Ahhh, choosing a college. Brings me back to my youth!
Your niece is very fortunate to have the opportunity to study abroad,
and to have a supportive relative like yourself to help her along the
path. With her own ambitions, and some wise guidance from family and
friends, I expect she will find the college experience very rewarding.
At this stage of the game, the best that I (or anyone) can do, is to
provide a general overview of the opportunities for international
study in Europe, along with some of the factors that go into making a
final decision.
LET ME MAKE VERY CLEAR AT THE OUTSET that if you would like any
additional information after reading my answer, all you need do is ask
for a Request for Clarification. I'll be happy to provide anything
else that would be of help -- information about a particular school,
country, costs, application processes, whatever you need. I don't
consider my question answered until you, the customer, are satisfied
with the results.
At some point down the road, when your niece has narrowed her focus
somewhat in terms of where and what she wants to study, you may want
to consider posting a follow-up question with some more specifics
about her preliminary choices, and the researchers here may be able to
help you focus her options even more sharply.
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Your niece's choice of schools in Europe, while not quite endless, is
nevertheless impressive. There are many hundreds of colleges and
universities to choose from (I've included a list of the schools in
France accepting international students just to give you a feel for
the number of opportunities -- it's at the very end of this writeup).
You mentioned in your clarification that her choice on where to go
will ultimately depend on which colleges would accept her application.
This is just about every student's dilemma -- balancing the "where do
I want to go?" question with the "where can I (realistically) go?"
question. (They usually have to confront the "how much can I afford"
question as well, though your remarks indicate that budget is not a
constraint for the time being).
And again, the best I can do is offer general guidance. Without a
detailed knowledge of your niece's academic background, performance,
scores, and interests, there is no way to meaningfully match up her
record with a particular school.
Fortunately, there are several terrific resources for students exactly
in your niece's situation that can assist her (and you) in gathering
all the necessary information, and making some informed choices.
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One site that provides a good overview of academic requirements for
some European schools, however, can be found at -- of all places --
the education-india site at:
http://www.education-india.net/studyabroad/uk3.php
The site includes a description of academic requirements for
undergraduate study in the U.K. as well as details of the application
process.
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Ultimately, your niece's choice of a school for studying information
technology will boil down to a few key decisions:
--where would she like to study
--what language would she like to study in
--what schools are compatible with her academic background
A great resource for beginning to explore all of these questions is:
http://www.studyoverseas.com/
"Study Overseas.com provides free university and college advice for
students worldwide who are considering studying abroad for an
international education. Our Course & College search section contains
details of hundreds of colleges and universities that are currently
recruiting international students, together with a database of the
best articles that have appeared in the leading journals on
international education. Please feel free to explore..."
Their main page includes options for:
--Course & College Search
--Further information service to request brochures, prospectuses and
comprehensive advice on any course(s) or college(s)
--subject specific webzines that are updated monthly, [NOTE:
including one specifically for Computer Sciences -- more on that
below].
--Tips & Tricks -- devoted to helping you apply for a course or
college, regardless of where and what you want to study. This month we
focus on the all important application process and provide you with a
selection of sample application essays.
Note that the site also contains a link to their "CyberCafe" where you
or your niece can have on-line "chats" with other students and
prospective students to learn about their own experiences as
international students. These sorts of chat rooms can be a great
resource for getting some no-holds-barred information about a
particular school -- what student life is like, how academically
rigorous it is, what the surrounding cities and towns have to offer,
etc.
"The Cyber Cafe Chat Room is here for all students worldwide who are
either considering studying abroad, or are currently doing so. Please
feel free to enter and discuss anything your fellow students might
find of interest."
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A section of the StudyOverseas site is devoted specifically the study
in Europe:
http://www.studyoverseas.com/f_europe.htm
and even includes a map of Europe where you or your niece can click on
any country of interest for more in-depth information:
http://www.studyoverseas.com/europe/f_euromap.htm
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Probably the most valuable segment of the site is their "Further
Information" form:
http://www.studyoverseas.com/f_form.htm
Of course, the main point of the form is to have schools send her more
detailed information about their programs.
But the process of filling out the form has its own value. It will
help begin to narrow down some of her choices by asking your niece (or
perhaps, you) to specify the type of additional information you would
like to receive.
For instance, there are a variety of options for indicating an
interest in computers/information technology as an area of study.
Your niece should indicate the field (or fields) most suitable to her
interests, such as:
Information Management
Computer Science
Information Technology
E-commerce, etc.
On the form, she can specify "Europe" as her geographic area of
interest, and "India" as the country of origin.
There is also a "Financial Status" question that will return
information about costs, scholarships, work-study, and other forms of
financial assistance, if desired.
Once this process produces an initial set of information for you and
your niece to consider, she can always re-visit the site and go
through the process again, this time with a more narrow focus on, say,
a particular country or particular set of schools.
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As I mentioned above, there is also an "Online Magazines" site, with
one publication devoted specifically to International study of
computers and information technology:
http://www.studyoverseas.com/f_mags.htm
"Welcome to Computer Sciences Online, the virtual reference point for
international students who are considering a course in a computer or
technology based subject."
[Please take note that on the left hand side of the magazine page are
links to colleges around the world (including one section for colleges
in Europe) that are specifically looking for international students in
computers and information technology.]
Your niece should explore this information thoroughly, and consider
subscribing to free email delivery of the magazine.
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Another site with a very similar set of tools and content is the
International Education Site at:
http://www.intstudy.com/
I did not see anything here dramatically different from the
StudyOverseas site, but I wanted to make sure you and your niece were
aware of its existence.
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Lastly, there are lists and lists and lists of colleges in Europe.
For instance, at the AllAboutCollege site there is this list of
colleges in France that accept international students -- as you can
see, there is no shortage of choices:
http://www.allaboutcollege.com/colleges/europe/europe.htm
American Graduate School of International Relations and Diplomacy
American University of Paris
College des Ingenieurs
ENPC Graduate School of International Business
Ecole Centrale Paris (ECP)
Ecole Centrale de Lyon
Ecole Internationale des Sciences du Traitement de l'Information
Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers de Paris
Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electronique et de Radioélectricité de
Grenoble
Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique et de Mathématiques
Appliquées de Grenoble (ENSIMAG)
École Nationale Supérieure de Physique de Strasbourg
École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de St-Etienne
École Nationale Supérieure des Telecommunications de Bretagne
Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Electronique et de Radioelectricite de
Bordeaux
Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Electronique, d'Electrotechnique,
d'Informatique et d'Hydraulique de Toulouse (ENSEEIHT)
Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Ingenieurs en Construction Aeronautique
(ENSICA)
Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications de Paris (ENST)
École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure de Cachan
Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon
École Polytechnique
École Supérieure D'Électricité
Ecole Supérieure en Sciences Informatiques
Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris
European Institute of Business Administration
French Naval Academy
Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble
Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon
Institut National des Sciences Appliquees de Toulouse
Institut National des Télécommunications
Institut Supérieur d'Informatique et d'Automatique
Institut Superieur de Gestion
Institut Universitaire de Technologie de Sceaux
Strasbourg University
Université Charles-de-Gaulle - Lille 3
Université Claude Bernard Lyon I
Université Joseph Fourier
Université Paris 8
Université Paris IX Dauphine
Université Pierre Mendès France
Université d'Aix-Marseille III
Université d'Angers
Université de Caen
Université de Franche-Comté
Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis
Université de Perpignan
Université de Provence
Université de Technologie de Compiègne
Université de la Méditerranée
Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille
Universite d'Orleans
Universite de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour
Universiti Paul Sabatier
University of Picardie
University of Rennes
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This information should enable you and your niece to get off to a
robust start in exploring the opportunities for attending school in
Europe.
As I said earlier, if you would like any additional information at
all, just post a Request for Clarification and let me know how I can
assist you further.
And of course, best of luck. |
