Do you have a barrage of questions about college admissions?
Are you unsure of the right colleges to apply to?
Are you racking your brains about the kind of courses you should look at?
Don’t worry, kids.
We have something to clear out your confusion.
Since its admissions time, The Quint now has educational counsellors from CollegeDekho answering all your queries. Send in your sawaal for some expert advice on eduqueries@thequint.com. Here are the answers to some of them:
Dear Ayushi,
You can apply for Civil Services Exams even after you've completed your education. We would suggest that you complete your graduation in History Honours through regular classes rather than distance learning. History honours is offered by many Government Universities, including DU and JNU. Chances are that you might get admission in 4th or 5th cut-off list. Also, you can keep your options open by shortlisting some private universities where you can take up an undergraduate course relevant to your goal. In case you are not able to get through any of the Government Universities, you can always take admission in a Private University and carry on with your preparation for Civil Services Exams.
Dear Wahid,
Yes, it is very important to study further if you want to step up your career ladder. Since you were pursuing Commerce before starting your job, maybe you want to pick it up from there. 2009 is a long time ago, so you will need to start afresh.
The course curriculum, module etc. has changed in so many years. You can pursue a course in the online mode or via distance learning. Many Indian universities offer distance-learning programmes. Some of the more popular ones include:
Private Institutes offering distance learning programmes include:
Some of the top courses offered in the distance-learning mode include:
In addition, Institute of Management & Technical Studies offers online courses in BBA, BCA, BSc, PGDM, MBA etc. in association with various universities.
A word of caution, however; many distance learning & online courses offered in India are not UGC approved. So, you will need to check validity with the individual universities.
Dear Sharon,
Given your current academic background, doing something in the field of Biotechnology is a good option for you. Other than that, you can explore career options like Conservationist, Ecologist, Botanist, Geneticist, Horticulturist, Molecular Biologist, Plant Biochemist and Science Adviser etc. depending on your interest and skill set.
Just having a B Sc degree in today’s market is not enough to bag a good job. For increased job opportunities, we suggest that you pursue a Master’s degree course in a specialisation of your choice. Some of the options open for you include:
After these courses, you can explore job opportunities in the following domains:
Dear Reader,
Thanks for being so honest.
Commerce as a subject is anyways a practical oriented course, with very little theory. So you are safe there. But a little theory is essential for you to get your fundamentals straight. And that will help you in the long run.
You should choose a subject combination depending on what your career goals are. So for eg, if you want to venture into the field of Banking, then Accountancy, Financial Planning, Finance is essential.
Similarly, if you aim to do MBA in future, then opt for Economics, Financial Planning & Marketing.
If you are interested in taking up a job as an Analyst then Economics, Financial Planning and Finance is important.
So our suggestion will be to assess and analyse your skill set and career aspiration and then choose your majors. All the best.
Dear Mehul,
If you are sure that you want to pursue an MBA after completing your graduation and not wait to gain some first experience first, then now is the time to start the preparation. Getting into a good MBA college is very competitive these days. We suggest you start preparing for entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, CMAT, NMAT, MAT etc. and pave your way to a top MBA college in India. With these exam scores, you can make it Top MBA colleges in India such as IIMs, XLRI, MICA, SPJIMR, NMIMS, etc. These exams are spread over the months of September till February every year.
While all these MBA entrance exams have a varied difficulty level, CAT is considered the toughest one – and that is the only gateway to government management institutes such as IIMs. A good 6-8 months of preparation can help you score well in these exams.
Professional help from coaching centres for CAT aspirants will be an added advantage as most of them train you through complete understanding and regular performance checks in the form of Mock Tests.
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