ESSENTIAL NOTES
- Agencies are luring overseas students to apply to British provincial universities under the pretense of being in London.
- A research agency was hired by the Migration Advisory Committee to interview forty recent graduates of UK universities regarding graduate visas.
- The study details multiple instances where organizations enticed students.
Agencies are luring overseas students to apply to British provincial universities under the pretense of being in London.
Currently, individuals can enter the United Kingdom on a graduate visa, entitling them to remain in the country for a minimum of two years following successful completion of their term of study.
A research agency was hired by the Migration Advisory Committee to interview forty recent graduates on graduate visas from UK universities.
The goal of the research is to provide a better understanding of how the route was perceived and operated in actuality.
According to a story from the Standard UK, it also highlights how essential it was for third-party agencies to influence certain graduates’ decision to study in Britain.
“These agencies, often free for students and sometimes funded by universities, provided assistance with applications, course selection, and accommodation. “
MAC’s commissioned report
It does point out, though, that occasionally their impact results in erroneous expectations regarding the subjects covered in people’s courses, the standing of the university, or its location.
Some people believed that the agency had misrepresented the university or course location, according to reports in the local media.
Numerous Cases Show How Agencies Were Luring Students from
In the report, a 28-year-old Pakistani female who is interested in film studies is profiled. It was implied to the girl that she would be attending a university in a “large, busy city, and some of the promotional materials included photos of London”.
In another instance involving a Nigerian lady, it was discovered that representatives had informed her, prior to her university application, of the advantages of the graduate visa as well as the advantages of studying in the UK.
A report claims that the agencies were frequently free to use and that the UK universities sometimes provided funding or other forms of support.
On the other hand, a few individuals stated that organizations paid them to support them. Some people said that they were charged by the agencies approximately £500, possibly even £400. Someone disclosed that she didn’t have to do anything; the agency completed her application on her behalf for the sum of money paid to the agency.
“he only thing I did was the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), and I gave them my documents. I think I had to make a personal statement, telling them [the university] why I wanted to do the course, but I think the agency wrote it for me.”
A participant in the research
Nevertheless, the study found that those who used agencies ultimately enrolled in less selective programs or attended colleges with lower rankings.
