Studying outside India
The part nobody is paid to tell you.
How undergraduate admission actually works in 8 countries, which tests each usually involves, and where the official information is. No fee estimates, no rankings, no partners, and nothing that sends your details anywhere.
Read this first
What this page deliberately does not carry
Most study-abroad information you will find is published by someone paid when you apply. This is not, and the difference shows in what has been left out.
No fee or cost figures
Tuition varies by institution, by year and by exchange rate. A number here would be wrong by the time you read it, and it is the number families decide on.
No deadlines
Set by each university and each application system, and changed between cycles. Their page is the only reliable one.
No rankings or "top" lists
A ranking answers a question about institutions, not about whether one suits you. We do not publish one.
No immigration advice
We link to the government body that decides and stop there. Anything more would be regulated advice from the wrong source.
Eight systems
They are not variations on the same thing
A UK application commits you to a subject; a US one does not. A German public university may not accept Indian Class 12 on its own. Those differences decide more than any ranking does.
United Kingdom
Three-year undergraduate degrees, applied for through one central system, with a subject chosen at the point of application rather than after a year of general study.
Apply through UCAS · IELTS
United States
Four-year degrees where you usually choose a major after a year or two, and where the application is read as a whole rather than scored on marks alone.
Apply through Common App · SAT, ACT, TOEFL, Duolingo English Test
Canada
Three- and four-year degrees, applied for by province rather than nationally, with admission weighted heavily towards your Class 12 marks.
Apply through EduCanada · IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo English Test
Australia
Three-year undergraduate degrees with a mid-year intake as well as the main one, and admission largely on Class 12 results.
Apply through Study Australia · IELTS, TOEFL
Germany
Public universities that charge no tuition fee to most students, including international ones — with an entry requirement that Indian Class 12 alone often does not meet.
Apply through Study in Germany · IELTS, TOEFL
Netherlands
A large number of English-taught bachelor’s degrees at public universities, with a central application system and published tuition set by law.
Apply through Study in NL · IELTS, TOEFL
France
Public universities with low tuition and a distinct parallel system of grandes écoles, with a dedicated application procedure for Indian students.
Apply through Campus France · IELTS, TOEFL
Japan
Four-year degrees with a growing set of English-taught programmes, and a national examination for international applicants to most Japanese-taught ones.
Apply through Study in Japan · TOEFL, IELTS
The tests
What you would actually sit
Fewer than most students expect. An English language test is the common requirement; the aptitude tests are largely a United States concern, and many universities there no longer require one.
SAT
Aptitude testA reasoning test in reading, writing and mathematics, used mainly by universities in the United States. Many now treat it as optional, and which ones do changes between cycles.
Administered by College Board · usually part of applying to United States
ACT
Aptitude testThe other United States aptitude test, covering English, mathematics, reading and science. Universities that accept one generally accept the other.
Administered by ACT · usually part of applying to United States
IELTS
English language testAn English language test accepted for study and immigration across the UK, Australia, Canada and much of Europe.
Administered by British Council, IDP and Cambridge · usually part of applying to United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, France, Japan
TOEFL
English language testAn English language test widely accepted in the United States and elsewhere. Institutions publish their own required score.
Administered by ETS · usually part of applying to United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, France, Japan
Duolingo English Test
English language testA shorter, cheaper online English test accepted by a growing but limited set of institutions. Check whether the specific university accepts it before sitting it.
Administered by Duolingo · usually part of applying to United States, Canada
Official site for Duolingo English Test (opens in a new tab)
Going abroad is one option, not the good one
It is expensive, it is a long way from home at eighteen, and it is not a solution to not getting the rank you wanted in India. There are routes here that reach the same work, and some of them start after Class 10.