Students throng expo to get admissions to overseas institutes

Hundreds of students appeared at the education expo organised by Students Solution on Sunday at a local hotel.

The Students Solution is a counselling organisation which provides opportunities for Pakistani youngsters who are willing to get admission to overseas colleges and professional institutes, Managing Director of the organisation Saima Asim told The News.

“We offer admissions to several colleges and universities of Australia, USA, Canada and the UK.” The candidates, who enrolled themselves during the day-long education expo, said that they would apply for admission to the autumn semester. The organisation offers admission and visa counselling for the UK and Australia against Rs15,000 while the package for USA and Canada is Rs19,500.

“I would take classes for IELTS, an English language test, which will complete in two months and after that I will appear in the test before applying for admission to a UK-based university,” said Muhammad Adeel who had come to the expo to get briefed about the technicalities of admission process.

Another student, Aziz, said that he had scored 7.0 bands in the language test and now he would apply for admission to an educational institution in the USA.

“I came here to get information about universities and their requirements. I was informed that the admission process would take at least three months,” Aziz said.

The organisation has a vast experience of over 10 years in counselling and almost 8,000 students have applied through Students Solution, Saima said.

During the exhibition, the consultants of the organisation briefed the students and parents on the procedure of admission and visa policies. Founded in 1998, the organisation helps students in getting answers to their problems, before they actually face them abroad, Saima claimed.

“My husband, Asim Mairaj, the founder and CEO of the organisation, got his higher degree from a UK University. During his stay, he learned that Pakistani students were not able to get highly paid jobs due to their language skills and educational background and I noticed the same problem during my education career in the USA. We then planned to establish a platform to guide the students so that they can overcome their problems,” she elaborated.

Students Solution asks its candidates to prepare and appear in the IELTS before applying for admission and visa in foreign universities. The organisation does not deal with cases without IELTS, Saima Asim added.

“Students Solution not only helps the students in learning about the academic policies and their impact on students’ visa but also guide them about alternatives available in travel, accommodation, and scholarships,” she said.

“Almost 80 per cent Pakistani students, especially people belonging to middle and lower middle class segments of society, have language issues. As such they usually get back-office jobs, which have low salary packages.”

Besides counselling the students, the organisation also helps candidates in immigration, work and visit visa category as well accommodating families in the UK.

Source http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=52226&Cat=4&dt=6/13/2011