Devanshi Sood is all of 18 and all set to fly out to the US next month to pursue the course of her dreams. Sood studied PCME (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Economics) at Heritage Xperiential School, Gurugram, and has opted for a four-year bachelor’s in Computational Media at the Georgia Institute of Technology, US. “This degree will offer me room to experiment,” she says, “and help me with my interest in environment technology, a subject for which there is a huge market in the US.

Studying abroad can be exciting but it might also prove to be a tough experience at the same time, especially when you share the accommodation with someone else. According to data provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Subhas Sarkar, in the Lok Sabha, the number of Indians enrolled in foreign varsities increased from 4.44 lakh in 2021 to 7.5 lakh in 2022.

Not just recovery; we need to lean into reinvention. As we head into a post-pandemic era in 2023, it is an opportune time to reimagine the future of education in India. If we confine our efforts to merely ‘recovering’ from the pandemic, we will not be able to move beyond the standards of the past (which, in any case, were lacking on several crucial counts.

The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), as you know, is a standardised test taken by students across the world to apply for American undergraduate admissions. A common data point to compare the academic prowess of aspirants hailing from different school systems and nationalities, it is a mandatory requirement for most colleges in the United States.

A quick look at the admission statistics for Ivy League colleges reveals just how difficult it is to get admitted into one. Each year, only a fraction of applicants (4-8 per cent) are accepted into these schools. With their admission criteria test everything from a student’s academic performance and involvement in extracurricular activities to their ability to think critically and engage with society. While the application process may seem notoriously complex, the key to cracking the code is deceptively simple: differentiate yourself.