is also an English language test considering the same objectives like Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW), as IELTS does. This is a pen and paper based as well as online-based test. The total marks for CBT (Computer Based Test) is on a scale 0 – 120. Every section consists of 30 marks each. The pen and paper test score is reported on a scale 0 – 6, though the mark range is between 310 and 677.

This test is also an important test but, any one of these tests IELTS or TOEFL taken with a good required score, is sufficient to obtain admissions into the world class universities.

National Language Requirement :

Another important aspect in studying abroad is that, the aspirant should have to learn the national language of that particular country where the university is located. It is expected to be learnt because the skill is needed for basic living and survival in the country. Else, it will surely tend to be a nightmare without the local language in different nations or continent which is thousands of miles far from your hometown. Without learning the language, the government itself does not allow you to apply for the university in the locality.

When the aspirant chooses universities in USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia where the national language is English itself, there need not be separate test again to be taken. IELTS or TOEFL itself is sufficient. But, when the aspirant chooses the countries in other nations where English is not a national or widely spoken language, separate tests ought to be taken to get admissions in the university.

For instance, when the aspirant chooses a university in Germany, it is mandatory for him/her to take up the Zertifikat Deutsch (ZD), an internationally recognized exam to test the German language ability. A common level of A2 or B1 has to be taken and completed by the aspirant as required by the university for the sake of the aspirant himself.

Statement of Purpose (SOP) :

It is an admission essay or a personal statement written by an applicant, consisting his/her achievements, goals, compare and classify the list on explore the faculty and research projects in the university the aspirant applies to.

This statement is also of utmost importance that the university admits the aspirant based on the SOP mostly.

These SOP's should never be copied or just edited by another SOP from the internet, as it may be considered plagiarism and may also lead to the aspirant being expelled from the university even if he/she has got the admission and started the courses.

Hence, drafting an SOP has to be done with utmost care, since it plays a major role in getting admissions to the aspirant's dream university.

Academic Requirements :

The academic reputation the aspirant has in his/her under-graduation plays a vital role in applying to a university. All the criteria such as CGPA, projects done, papers presented, area of interest and contribution to the society associating it with the degree the aspirant studies are all noted for evaluation in the admission process by the university before admitting him/her.

Selection and Admission :

After all these procedures are once done, the next and the most important aspect of all the others come in to task that is, the selection of the universities. A complete study on the type of degree and the specializations in the major, have to be decided by the aspirant. There has to be a lot of study, research, field work in the web done and even opinions from the people the aspirant knows living in the place if possible are some major works to be done while selecting the university.

Even some universities ranking websites like Top Universities and Times Higher Education can be utilized in referring their rank globally.

Now, after some universities matching the course the aspirant wants to pursue have been shortlisted, the avenues provided, the laboratory facilities available, type of placements and their percentage have to be considered, in selecting the right university for the aspirant. Once, the university is selected after final consideration, the aspirant has to wait for the universities to begin accepting the admission applications.

Then, the applications have to be submitted to the universities via online and wait for the offer from them. It may take some time for the aspirant to receive his/her offer.

These are the major objectives to be exuberantly completed by the aspirants to pursue their higher education with a good quality abroad, to have their knowledge enhanced and to get placed in the field he/she wishes to work and serve the world using their intellect and knowledge in.

- Naveen Saravanan