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So, are you ready to leave?
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Even the most informed can be all at sea wading through procedures prior to studying abroad. But help is at hand, thanks to an enterprising young man.
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WE MET outside a bar. Hmmm... where else can one meet a longhaired, 23-year-old foreign-returned young man, you ask? He carried a magazine with him, not a beer can, and it was neither a film-based nor an upmarket lifestyle glossy. Arjun Jindal was holding India's first interactive magazine for study abroad, conceived, planned, produced, and edited by him. He visualised the need for such a magazine as soon as he stepped into a Massachusetts college to study Business Administration with International Finance and Economics. He followed it up with research, feasibility discussions with professors and publishers and months after his return to India with a BS degree, he had launched Ready to Go?
Studying abroad is no more a dream of a privileged few. With financial institutions falling over each other to provide loans, more students can now pursue their studies abroad. But in spite of all the career fairs and college promotions that take place in our cities, young hopefuls still find the prospect confusing and daunting. Whether one wants to go for undergraduate studies, masters' programmes, doctoral research or short-term courses, there is a lot one needs to know before being able to decide. Acronyms like IELTS, SAT, GMAT, TOEFL, and GRE can give students a scare, if not a complex, but Ready to Go? attempts to put the minds of students and parents at ease.
"When I went abroad after my Class 12 boards, I felt absolutely confused. So many of my cousins have studied abroad, and I had taken a lot of inputs from them before I left. If I could feel so confused, I wondered how students, who were the first in the family to step abroad would feel. This set me thinking, and that is how the seed for this magazine was sown," said Arjun, in a professional manner.
Believed to be India's first comprehensive magazine that informs and guides students as well as parents on education abroad, Ready to Go? has alliances with the MBA Jungle- Jungle Media Group, Student Advantage, and STA Travel. The Student Advantage Membership is the largest student discount programme in the U.S.A., accepted at more than 15,000 locations there as well as online. The bi-monthly magazine is Delhi-based and is available across six other cities in India — Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bangalore.
For the first time in India an education-based magazine has tied up with the U.S. Consulate and the British Council to provide information on U.S. visas and education in the U.K. respectively. Each of the subsequent six issues of Ready to Go?, including the June and July numbers, will focus on two diverse subject areas, which will be written by British academics. Queries on when to apply for a visa, which type to apply for, and other related issues will be directly addressed by the U.S. Consulate.
The June issue's cover story was about money matters, giving the low-down on funding options from bank loans to on-campus employment. Together with appealing visuals, quotes from those who have availed themselves of these funds, and experiences of students who have studied abroad, the articles give the reader a clear picture. There are tips to improve GRE /GMAT scores, profiles of universities and a lot more. "The potential for such a magazine is gigantic," predicted the young publisher. "I can't imagine why no one thought of it earlier. The existing education magazines can do much more than what they are doing now to really help students." Coming soberly from this tall, slim scion of an affluent Kolkata-based family, the words don't sound like those of an upstart.
Serious content, innovative printing, and intelligent marketing are evident in the magazine. "Things will get better and better as we start the Student Representative Program," said Arjun. "We have been humbled by the numerous inputs that we got from students and parents. It's wonderful to see people reading the magazine from cover to cover. We sold 50,000 copies of the inaugural issue, and hope to reach every student who aspires to study abroad," he added.
So, are you ready to go? Check out this magazine priced at Rs.50. Write to support@iamreadytogo.com with queries that you might have with your application or log on to www.iamreadytogo.com.
MALA KUMAR
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