Is it worth it to go to education fairs etc if you're looking to study abroad?

calvin1719

calvin1719

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From what I know, there is nothing useful that comes from these fairs etc. from companies like EdVoy, Upgrad, EdWise... Has anyone been to these and is the fair worth my time?

As far as I know, they say representatives from unis are there but I have a had time believing unis send reps just for these things. I think the education consultancies are just going to be pushing their services and nothing much else will be there.

I'd appreciate it anyone who has attended these can share their experience/review.

Edit: I'm mainly looking at postgrad programmes in the EU, principally Germany.
 
I had a few friends attend online seminars for different US universities. The only positive is that a few of them offered application fee waivers ($80-$100 per application). I don't see any other upside, you already have a bunch of resources to find the quality of education and extra curricular activities offered by these universities.
 
It depends how you define useful.
There is legit way of going, doing gre or gmat or sat and go to great unis that are expensive or if your profile is ok, not much money to spend but just want to go abroad to a decent uni.
If its latter, then these fairs are ok. They do have uni reps but they are usually employees who stay in India. Many time they are consultant reps who work on behalf of college or uni.
The fairs are just many such people in one place.

You can always go to a company like IDP or similar to explore options based on factors you are looking for. If your target college or uni is represented by them, then its useful and makes it easier to get in.
You can always ask the uni directly if they have Indian reps or direct reps you can talk to or meet in India.
 
Thanks.
Some of these advestise easy loans, having tie-ups with lenders, etc. Is there any substance to this, like if getting a loan directly through a bank is difficult because of quanta or collateral requirements, can these tie-ups help get those loans easier?
 
calvin1719 said:
can these tie-ups help get those loans easier
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Nope, the most they can do is connect you to someone in the loan department of the bank. The bank has its own set of policies that it has to follow. You can directly contact the banks or use something like prodigy. You can also use something like gradright which provide the same service, I got loan offer from a few banks/NBFCs through them.
 
Do not connect with someone in the loan department. They will harass you to death about the documents. There are now a lot of agencies that actually make your life a lot easier.

I have had some people tell me about their really good experiences with them.

As for education fairs conducted by local companies, they are usually data gathering exercises. I would recommend talking to some botique/niche players who specialise in applying to top universities (without charging a bomb) and play it by the ear.
 
soulweaver said:
Can you tell me where you are at? I have a couple of people I know who've taken advice from places. These folks recently graduated from John's Hopkins, Columbia, and Wharton. I can get phone numbers.
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Delhi. And honestly with the kind of academic record I have, top-tier is not going to happen, and US is not somewhere I want to go anyway. I'm basically looking into EU places for a postgrad programme, data analysis.
 
calvin1719 said:
Thanks.
Some of these advestise easy loans, having tie-ups with lenders, etc. Is there any substance to this, like if getting a loan directly through a bank is difficult because of quanta or collateral requirements, can these tie-ups help get those loans easier?
Click to expand...
There's no harm visiting such fairs as you get a fair idea on various parameters like the top universities, the courses offered, loans, procedures etc. Just don't commit on any of those booths else get ready to get spammed with calls and smses every day.
 
calvin1719 said:
Delhi. And honestly with the kind of academic record I have, top-tier is not going to happen, and US is not somewhere I want to go anyway. I'm basically looking into EU places for a postgrad programme, data analysis.
Click to expand...

It is not always about academics. The doctor bloke who went into JH had 60% IIRC. His other activities, a great essay got him into the school with an aid of almost USD50k. Anyway, I already asked for numbers, let's see what happens.

Also, like I was saying in the other thread, the biggest challenge with EU is language, which also affects our ability to get part-time and full-time jobs.
 
Education fairs are good only if they are free to attend. But before attending one, I'd suggest you do some research regarding which unis are you interested in, how was their intake last year, etc. Then check if that uni is taking part in that fair. Some questions that you can ask in person to get more clarification as they won't be available on the website:
  • What is current percentage of postgrads who have landed a job? Are there career fairs organized? What assistance wrt to job search should a student expect from the uni?
  • Opportunities for on campus jobs like TA RA? What is the pay and do you get any tuition waiver?
  • Where do students live? What are the monthly expenses? Are there social events like cultural, team building, etc., organized?

Since you are looking at Germany specifically, do apply for APS certificate ASAP even before you start the application process. It was hell for me in 2023 xD

calvin1719 said:
Some of these advestise easy loans, having tie-ups with lenders, etc. Is there any substance to this, like if getting a loan directly through a bank is difficult because of quanta or collateral requirements, can these tie-ups help get those loans easier?
Click to expand...
Maybe but the interest rates will change. It won't be fixed. Avoid these loan companies. Get it from big banks. If that's not possible, you can get the loans refinanced at a lower rate
 
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