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WHAT DROVE ME TO BECOMING AN EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR

Since this is my first blog article, I must mention here how I got into Educational counseling and became an Admissions coach for students going overseas for education. It happened in the late nineties when I was very actively interacting with students who had just finished high school and were preparing to go to college. This was the time when my own children were also preparing for college. During this time I noticed that admissions in most Delhi University colleges, the top ones, started at say 98% and ended at 96%!

The same was also true of the technical and professional schools where students who came in the top numbers in Entrance tests got in. Phew….. and what happens to the others? I had the opportunity of knowing a few cases where unsuccessful students were getting suicidal because of this…. And mind you these were not unintelligent children, these were children who had aggregates in the range of 80 – 90% and still were not able to get into colleges of their choice or into the specializations of their choice. Our education system was totally messed up and actually still is!

At a personal level I started counseling these students. I knew I could not do anything to change the system but one thing that I could do was talk and counsel them with another option that could work for them. I started talking to the effected children individually and gave them the option of studying in a better environment and pursuing their dreams. I could actually see the face and glow change in the first few students that I counseled. Slowly I could see the excitement building up and within a period of 3 months I was able to dispatch my first 2 students to the US to chase their dreams! The conversion from being suicidal to actual excitement to a sense of achievement, is a face that I see in my dreams even today. However this was/is achievable only by students who had/have the affordability to study overseas.

This is how it all started…..even today, our Admission system remains the same. My heart pains at those who have the caliber, but don’t have the affordability and are deprived of opportunities because of non availability of a “seat” in our own Country. There is still a very large number of these “intelligent” children who neither belong to the OBC’s or SC/ST or any other reserve category and don’t have the affordability to go overseas, what do these students do? I had an opportunity a few years ago to meet with the then Education Minister and pose this question. I also had an alternate plan – which I was asked to present and I did. I am sure, (with the government change) my business model/plan, is still accumulating dust in the ministry.

However, at my own level, I still visit schools and given the opportunity, counsel students to always keep their options open just in case they are unable to secure admission in their own country. It’s a sad situation… but the truth!

Today, the kids that I counseled about 15-20 years ago are all very successfully placed. Some chose to come back, and some chose to home in the countries where they studied and made a bond with. What started as an option ultimately turned out to be the 1 st choice for some and a choice with which they are very happy. For the others it turned out to be blessing in disguise. Whatever the reasons, my bottom line is that - it gives me an immense pleasure when I hear from them to see how happy they are and how well they are doing for themselves! As a Coach who is also a parent – this is an incomparable feeling!