The advent of the Internet has reduced much of the need for face-to-face contact with individual universities but the opportunity to talk to someone in person should never be passed by as a way of gathering a valuable insight into what will be a life-changing decision to go and study for a graduate qualification internationally. Put quite simply, education fairs provide one of the best methods of meeting your prospective university without you having to leave your own country.
Education fairs have been an established way of meeting universities and their representatives for many years. Arranged and promoted by commercial and governmental organisations alike, education fairs provide an exciting format for potential students and universities to meet one another.
First and foremost you will have an opportunity to meet representatives from universities that you are interested in spending a year or more studying at for your graduate qualification. Your basic questions are the least you can expect to be answered when you meet these representatives but more than this, you will need to ensure that key issues such as programme content, careers advice and the cost of your education are addressed.
The physical appearance and composition of education fairs vary enormously. Some, such as those run by such organisations as IDP Education Australia or The British Council feature booths allowing for interviewing space and large-scale marketing material for individual universities. These events tend to include more than 50 institutions and are held in either dedicated conference centres or large hotels. Others are much smaller in nature, often promoting a small number of universities specialised in a single academic area or at a specific level, such as graduate or research.
First and foremost you will have an opportunity to meet representatives from universities that you are interested in spending a year or more studying at for your graduate qualification.
What is often common to both types of education fair are the activities organised around simply visiting the attending universities. For example, it is routine for the organisers of such events to offer expert seminars focusing on the mechanics of studying abroad such as scholarships and financing your education, application tips, visas and career prospects. These are excellent opportunities for you to gain extra information on some of the more general aspects of international education and have some of your concerns addressed by specialists in the field. In some cases, sample academic lectures are also showcased so as to give you a flavour of what studying abroad might actually be like.
Preparation is essential if you want to make the most of your opportunity of meeting a university representative or admissions counsellor. All events of this kind are well publicised ahead of time and have clear attendance lists for participating institution so you know who’s going to be there before you arrive. Thijs van Vugt, director of iE&D Solutions BV, an educational consultancy firm in the Netherlands and former International Marketing Officer at Tilburg University cites unprepared students as one of the worst features of education fairs for university representatives, “if a student simply takes a brochure or a pen then most universities will view them as an unlikely candidate for their programmes. Students should demonstrate that they have a genuine interest in learning what an institution has to offer.”
So, how do you prepare? Well, the first thing you must do is explore the range of programmes on offer at the institutions participating in the fair at your local venue. Make sure you have either a paper copy of their prospectus or view book, or at least access to their online course catalogue so that you can review the type of programme available in the subject area you are interested in. Pay particular attention to how the programme is structured - how it is taught, whether by lecture or by seminar and who teaches on the programme. It is this area that may well be the most important to you and so ensure that you have a complete understanding of what the aims of the programme are. If you are a potential research of PhD student, investigate the individual academic strengths in the area of interest to you and what types of research are already being undertaken in the department in question.
Van Vugt sees thousands of students at education fairs every year and can quickly tell the difference between a likely candidate and one that is simply making generic enquiries, “above all, I want to see a student make a beeline for my stand and introduce themselves as someone who has already been in touch with us, either by telephone or email, and now interested in finding out more in person – face to face.”
Make sure the institution you’re interested in is well known and, in both a national and international context, recognised and accredited.
Broader issues around choosing the right institution for your graduate degree also have to be taken into account. Though experience of international education is in itself a good thing to have on your resume, prospective employers tend to have a more sophisticated approach and look for qualifications from recognised and academically respectable institutions. Make sure the institution you’re interested in is well known and, in both a national and international context, recognised and accredited. Your qualification will need to be transportable and valid wherever you decide on settling. One of the more recent phenomena in this respect is the rise of global league tables, rating universities in many different countries according to various factors such as the quality of their research, how international their staff and students are, the amount they spend on their library and how “employable” their graduates are.
Above all else, do your homework on costs. If financial aid is your primary concern, ensure that your background research has established which institutions offer financial aid and which do not. Fees for masters and PhD programmes vary enormously from subject to subject, institution to institution and country to country. Additionally, consider the cost of living related to the institution you are interested in. Are there opportunities to take loans or offset some of the costs by working and studying at the same time? Each country has very specific rules and regulations concerning the ability of students to work and so you will need to establish whether the programme you are interested in is located in a country that will allow you to raise some of the costs for your period of study through part-time employment.
Above all else, do your homework on costs. If financial aid is your primary concern, ensure that your background research has established which institutions offer financial aid and which do not.
When you’re at the fair, locate the institutions you are particularly interested in on the floor plan (always provided) and make your way to see them. Be patient, as some fairs can be particularly busy, and wait your turn to talk to one of the representatives. Present your questions clearly and concisely – offer information on your background only when asked and if you have certificates with you, keep them in your bag until they’re needed – and take notes if you think this will help you. Don’t forget to take the opportunity to assess the people you are talking to – are they interested in you and your questions? Do they seem professional? Meeting people face-to-face like this is as much about you making a judgement as it is about them providing you with relevant and comprehensive information.
Though more of our day-to-day activities are moving online, the interest in education fairs continues to grow. Last year over 9,000 individual events were held in more than 70 countries attracting hundreds of thousands of students all with the same idea – finding out about study opportunities overseas face to face. If there is an education fair near you, don’t miss it – it might change your life.