I have been conducting interviews with International students from India at University here in Germany and got to know that there are many Indian students seek the help of an educational consultant/Agent in India throughout the admission process. Do Universities in Europe/US has collaborations with such Agents to seeking international students for their program? Is there cluster (Universities, Agents, Students) exists?
Nayan Kadam - Thank you for your question. Nearly all Western universities interested in attracting international students have official agents or a platform that facilitate the process of enrolment, provide information needed to applicants and make such links.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers basic support for foreign students for all-Germany. This enables interested parties to find out which universities and courses of study are suitable for them. The rest of the system is decentralized: The individual universities advise international students on all questions of admission and enrolment and provide academic support. There are also many student initiatives that support their foreign fellow students. The Studentenwerke are responsible for the social framework conditions of the studies. An agent solution for the application process is therefore not necessary in my opinion. Such a construction would be critical if a financial contribution is demanded for the placement. This contradicts the free access to studies at public universities in Germany. From the perspective of a university, such a cooperation should therefore be prohibited.
I rather agree with you that agents or facilitators are a 'for profit' intrusion into a public sector or 'not for profit' sector. On the other hand, agents may be able to offer a valuable service in helping international student to navigate foreign application procedures. And there may be big differences between agents in terms of capability, integrity, and price, so it is important that students think carefully about employing intermediaries.
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