Read on Twitter
Been seeing some tweets about education abroad and whether it's equitably accessible. As someone who's been immensely privileged (Masha'Allah) to be able to work on a few such applications, here's how the process is, in fact, SUPREMELY INACESSIBLE to less privileged. Thread 1/n-
2/n.
Write IELTS/TOEFL, costs 14K-16K roughly including basic prep text books.
GRE/GMAT if you're applying to programmes that require these scores, costs 16K to 18K. If you want coaching to get good scores to stand a chance, costs are anywhere between 20K to 40K depending on-
Write IELTS/TOEFL, costs 14K-16K roughly including basic prep text books.
GRE/GMAT if you're applying to programmes that require these scores, costs 16K to 18K. If you want coaching to get good scores to stand a chance, costs are anywhere between 20K to 40K depending on-
3/n - which coaching center you go to. If self-prep works, you need to procure books to prepare, which keep refreshing every few months, so older books may not always work. First-hand costs of such prep material is roughly around 2K.
And then come University application costs-
And then come University application costs-
4/n - which range from 5K to 25K roughly based on which school you want to apply to. Whip up a calculator and add that up and you'll know that the sum is quite substantial
Of course, if you want help from agents, etc etc, that will cost more. So yeah, money is a big factor-
Of course, if you want help from agents, etc etc, that will cost more. So yeah, money is a big factor-
5/n - Of course, it's not just about monetary ability. Body of extra-curricular work, references, academic performance, alma-mater pedigree are all big factors and are a direct function of privilege or lack thereof. Knowing the right people, having enough clout are all important-
6/n - none of which come without going to the right educational institutions, volunteering with the right NGOs or going to the right extra-curricular activities, again, all direct functions of privilege and societal standing. And I know how these are substantial factors in the-
7/n - process because I went through them and despite my privilege, I found them a pain. Now imagine someone with less privilege and monetary ability having to navigate the entire process; with little or no guidance and it should be obvious that Google and websites, no matter-
8/n - how detailed and clear are not the end-all of putting people on a level playing field when applying to universities abroad. So yeah, please check your privilege and acknowledge that for many in our country, getting into higher education in decent domestic universities-
9/n - itself is a very tough ask, let alone getting in universities abroad. And even if they struggle and beat the odds and get in, not everyone gets scholarships and there's no need to talk about how expensive education abroad is because you all know that. That's a HUGE factor-
10/10 - All in all, it's not easy for the privileged, imagine how difficult it is for those who aren't. /Thread
On that note, if anybody applying abroad needs help with their essays and can't spend on an agent, please feel free to approach me. I'll be happy to help you out and will be upfront about how much help I can commit to. Thanks, @Omaiha11 for the inspiration here.
