STUDY ABROAD PROSPECTS FOR THE SPRING 2021 INTAKE

As a student aspiring to study abroad, you may find it difficult to do so taking into consideration the current rules and restrictions while commuting from one place to another for preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. After graduation, most students apply to Universities abroad for their post-graduation and become a part of the Spring or the Fall intake for that year.

The students initially finish their graduation by June and hence apply for their post-graduation right away during Fall in September or they even have the option to wait and apply during Spring in March. Both options are completely plausible in their own way as each of these has its own advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantages of the Fall intake are the number of courses it offers, the employment opportunities are higher than in Spring, and the fact that one will finish his/her post-graduation before the students who apply for the Spring intake. On the other hand, applying in Spring is an easier transition as one does not apply with thousands of students, there is increased staff support, one of the biggest advantages is the mentorship programs which help you for on-time graduation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the daily functioning of various countries and their citizens. Due to this, the entire world is trying to find a cure for the Coronavirus in hopes of stabilizing the way of life and protect the countries’ economies from crumbling down. Many research faculties have joint hands to create a vaccine for the virus, that of course is no easy feat as it takes months of research, collection of vital information regarding the virus, trial, and error leading to the formation of a vaccine for the virus. News has been that a vaccine for the Coronavirus may be developed by the end of the year or by mid-2021. Inspite of all the uncertainty, many Universities are trying their best to function during the ongoing pandemic. This in turn is proving to be difficult for the Universities, students have had all their lectures canceled till further notice. The current situation has forced Educational institutions to suspend teaching in physical classrooms and transition to an online medium by conducting online lectures. Even though it has been easy for some Universities who had kept an eye on the spread of this virus since its signs started to show, some educational institutions are still having a lot of trouble to set up an online medium of communication and to organize their students and professors so as to maintain decorum while the lecture is in progress. Foreign Universities have also stated that the admissions of international students will not be overlooked and will be handled as soon as possible.

Some countries such as Denmark, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, etc are ready to lift the lockdown as strict rules and regulations were adopted by these countries at an earlier stage. The UK estimates a lift in the lockdown just after a few months. Even though the lockdown may be lifted, there is no official statement from the above-mentioned countries until now about whether the educational institutions will be working in a physical capacity.

It is advised that students postpone their plans to study abroad till the end of the year 2021 if one wants to travel to the designated University. Online lectures however will be held so preferably the admissions of the international students will not be delayed further. The education sectors worldwide are already facing a dilemma of the procedures to be applied for providing the students with educational opportunities other than online lectures. There are numerous study applications yet to be processed by the Universities and this has slowed down the admission process a lot. The way of living has changed, most students who wanted to study abroad are applying to their national universities and this has increased the load on these Universities. Due to all these problems faced by us, it is safe to assume that it is highly unlikely that by the Spring of 2021 Universities will open their doors for international students. In relevance to the recent situation at hand, it is presumable that it will be at least till the next year that things will be remotely back to normal.

Contact Grad-Dreams experts if you are planning to study abroad.