As someone that has been exposed to the methods of education both in India and in England, I am glad to share my perspective on how these systems compare.
In India – where I did my ICSE – there is an emphasis on retention and the non-reliance of external inputs when taking an examination. The benefit of this is that Indian students develop a remarkable ability to retain large amounts of information (what we affectionately call 'mugging'), which can be useful later. It is little surprise that so many Indians go abroad and excel in fields such as medicine and finance, where the ability to quickly recall data is paramount to success.
In England – where I did both my +2 and university – students are encouraged to understand the base concepts and there is a much smaller reliance on absolute retention. Furthermore, one does not need to go through great lengths to describe how an answer is arrived at. One of the first things I was told upon reaching there, was that I needed to use fewer steps when answering math problems. As a student forged in the ICSE board system, I was used to making my answers as ‘idiot proof’ as possible, as we were always told that if the examiner could not follow the steps, we would be docked marks.
I was especially fortunate to get financial aid both from Eton and The London School of Economics, where I did my +2 and university respectively.
In the case of Eton, I had gotten in as an International Scholar, which provided for up to a 50% reduction in fees. Although the International Scholar programme is no longer run at Eton, the school does make emphasis to the fact that applicants should not consider the fees when applying. Today, the fees can be as hefty as £45,000 per year – many multiples of what one might pay even in a top tier Indian school. However, the bursary does provide financial support if a student gains a place in the school on merit and requires financial aid in order to attend.
In the case of LSE, financial aid is not so easy to obtain. Since university fees are heavily subsidised for UK citizens, most universities depend on international students financially. My fees while at LSE was in the range of £10,000-12,000 (I graduated in 2004; the numbers are significantly higher now). I paid the full fees for my first year, but as soon as I got there, I applied for aid. Eventually, the university did consider my family’s financial state at the time and offered me a reduction in fees of £5,000 per year. As you can imagine, this was a huge help at the time.
Ultimately, if a student is good, the institution will look favourably on a request for financial assistance. Many students lose out because they feel awkward to approach the bursary or because they are told by others that there is no point. Many people were shocked to learn that I received financial aid from a UK university, but when I checked, I realised that no one else had even bothered to try.
My advice to any student going abroad would be to establish a good track record and then use this to press your case for financial assistance. The worst that can happen is that you are told no, so there’s really no harm in giving it a go.
