It isn’t always US university academic counselors and educational consultants who dispense information to prospective students in India. Many Indian engineering students who are currently leaving the country to pursue studies in US universities in the fall of 2011 got information about academic programs and processes through social media sites.

On popular online social networks and at no cost whatsoever, US counselors or graduate coordinators guide students on various topics related to academics. Contrast this with educational consultants in Indian metros who provide similar information for a price.

In the past two years, senior students who advise freshers on social media sites (such as Facebook) and on websites (such as Edulix) have substantially supplemented, if not replaced, counselors and consultants.

A student goes through the process of finding admission with far too many questions in his head—from how to compile scores of various exams to how to get a profile evaluation done; from applying correctly to the university to writing the resume and the statement of purpose. The process continues till the post-admission stage, including facing the visa interview.

Instead of asking the counselors, students now ask their seniors through social media. Students point out how Facebook forums are easy, quick, and free. Some even think that counselors are redundant.

Profile Evaluation

Thus far it was counselors or consultants who were advising students on which colleges would suit a student. Now, senior students do the “tedious job” of assessing applicants’ forms to find the right university. This happens over Facebook and Edulix, the latter describing itself as a “crowd-sourced” one-stop resource providing free information to aspiring undergraduate and graduate students. A majority of its members are from India.

On Edulix students get advice that can maximize the chances of admission; such advice includes categorizing of colleges as per the probability of the specific enquiring student gaining admission, even including information on which colleges accept students with low GRE scores.

Facebook is equally good in dispensing advice; however, here the profile evaluation is not as rigorous as that done on Edulix. Facebook has no forum on profile evaluation, each person replies with whatever he/she knows. For best free advice on the question “Which university should I get into?” Edulix is the best forum, it is managed by seniors.
One student who used the services of both educational consultants and Edulix paid Rs. 14,000 to the consultant (low, he said, when compared to those who charge Rs. 45,000). He said that the consultants are “worth it as they do everything” from sourcing the right e-mail ID to couriering documents to the university.

Another student from Bangalore said, “I don’t want to put down the counselors but they have not been useful. I get better, faster and more detailed information from my seniors about colleges.” Besides, not every college has a counselor. The Facebook forums offer details of several processes. One forum has the entire text of the visa interview faced. A student said, “Before I went to the interview, I read every visa experience (on social media sites). Finally, it was like telling about your plans to a stranger. The counselor just scares you (about the visa interview).”

FAQs documented

Besides, the seniors reply to each question patiently and create FAQ documents. So, documents titled “Immunizations,” “Useful Terms to Know” and “Travel Guide” are all available on the Facebook pages. They tell students which academic certificates to bring to the US, what medical checks to get, what American English to use, which things to carry, and even words (American English) to get by in the US.

Handholding all the way

The handholding of freshers by the seniors goes on beyond the admission stage. On social media sites, the seniors address every query that the students going abroad for the first time have. They receive freshers at the airport and offer tips such as which airlines will accept excess baggage. Choosing roommates is also done over social media, especially Facebook forums. One Bangalore student found a roommate (he wanted a non-smoking, non-drinking companion) from Hyderabad. He said that for such queries he would rather use Facebook than ask the counselor.

The sites are,
• www.edulix.com/Edulix,
• www.msinus.com,
• www.facebook.com/
• www.groups/isa.triveni/