Australian Student Visa for an MBA

Getting an Australian student visa can be quite a complicated thing. Here's some information on what is required from the student's side. I'll update this as I get more information as I am still in the process of applying for one :).

1) Financial ability :- The Austrlian govt. wants to see proof that you will be able to fund your entire study, air-fare and living expenditure. In case of a dependent you would need to show funds for her/his/their expenses too. The most important thing is..whatever money (cash or FD or PF etc.) you are planning to show as your personal wealth OR your sponsor's wealth needs to be there since the last six months.

2) Confirmation of Enrollment :- This is a letter you get from your college once you pay the first installment of the fees and your health insurance. If you've taken out a loan, the first installment of fees needs to come out of this loan.

3) IELTS :- Unfortunate, Unfair but true. You need the IELTS regardless of your current English Skills to apply for an Austrlian VISA. The IELTS is presently held twice a month in a pen & paper mode, so you get your results about three weeks after you write your exam so plan accordingly.

Note : It's best to get professional help. I am going through IDP India. They help you through the details really well in such a complicated process and you can bank on their experience.

Disclaimer :- I just wanted to provide some basic information which you should know about six months BEFORE you apply to a B-School and subsequently a visa. For the ever changing specifics..please visit :-http://www.immi.gov.au/students/students/573-4/eligibility-student.htm

Melbourne Ahoy !

Like I said in my previous blog, I've made it to the very prestigious Melbourne Business School. It's rated #75 globally by Financial Times and #1 in Australia. Here's a timeline of my journey right from the time I gave my GMAT to the day I received an offer.
April-2008 - I gave my GMAT (score - 680) and sent in my application for the September intake to Melbourne Business School.
May-2008 - I was rejected for the September intake but was asked whether I'd like to be considered for the January intake, which I affirmed.
May through July 2008 - I just kept waiting and writing to them about the final status of my application. I must say I was really irritiated it took so long given they had already taken an initial look at my application in April. Anyways, time crawled in this period.
31-July-2008 - It's a day I will never forget. The day i was waiting for since a long long time. I received a letter of offer from MBS and i knew in that moment, my life had changed.

To Melbourne then...

And I am back !

Hmm..admittedly it's been a long while since I picked up the pen (ok! keyboard.). Well I am out of my shell now and for good. Life's taken a few turns of it's own and I have a lot to write about and a lot to share. For starters, after a relative period of no events, me & Tania got a great opportunity to work in Panama. About the same time I also received an offer from Melbourne Business School for an MBA. Since nothing had really materialized on the Panama front, we decided to go in for the Melbourne offer. Needless to say it's a dream come true to be offered a place on one of the most prestigious MBA programs on the planet.

Given that I am moving to Melbourne in January'09 there're plenty of things that are happening now. I have applied for the student's loan, am about to give my IELTS and am also talking to the IDP folks regarding my VISA to Oz. True, life's been pretty boring up until now but now I have plenty to write about. Right from my inflammed sinuses to my crusade for quality education and other interesting and dis-interesting stuff! Watch this space for more soon !