Given that you have the required academic qualification and at least the belief that you can finance your education, the next obvious question is: Should you study in America or Canada? For most candidates in India, the immediate and instinctive reaction is in the affirmative. You should consider the question more seriously or, at least, you should understand the reasons for your answer.

Let us start with the fundamentals. Education is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. Your pursuit of education has a purpose. You make personal and financial sacrifices as an investment with the hope of maximizing your happiness over your lifetime. You acquire formal knowledge, which offers you choices and flexibility that would not be available to you otherwise. This is true whether you study in India, America or Canada.

We must stay away from emotional reactions to address the issue on hand honestly. We are not encouraging you to leave India, thereby contributing to the brain drain. We are not suggesting that one country is better than another. You have to make the decision of studying in America or Canada on your own. We haven’t a clue whether you should or should not study in America. We are presenting the reality and facts so that you can make your very own, personal decision.

India boasts – and rightly so – some of the best academic institutions in the world, such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and All India Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS), just to name a few. Some of the most successful academics, researchers, and business executives in America and Canada are in fact graduates of these fine institutions. The top schools in America and Canada are no pushovers either. Harvards, Stanfords, and McGills of the world are in North America.

One must keep the endgame in mind: What are you trying to accomplish? Is it simply a good education? Is it to live for a while in America or Canada? Is it to live permanently in America or Canada? Is it to make the most money? Is it some or all of the above? You know the answers to these, and the decision is yours. We can however offer you some insights into why you might consider studying in America and Canada.

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