Aspirants may put foreign university plans on hold due to Covid-19

The Covid-19 lockdown has dampened the hopes of aspirants who want to study abroad. Many students who got their admission letters from the universities are still

The Covid-19 lockdown has dampened the hopes of aspirants who want to study abroad. Many students who got their admission letters from the universities are still awaiting dates for start of their semesters. Aspirants are also apprehensive about classes going online.

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“I wanted to study abroad to experience their teaching methodology and their focus on practical projects over theory. However, this year most universities might go for online classes. If that happens, I would apply for the course next year,” said a 22-year-old student who aims to bag a seat in the MBA programme at George Washington University. She is currently pursuing her graduation in management from the University of Mumbai and has been saving to study abroad for the past two years by working part-time.

“Meanwhile, I will also try applying for AIMS Test for Management Admissions (ATMA) and see if I can get through a good management institute in India,” she added.

Simranjeet Singh Chawla, 26, from Borivli, has been accepted to the Master’s in Data Science course at the RMIT University in Melbourne for the July intake. While no official word has come from the university on the semester dates, he is weighing his options.

“Even though my admission is confirmed, I’m still waiting for an official word on lectures and start of the semester from the university. If they are organising only online lectures for this semester then I might defer my admit to the February intake,” said Chawla.

According to experts, students will take tougher calls about their prospects in the next few weeks. “Most students would want to experience studying abroad in the real sense and won’t go for online classes. I feel more students will take a break from studies this year and focus on getting work experience, if at all, or try to get through the same course next year,” said Abhijeet Kumar, a career guidance coach who runs a private firm in the city.

Some students, however, are still hopeful of a shift in scenario by October. “I am scheduled to head to the UK in October on a scholarship. So far, I have not received any intimation of the academic year being postponed. There’s certainly a chance that they might move classes online but that won’t change much for me,” said Anish Gawande,23, a Rhodes scholar, scheduled to be at the Oxford University from October 2020.