Parents combine foreign vacations with hunt for college

CHENNAI: Joshua Arul Ebenezer had an array of courses in universities abroad to choose from, but a visit to Cardiff School of Law in UK sealed the deal. “It was worth the Rs4 lakh we spent to visit the place,” said his father Gerald Ebenezer.
The family visited the campus in December 2013, well ahead of the September 2014 intake. The trip gave Joshua an idea about life on campus.He got to interact with the student advisor, and introduced himself to Indian professors at the institution. “He was very excited about their football field and is on the university’s mailing list. After the visit my wife and I are at peace because we know what kind of institution and campus he will be in,” Ebenezer said.
The Ebenezers are among the increasing number of families who are unwilling to go just by the word of education agents or consulates. Instead, they take off on vacations to foreign shores to inspect higher educational institutions for themselves. The destinations could range from Ivy-league institutions in the US and Oxbridge to lesser-known campuses in Hong Kong, Denmark and Sweden.
Piggybacking on this idea, travel and overseas education agents have come up with university tours. Travel agency Thomas Cook and overseas education consultant ELS Educational Services have packages for campus tours of US universities, including Stanford, UCLA, Harvard and Princeton.
Chairman of overseas education agency Campus Abroad C B Paul Chellakumar has arranged many such trips for prospective students and their parents. “It is very helpful and helps students decide where to join. Nobody regrets it,” he said.