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International universities spring semesters Jan 2008
KARACHI, Nov 13, 2007: Students are gearing up to leave for different
international universities to start their spring semesters (Jan 2008). Most are
finally getting done with their visa processes and the UK's University of
Buckingham has become a popular choice with some because of its "short-duration"
degrees.
"Students who have been accepted to universities abroad will be
required to be on campus by the first week of January for orientation, and to
enroll in the best courses available," said coordinator and counselor, Subika
Mughal.
Subika is an independent counselor working with different private
colleges around the city and she claimed that the majority of students she has
dealt with have preferred a UK degree to a US one.
"It might be because
they've been following the Cambridge system throughout their O- and A-levels so
they feel more comfortable with UK universities," she speculated.
The
British Council provided information on the most popular universities chosen by
students this term. "In addition to renowned universities such as Kings College
and others, students have shown a keen interest in the University of Buckingham,
which has been the number-one choice in the national students' survey for two
years running," said Naveed from the British Council.
The University of
Buckingham provides a two-year undergraduate degree for all its courses. "We get
the same degree in a year less than people doing an external program, or for
that matter any other UK university. It gives us ample opportunity to take a
year off and get some experience before attempting a postgraduate degree," said
Usman Skeikh, who will be starting his BSc in Economics this January at
Buckingham.
Other students felt that a two-year MA degree prolongs the
wait for professional life, so one-year programmes are better. "The degrees are
recognized by all overseas educational and professional institutions and,
although it is probably much harder to cover a three-year course in two years,
people who have graduated from Buckingham have said that the faculty and its
training is up to the mark," offered Salman Aleem, another student ready to
leave for his BA programme this January.
Some girls felt that a shorter,
two-year programme was much better. Saadia Ibrahim, who is waiting for her visa,
said that girls have to think much more before spending all that time and money
on a good education. A shorter degree means they can be done with a BA by age
21.
Subika Mughal also mentioned that it was considerably easier to have
the new UK student visa office in the city. Daily Times
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