Study Abroad Agency vs Self Application

In recent years, many students have travelled abroad to pursue their higher education. Students who are applying to abroad universities either have the option to self-apply or seek consultancy services through education agencies. Choosing between "self-application vs study abroad agency" is the toughest challenge for students. Usually, students can directly apply to the universities but the study abroad agencies can simplify the process of choosing the abroad university and the admissions procedure. In this article of study abroad agency vs self application, all the details regarding study abroad consultants and self-application to abroad universities are discussed.

This Story also Contains

1. What is a Study Abroad Agency?
2. Can I Self Apply to Abroad Universities?
3. Study Abroad Agency & Self Application - Pros
4. Study Abroad Agency vs Self Application - Cons

A common dilemma that arises among international students is that "Can I study abroad without consultancy?", the answer is "Yes" as many Indian students often end up getting more confused by opting for study abroad agencies instead of going for self application. Therefore, incase international students are wondering there is no mandatory need to apply through study abroad agencies. They can apply through self-application procedure as well.

As far as Study abroad agency vs self application cost is concerned the former offer free services to students not causing any additional expenses for providing assistance or help in the application process. The latter one does on their own accord and does not charges any extra cost other than the application fees and other mandatory expenses. However, before discussing the comparison and details of a study abroad agency vs self application, candidates can know about a study abroad agency and its services.

What is a Study Abroad Agency?

The debate between Study abroad agency vs self application in India has been going on for a while among students planning to apply for higher education in a foreign country. Applying for abroad universities involves various steps, regulations and decisions. However, outsourcing these services from overseas education consultants costs a lot of money. To overcome this complex work, the free abroad agency for education supports the students in the overall admission process at minimal or zero charges. Most of the services of an agency for abroad study includes pre-counseling session, application guidance, assistance in document submission, scholarship availability details, etc.

The agencies that help the students to study abroad do not charge any fee. Every time a student enrols in a university from the study abroad agency portal, they earn some commission from the university itself. For example IDP education, people get queries like "Why is IDP free", the answer is it charges money from the universities, not from the students.

Here the candidate has to be clear that there are differences between a study abroad agency and a study abroad consultant. The details can be known by checking the comparison for study abroad paid overseas consultants vs free outside agent. Most of the times an overseas education consultant refers to a consultancy that charges a fee for its services, while an abroad agent refers to an agency that does not charge any fee from students and provides its services at free cost.

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Can I Self Apply to Abroad Universities?

One of the common query arises before starting self application is “Can we apply to universities without consultancy”. The answer is “Yes”. The consultancies or agents are for information and assistance purposes. The candidate by herself/himself can research various universities and courses and reach out to the institutions for admission and application details. It is a time-consuming process but worth all your money in saving. Students who have relatives or friends in the abroad country can avail the necessary details of the universities, visa and travel process, etc, this could be an added advantage for self application.

Study Abroad Agency & Self Application - Pros

As the purposes of both the study abroad agency and the details of self application are known, check the advantages of self-Application vs study abroad agency to understand their overall benefits for the students to study abroad.

Pros of Study Abroad Agency

There are many advantages of an agency for abroad study. Are you applying through an agent? then these advantages must be checked for sure.

• Expertise in Multiple Fields - Study abroad Agencies have expertise in various fields of study, countries, universities, and course data. Abroad agency provides the candidates with the best onboard and the best market insights. They suggest the candidate pursue the courses that are in demand and have future job prospects.

• Faster & Easy Process - The applications for abroad universities and acquiring related documents take more than 6 to 8 months. With the guidance provided by the study abroad agencies, the time can be cut short to 5 months. Moreover, the processing time for admission depends on the university application intake and processing time. As the application process is guided on an overall basis, it becomes easy for the candidate to apply to the universities.

• Qualifications checklists - The study abroad agencies are well-versed with the eligibility criteria set by each university and are well-trained in shortlisting the perfect universities that match the candidate profile. Hence minimizing the risk of rejection from universities thus helps in saving our efforts.

• Alumni Networking - The study abroad agency maintain the data of alumni students who have secured admission to universities through their agencies. The candidates can learn about the personal and professional experiences shared by the alumni and get aware of the decisions in abroad study.

• Minimal Cost - The services provided by the study abroad agencies are free of cost, thereby reducing the budget for the students during the admission phase.

• Scholarships data - As the fees for abroad education is high, these abroad study agencies can suggest candidates with feasible scholarships that reduce the financial cost for students. They maintain a database of information on scholarships, which makes it easy for the candidates to choose the best scholarship and apply.

Explore the Best Abroad study options

Pros of Self Application

• Independence in Selection - Most of the time consultancies or agencies, try to influence the student's mind in course of their commissions from the university. Here in the self application, the candidate has the independence to select the university and course in which they are interested.
• Cost Effective - Similar to the study abroad agents the self application need not involve any extra cost for admission application services to any agents or third-party members.
• Personalized Approach - By self application the candidate can prepare the application with a personalized approach. The candidate can highlight skills, achievements, and other details in a customized manner separately for each university or course application.

Study Abroad Agency vs Self Application - Cons

Once the advantages are known, the candidates can check the disadvantages of Study Abroad Agency vs Self Application

Cons of Study Abroad Agency

• Lack of Personalized Support - The free study abroad agencies only guide the process, they do not fill out any application form. Here, they lack in providing personalized support to the students.

• Biased Decisions - Few study abroad agencies earn money from the commissions of the universities. So here there are high chances of suggesting only the universities that give them a high commission. These things can impact the decisions of the candidates and their interests.

Cons of Self Application

• Language Barriers - As the candidate applies to universities of various countries, understanding different languages can be an issue. Even if they are good in English, few candidates find it difficult to understand the required documentation, filling out the application forms, etc

• Time-consuming - Applying to study abroad includes acquiring the necessary documents, researching universities and courses, filling out the application form to various universities, etc., which requires investing a lot of time. Candidates must provide dedicated time to complete the process.

List of Few Popular Study Abroad Agencies

Provided below is the list of the best agencies for studying abroad. The candidate can choose the option of “study abroad agency near me” and select the best one for their study abroad.

• IDP Education

• British Council

• Study Portals

• Education USA

• DAAD