Hi everyone,

I’m planning to pursue a Master's in Marketing/Business and I’m trying to decide which university and country would make the most sense for my profile.

I’ve spoken to a few consultants, but I feel that some of the universities they suggest may be influenced by their own interests/benefits rather than what is actually suitable for the student. I’d like to understand whether others have had a similar experience.

My_qualifications

My profile:

BA in Culinary Arts / Hotel Management

CGPA: 7.4

~3.5 years of work experience

Currently working at Accenture

Experience in Sales, Account Management, Brand Management & Performance Marketing

My current shortlist:

MBS – Germany

CBS – Germany

University of Twente – Netherlands

Hanken – Finland

My priorities are job opportunities, ROI, university reputation, career growth and long-term prospects.

Which of these would you choose for my profile? Which one would you avoid?

Also, do you think there are other universities/countries I should consider instead?

I’d really value opinions from current students, alumni or people who have actually worked in these countries, especially regarding employment, ROI and the reality after graduation.

Hey hey,

For those of you who started your Master's abroad around September last year (UK/Europe/US, wherever) it's been almost a year now, so how's it actually going?

Like real talk:

• Was it worth it so far?
• How's the culture shock / homesickness situation?
• Managing money okay or living on maggi and prayers?
• Made friends or mostly solo grinding?
• Any regrets, any "wish someone told me this before I came" moments?

Asking because I'm seriously considering making my life 10x harder and moving abroad too, so I want the unfiltered version, not the LinkedIn highlight reels.

Drop your experience, good bad or ugly all appreciated 🙏

ah its always ask for it my_qualifications are BA in history and poltical science

I'm looking for some honest advice from people who have done an MS in CS in the US after several years of industry experience.

my_qualifications:

• Bachelor's in CSE from reputed private college.
• 8.7 CGPA, graduated in 2021
• ~5 years of experience currently (will be ~6 years by the time I start an MS)
• Currently MTS Salesforce in India
• Earlier worked at startups on microservices, distributed systems, and scaling backend systems
• My interests are currently around distributed systems, AI/ML systems, agentic AI, and large-scale software systems

I'm considering applying for Fall 2027, so I'd probably have around 6 years of experience when I start.

My main question is: Does doing an MS at this point make sense?

For example, if I spend 2 years doing a top MS, I'd potentially graduate with ~8 years of total professional experience. Would US companies actually value that experience and consider me for a higher level, or could I effectively end up "resetting" and joining at MTS anyway?

I'm also considering the MS partly as a way to enter the US tech ecosystem and potentially move into higher-end roles in AI/systems. I'm not looking to do an MS just for the sake of having a master's.

Financially, this is also a major consideration. I don't have the ability to comfortably pay the full cost of a US MS, so I'd be heavily prioritizing scholarships, TA/RA opportunities, and universities with good ROI. However, if I got into a genuinely exceptional program (CMU/Stanford/Berkeley/MIT/UIUC/UCSD/etc.), I'd be willing to take considerably more financial risk.

So I'd really appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation:

1. Is ~6 YOE too late for an MSCS?
2. Does prior industry experience meaningfully help with post-MS leveling?
3. Is it realistic to graduate after 8 YOE and target senior-level roles rather than MTS?
4. Does an MS make sense if you're already at a good company like Salesforce?
5. Would you personally choose 6 more years of industry progression or 2 years at a top US MS + US job search in this situation?
6. Are there particular universities/programs that are especially good for someone with a distributed systems + AI background and a strong focus on funding/ROI?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who did their MS after 4–7+ years of experience, or who went from India → US MS → senior engineering roles.

Thanks!

Hi, I’m 26F, completed an MSc last year, working as RA, and preparing to apply for PhD positions in chemistry in Europe. My main targets are Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, & Sweden.

I’ve also been in a relationship with my boyfriend for about 4 years, and we are seriously considering getting married. He works in the corporate sector in procurement, so if I move to Europe for my PhD, the plan would ideally be for him to move with me and establish his own career there as well.

Does it make more sense to get married before I start my PhD, or should we wait until after I’m settled into the PhD?

I'm not asking whether I should marry him in general. We've already discussed marriage seriously. I'm trying to understand the practical implications of getting married before an international PhD move.

I wish to hear from people who have done a PhD abroad while married or who moved abroad with their partner before/during their PhD.

A few things I'd really like to know:

1. Did your partner move with you? How difficult was it for them to find work?
2. Did marriage/spouse residence rights actually make a meaningful difference?
3. For those in Europe, which countries have been particularly good/bad for dual-career couples?
4. Anything you wish you had discussed with your partner before moving abroad?

I do not wish to do more of a long-distance relationship. I want us together. Please help.

my_qualifications: MSc Chemistry

My_qualifications: I completed my bachelor's in ECE and now I am planning for higher education in germany.

As a full time corporate employee I am learning german but I am confused whether Goethe certification is actually needed because those courses are too costly for me, even though I am learning from some online less costly courses but if it's needed then I guess I have to save accordingly and enroll in the Goethe course. So people in German please help me figure out in which course i should enroll !!

I am confused because once I searched and Goethe's website doesn't show that it's mandatory for studies if I am enrolling in an English taught course but my friends told me it's compulsory and stuff for moving there...

Although I applied to the US, UK, as well as Singapore, my dream had always been to study in the US. I know the political climate is highly unstable, especially for immigrants, and I know that I could literally get booted out the country any moment, but the idea of studying in America just appealed to me so much.

I shot my shot basically, and got rejected from almost everywhere. Except UCLA, UC Berkeley, and CMU. Of 10 applications, 7 were outright rejections, but these three were waitlists. While the Berkeley and CMU waitlists didn't yield anything, I did end up getting off the UCLA waitlist a couple weeks ago, and my dream actually had life. The problem was that UCLA being a state university understandably gives no aid at all to international students. I would be expected to pay around 75k a year out of pocket for at least three years straight. Although my parents can afford it, it would be a significant financial investment for them, and I would be expected to make something big of myself to ensure their money doesn't go to waste.

Outside the US, I got accepted to UCL, Edinburgh, Imperial, and King's in the UK (sadly no Cambridge :(), and NTU and NUS in Singapore. While the UK unis gave me nothing, and NTU didn't offer me much either, I was awarded a 100% scholarship at NUS, as well as fully-funded living costs, monthly allowances, and a stipend as part of being accepted to their honor's college program on top of my scholarship. The biggest issue is that the scholarship requires me to first take up the MOE tuition grant, which is bonded. In other words, if I take it up, I'll have to stay in Singapore for four years after graduation and work for a company registered in the country.

I've been living in India my whole life basically. I want to leave this country. I want to go out and explore the world while getting the best education possible, and UCLA seemed like the no-brainer choice. Would it be unfair for me to put my parents through the financial stress however? It won't put them in debt, but it will take up around 65% of my family's combined annual income, and affect them noticeably. I've heard Imperial is also pretty good, but the UK job market for tech (I applied CS/AI/ML everywhere) is pretty crap and so I was quite put off by that.

So my_qualifications, I've been accepted to UCLA, NUS, NTU, and Imperial, and am unsure where to commit. Additional factors and circumstances explained above. Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

Basically the title. I have always wanted to study at an ivy league. Always been fascinated by the US, had multiple relatives, friends etc. go there and settle down in the past.

I wanted to know if going for my masters there would be feasible as of now. I am aware of the anti immigrant sentiment and the current geopolitical scenario is ruining my chances but realistically, if I were to crack an ivy, would it be worth the hassle to go there and if I do end up there, how hard is it for an indian to network with non-indians to secure a job. I mostly want to target finance/lifesciences/analytics roles.

Not just this but where can I start from, I have my eyes set on the 2028 intake as I would be working towards my GMAT as well. If there are any indians on this sub who are in an ivy league with a program that aligns with my roles, how would you say your experience was?

my_qualifications: 80% 10th, 86% 12th, BTech CSE from a T1.5 Uni with 8 CGPA, currently working in a lifesciences consulting firm with 11 months of work experience(Would only start applying after I gather about 20-24ish months of work ex).

my_qualifications

I am currently a dropper (19)

88% in boards (state boards)

I am good in Math and physics, appeared for Olympiad and gotten into seconds rounds of it

love to solve physics and math problems

>read some books about astrophysics( by baidyanath basu)and quantum physics (zettil)

>also some short story oriented books like

>six easy pieces

>six not so easy pieces

>the discovery of modern science

these books made me excited and to look into the vast majority of unknowns around us

(I am willing to learn, I have completed my 10th standard when I was 7th so if I follow a proper path I am willing to learn and go through it and study hard)

preparing for JEE and IAT along side JEE advance

i want to pursue physics and math and want to apply for research oriented theoretical physics or astrophysics courses and doing BSC then MSC then PHD

In India majority of colleges are not that research oriented with some exceptions like IISERS and IISC

My first plan was to do my BSC here and then if I get the opportunity then do MSc and PhD in somewhere Germany or whatever is best for me

but every mentor of mine who have followed this path are mostly done with there studies and most of them are doing works in some kind of lab or professor in a uni and only one of them is currently doing their masters

and majority of them said they don’t know what’s best now but all of them said the same thing that if I am willing to learn for a long time and don’t wanna pursue a really high paying job from IT and really love these math and physics then to pursue in Germany or the best uni I get from the start because that’s the best

but the problem is I am not attached to scholarship programmes much and don’t know what’s best to do where and when

the mentor who is doing his masters told me in Germany it’s free to study in uni but staying there and eating those things are not free and it costs him upwards of 5 to 10grand a year

so if anybody can let me under them and if they know how to get a fully funded student aid or scholarship for my upcoming studies then I would really appreciate it

also I am really sorry for my lack of knowledge about how foreign uni work and when I got to know the scores doesn’t matter and only probably SAT toefl and how much research or something that you did in the field you‘re trying to pursue

but I never had the opportunity or the knowledge on how to do something like remarkable that would make my application stand out

[NOT AT ALL REMARKABLE YOU MAY LAUGH ( somethings I did in my past which may not matter but just adding

>!did YouTube for 3-4 years when I was 8-12 and had 300 subscribers around 10k views deleted the channel!<

>!made a drone [no coding or remote control completely from scratch wires brushless motors]I was 12!<

>!made solar powered cars with battery and a sensor that would track the source 13!<

>!transfered a old mobile into a somewhat working laptop by combing it with a old laptop display battery ran custom os but when I was 15!<

>!i know a little latex!<

>!a little code!<

>!currently follow the mentor for codes related to matlab and to run simulations and run data analysis of pulsars (run it on Ubuntu)!<

Currently only studying for IAT and JEE because majority are saying to do engineering and to forget research oriented things here because few relatives did and they are not preparing for government jobs…

i wrote this right now without any AI or anything

if there is any mistake I am sorry

any kind of help would be appreciated

(my personal conclusion is to Follow my dreams but even my mentors are saying to start if I can from a good uni outside India then what would be the best for me)

I wish to pursue ausbildung in germany in a different field than IT. But the admission depends on the 12th scores. And mine are horrible and i also failed in maths even tho i was able to pass the other 5 giving me my passing certificate. Tbh i never appeared in any of the exams but during covid we were promoted and then gave us marks randomly. I did my 12th from NIOS in 2020. Will if affect my Bachelors in computer science? will it lead to visa rejections?

my_qualifications: BCA from ignou, 12th from NIOS, 10th from CBSE.

I want to go abroad—not necessarily to settle there, but to experience life in a different country while I’m still in my 20s.

My qualifications are decent enough to pursue a master’s, and I have a ~₹13 LPA job in India. But honestly, the FOMO is real. The US, Australia, Germany, Ireland, the UK—everywhere seems to be tightening immigration, while their own economies are struggling. It sometimes feels like no country really wants us anymore.

At the same time, staying in India feels like I might miss out on the experience of living abroad, meeting different people, travelling, and simply seeing what life is like somewhere completely different for a few years.

Do you guys feel the same way? Is there still a country where an Indian in their 20s can realistically go, experience a different kind of life, build a career, and enjoy a few years abroad without everything being an immigration nightmare?

my_qualifications

my_qualifications: I am a final-year BBA LLB student in India

I wanted to apply for an LLM at universities in the UK. However, I see every application has a fee that is so hefty.

Earlier, i thought it was free. Or am i confused?

It is almost 60-100 pounds for each.

"my_qualifications" 12th from pcmb stream

Hi everyone!

I’m from India and I’m planning to study in the UK for undergraduate studies, but I honestly have no idea where to start. 😭

I’ve spoken to a few education agents here, but I’m getting the feeling that some of them charge a lot and push students towards particular universities/courses, so I’d rather understand the process myself before paying anyone.

I’d really appreciate advice from Indians who have gone through this process themselves.

Basically, I want to know everything from scratch:

- How do I start researching UK universities and courses?

- How do I shortlist universities realistically based on my Class 12 marks, budget and career goals?

- Can I apply directly through UCAS without an agent?

- What exactly do I need for the UCAS application?

- How do references/personal statements work?

- Do I need IELTS/PTE if I studied in English?

- What documents should I prepare?

- How do I find and apply for scholarships?

- What should I know about tuition fees, deposits and living costs?

- After getting an offer, what happens next?

- How does the CAS and student visa process work?

- Is it realistic to handle the whole process myself, or are there parts where using an agent is actually worth it?

- Are there any common mistakes international students make that I should avoid?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who applied independently without an agent. If you did everything yourself, I’d love to know what your timeline looked like and what you wish you had known before starting.

Hi, I have submitted documents on 31st july, dispatched to delhi embassy on 5th august, got my fee receipt after submission and submitted that as additional documents (without the embassy requesting for it) on 17th august. Does this delay my visa? My course starts sept 7th DCU, and they have agreed for extenstion for couple weeks post that date as my classes only start on 15th. the registration deadline on their website is 25th sept, i have not contacted them further about the extension, should i ? my_qualifications are 12th graduate, applied for Bsc Psychology and Mathematics DCU

my_qualifications : I’m asking because I’m worried my friend may be rushing into a study abroad decision mainly because he really wants to leave India.

He is 22M, graduated ~3 months ago with a BTech in ECE from a private autonomous Tier 2/3 college. CGPA around 8.8–8.9, plus a strong national-level hackathon achievement. He got an on campus Infosys offer (3.6 LPA), but doesn't want to take it because of an 18 month bond with a ₹3 lakh penalty, n for him, he does NOT want to do the '3-4 lakh' kinda IT jobs...

He has always wanted to move abroad and initially planned a US master's. He got admits from ASU, Stony Brook, Pace, UMass etc., mostly MIS and some CS programs. But his visa got rejected. From what he told, the officer asked which uni he was going to, he started answering ASU and explaining why he chose it, and apparently the officer stopped him before he could finish and rejected the visa. He was obviously devastated and cried a lot afterward.

For a while, I thought this would make him reconsider the timing. Instead, he became extremely negative about the US and then pivoted almost immediately to Ireland after his consultancy suggested it.

Instead of postponing, he switched to Ireland through a consultancy and got into UCD's MIS program. Tuition is around 17 lakh, so much cheaper than the ~60–70 lakh US plan. His Ireland visa was submitted ~3 weeks ago, but there is still no decision and classes start 31 Aug. Apparently other students from the same consultancy are also waiting.

He's already mentally prepared to leave.

My concern isn't really the tuition, it seems affordable for the family. I'm worried about the career and immigration reality afterward for him.

He wants to stay abroad long term if possible, although he says he'll return after 1–2 years. He seems to assume that getting the master's will give him a reasonable path to a job and eventually PR.

Questions I have:

• How good is UCD MIS for an ECE graduate?
• Is Ireland actually a realistic long-term immigration/PR pathway in 2026?
• How difficult is it to get a job after a 1-year MIS, especially without significant work exp?
• Would it have been smarter to work in India for 1–2 years, even if the job was mediocre like Infosys?

I completely understand wanting to leave India, and I don't want to discourage him from pursuing that. I'm just worried the decision is being driven by “I need to get out” rather than a realistic assessment of Ireland's job market and immigration situation.

If you were in his position in 2026, would you go to UCD for MIS now, or work for 1–2 years in India and then pursue a master's abroad?

Especially interested in hearing from Indians currently studying/working in Ireland, or people who went through UCD MIS.

Ok, so I am in 12th grade right now. I decided back in 9th grade that I would study in Germany, so I started researching it and had everything figured out. I even had a roadmap pinned up and had started shortlisting universities with the program I wanted (Bachelor's in Mechatronics). I had every single thing figured out, language, timeline, application process, visa process, etc. I had even started networking with people currently in Germany in the field I see myself in in the future, noted down all the resources with which I can look for housing at least 6 months before arrival, and looked into all the laws and legislation I should be aware of.

I planned that I would start learning German in 11th grade, since 10th grade was too busy and I barely had time to focus on the language. I thought about finishing up to A2 level in 11th grade and then reaching B2 or at least B1 during my 12th grade summer holidays.

Now, to be honest, I did finish A2 in 11th, but right now my 12th grade summer holidays will be over within one week, and I was not able to complete B1. I know most people would think I have enough time after 12th and yes, maybe I do but I wanted to finish C1 after 12th so that before leaving for the country to take my Aufnahmeprüfung (ANP), I would have C1 German. That way, during my Studienkolleg, I could improve it further, and by the time I start my Bachelor's degree (which will mostly be in German), I won't have any trouble in classes.

Right now, I am caught between two choices and looking for some real advice:

• Option A: Take a gap year after 12th, lock in and reach C1 German, and work on some of my robotics projects (Future robotics engineer 🤞). Since I will finish 12th grade only at 17, this gap year also means I will turn 18 before moving to Germany, which fixes the nightmare of signing housing contracts and opening bank accounts as a minor. I would head to Germany in 2028.
• Option B: Do my undergrad in India starting in 2027 and go to Germany for my Master's instead, like my parents prefer. But I am not really interested in going to a Tier 3 or Tier 4 private university in India.

The main things stressing me out about going straight for my Bachelor's are the Reddit posts about the current job market, spending my parents' hard-earned money only to end up jobless, and the global political climate around immigration.

So my main question is: For anyone studying or working in STEM in Germany right now, is taking that dedicated gap year to lock in and reach C1 and build solid robotics projects a smart play for long-term career prospects, or is playing it safe with an Indian undergrad + German Master's a better move in today's market?

^(my_qualifications: 12th grade CBSE student)

MBA Profile Review Request

My_Qualifications:

Demographics:
- 24M, Indian, based in a major South Indian city

Academics:
- BSc Finance, tier-1 private university in Mumbai
- Cumulative GPA: ~73.5% (approx 3.2/4.0)
- 10th: 82%, 12th: 86% (both CBSE)

Test Scores:
- GMAT Focus Edition scheduled for September 30, currently prepping (targeting above 655)

Work Experience (4 years by application time):
- IB Executive to Senior Executive at a boutique investment banking advisory firm (July 2023-November 2024)
- Senior Business Consultant at an edtech/learning solutions company (November 2024-May 2025)
- Deal Advisory/RM, Investment Banking at a mid-market M&A advisory firm (June 2025-February 2026)
- Currently: Lead, Corporate Development** **at a $200M revenue global IT services company; also Investment Committee member at an affiliated early-stage venture arm, covering deal sourcing, diligence, and IC scoring

Entrepreneurial Experience:
- Co-founded a restaurant/F&B venture in Chennai (July 2021-November 2023), sold to an investor

Extracurriculars/Leadership:
- College tech club: member (Year 1) to HOD (Year 2) to President (Year 3)
- Regular volunteer at an animal welfare organisation

Goals:
- Post-MBA: transition into investment banking or consulting
- Open to working anywhere geographically (preferably US)
- Targeting 2027 intake

Target Schools:
- T15 USA (particularly NYU Stern), IESE, ESCP, and HEC (if possible)

Additional Info:
- I work closely with the founders of my current company ($200Mn revenue), they are open to writing an LOR (all three of them did Masters in the US)
- Looking to come back to India post 7-8 years of working abroad.

Feedback is welcome to assess my realism.

Well the course which I'm targeting is Artificial Intelligence/Machine learning.

So please could you guide me which place would be better for it.

My_qualifications are I've a B.E with a CGPA of 8.12

Hey i am 20F in chennai, I am planning to do my masters in abroad and my_qualifications is BE.CSE
I went and saw idp too and their budget is way out of mine and then there’s germany, Poland and Norway
That’s in our budget. So if anyone has any idea about that consultancy or you are planning to go to germany, please do text me! That will help me out a lot.

So I recently completed my dual degree (btech+mtech) from a tier 2 college and got a campus placement in an industrial automation company, which is completely out of my specialization.

My combined CGPA is not impressive, standing at 7.1 due to heavy rigour in the college's academic structure.

But I have an interest in wireless communication especially OWC and VLC/Li-Fi.

I think I have a decent research profile with 2 published Q1 papers and 1 conference (all are in IEEE). While 3 of my papers which are also part of my thesis are under review in IEEE letters (Q1).

I'm targeting a fully funded PhD in Europe on the topic of OWC or VLC (preferred).

Summary:

my_qualifications - BTech+ Mtech dual degree.

CGPA - 7.1 (71%).

Publications - 2 IEEE journal (Q1) as a 2nd author, 1 conference.

2 IEEE letters +1 iot journal (all 3 under review).

Current job - industrial Automation at an MNC (3 months work-ex)

Skills- modelling and simulation, matlab, python, convex optimization, fundamental understanding of 3gpp.