Should I do M.S. in India or USA?
A perspective of an Indian studying in USA
When I was in undergrad in India, we referred to some people as Matkaas. They lacked many soft skills, as evident from their poor communication skills, limited interest in teamwork, and lack of leadership skills. Matkaa’s were post-graduate students pursuing Ph.D. or M.Tech.(hence called Matkaa- Hindi word for pot). Their lack of soft-skills, prompted me to wish that I would never get a masters or Ph.D. Fast forward 6 years, I am now a Matkaa myself. So what changed? A lot of it has to do with the contrasts in graduate education in India and USA.
Having pursued my undergraduate education in India and my M.S. in USA, people often ask me whether universities in USA are definitively better than their Indian counterparts. Online resources are often insufficient to answer this question because there is no one-size-fits-all policy. Here, I will discuss some objective guidelines to help you make that choice. I compare higher education in India and USA only, but the lessons can be transferred for universities elsewhere too. Specifically, we will learn:
- What factors should one consider before deciding to pursue grad school in India or USA?
- How does graduate education in India compare with USA?
- How to not end up as a Matkaa?
How should I decide between India and USA?
Let me start by addressing the two most obvious decisions:
- If you are getting free education in USA, take it. Free education through fellowships and assistantships are typically offered by good schools in USA. It provides the benefits of getting a good education without the burden of debt.
- The second most obvious decision is to not pursue M.S. in USA in schools ranked poorer than tier 1 or tier 2 universities if you are an Indian. Tier 1 or 2 generally consist of colleges ranked better than 300 in World QS Rankings. Beyond that, you are better off seeking higher education in India. For instance, institutes like The Indian Institute of Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Indian Institutes of Technology, are all ranked better than 300 and provide much better education than Tier 3 universities in USA.
Other cases, however, are more complicated. For starters, if you do not have financial assistance and you do get an admit from a good university in USA, then your decision entirely depends on your future plans and how you prioritize different aspects of grad school like quality of research, development of soft skills and so on. Thus, an in-depth comparison of graduate education in India and USA can help you make that decision.
Comparing M.S. in India and USA
My view of how grad schools in India compare to USA is given above. My view is of course based on my limited exposure to grad schools in India (where I did a summer internship in Indian Institute of Science, and added on a Honors degree at Indian Institute of Technology Madras) and USA (where I pursued M.S. at Stanford University). However, here I complement my own experience with what I have learnt from my friends who did their M.S. in other schools, both in India and USA.
1. Higher level of higher education in India
When it comes to coursework, grad schools in India take the flag. Although Indian as well as American schools are both heavily oriented towards assignments and project-based learning, the level of course work is more advanced in India. In fact, when I took some courses in grad school in USA, I felt that I had already covered a lot of the material in my undergrad in India! The content that I had covered in some Master’s level courses during my undergraduate Honors in India were not even introduced in my grad school in USA. But what USA lacks in coursework, it makes up in academic research.
2. USA blows India out of the water in research
USA being the leader in science and technology, invests heavily in research and development ($150 Bn annually). Part of the research is carried out in national labs and academic institutes where support for field research, hardware infrastructure, and computational resources are in relative abundance. This translates into more opportunities for M.S. students to do research on topics of their interest (that often involve considerable pay). Such opportunities can be significantly beneficial to professional as well as personal growth, as it is not often that one gets to lead an independent project solely with the goal of learning on other’s money.
India, on the other hand, has limited resources at its disposal. With a science and technology budget of $15 Bn, it often shies away from funding big ideas (rightly so). It thus presents little-to-nil research opportunities for M.S. students. Although some grad schools in India do make their M.S. students pursue research compulsorily, from my time in IISc Bangalore, I saw that such research projects are no more impressive than final year undergraduate projects. This could be due to the lack of institutional resources, lack of student merit, or both.
However, when research is done right, it usually has more immediate impact in India because of the abundance of problems we have related to infrastructure, health care, utilities, etc.
3. The ultra-expensive USA degree
It is no news that M.S. in USA is abominably expensive. While a masters degree in STEM costs $7,000 in India, it costs $70,000 in USA. Some people might argue that such a cost-based comparison is unfair because future benefits may be different. To them, I say that your school doesn’t care about your future bank balance; they ask you to pay upfront. Or in other words, potential benefits may outweigh the cost of education in USA in the long term, but it is undeniable that one can experience significant financial stresses in the short term.
In fact, affordability concerns push some students to cut corners at every level. I know of students who share their 2 bedroom house with 7 other students. Some spend their weekends almost entirely on cooking. Some even pursue jobs such as sorting books at the library to offset their debt. Such measures, while probably effective to keep debts low, undoubtedly compromise the primary purpose of their USA visit- education. At extreme levels, this can also result in mental anxiety. This is a matter of huge debate in my current university too.
To the expensive USA degree, add the uncertainty in job placements (see section 4) and Indian higher education starts looking like a good deal after all. Nevertheless, I must report that average starting salaries in USA ($70,000) are about 10 times that of India ($7,000) before adjusting for purchasing power parity. Thus, if you are sure that you want to work in USA, and moderately confident that you will be able to, then you could manage the costs of M.S. in USA, in the long term.
External grants and interest-free loans can help alleviate some of this financial stress of higher education. Links to such financial resources are provided at the end of this article.
4. Will I get a job in USA?
The corporate culture in USA is largely built on meritocracy. People generally don’t care if you are an Indian as long as you are qualified and well-suited for a job. Yes, employers do hesitate to hire international students, but that is because of visa restrictions, not systematic bias against foreigners. In short, if you have great ability, you don’t need to fear much about prospects for a job in USA.
However, it doesn’t go as smoothly for everyone. Some prospective students ignore the second box in the decision tree introduced in the top of this article and enroll in inferior colleges in USA (poorer than tier 3) and have a very difficult time finding a job after graduating. In extreme cases, I have seen my friends being forced to leave USA because they were unable to find a job within the limited amount of time (3 months after graduating). So make sure you carefully consider the decision tree before choosing between India and USA.
5. A note on ethics
As an Indian, it hurts to confess that most of us lack ethics. Classroom copying is rampant in most colleges and even our faculty can sometimes act unethically. In case your M.S. is by coursework only, the latter doesn’t matter much, as your interaction with them is minimal (approving course plan, etc.) But if your M.S. is by research, advisee-advisor relationship can have a huge impact on your grad school experience.
Although rare, I have heard cases of advisors acting unethically by making their advisees run errands like mailing posts, standing in lines on behalf of them, and so on. A little less unethical, but still unprofessional behavior like asking students to work on the professor’s consulting projects is more common. Such incidents are far more prevalent in India than in USA. But I must confess that I have never experienced this myself — neither in USA, nor in India.
6. Diversity has its place
Many educational counselors will tell you that USA schools are to be preferred for their diversity. If you think diversity will help you learn the course content better, be prepared to be disappointed. I experienced the diversity in USA (my class of 25 students comprised of 8 nationalities), finished my M.S., but couldn’t see much value in it for learning the course material.
Surprisingly, engineers all around the world have similar approaches to problem solving (try-and-fail, stop-and-think, step-by-step, to name a few) and unsurprisingly, there is very little room for diversity to add value when there is only one right answer (as is the case in most STEM-related courses). On the other hand, diversity in the classroom helped me polish my soft skills greatly.
7. Learning to be soft-skilled and not a Matkaa
No matter how technical one’s field might be, one can never under-estimate the value for soft-skills. From software engineers to material scientists, from theoretical physicists to experimental biologists, everyone at the very least needs to know to communicate effectively.
A big factor that nudged me towards grad school was my need for finding challenging work. An even bigger factor, however, was the possibility of being a grad student without turning into a Matkaa.
Before I enrolled in grad school in USA, I talked to my friends there. Thankfully, they seemed to have none of the symptoms of being a Matkaa-they were passionate about their work, many of them believed in creating an impact, they lead various student organizations, they communicated excellently, and had hobbies. I could connect with them instantly. It felt like a revisit to my undergraduate life. The possibility of pursuing graduate education without turning into a dull and boring person allured me.
But graduate education in India need not always lack focus on soft-skills, especially if you take active efforts to embrace them. Scared of communicating with a large audience? Consider joining a speaking club near you like Toastmasters. Want to gain leadership experience? Organize a conference or other activities related to your field. Frustrated by lack of opportunities to work in teams? Actively seek collaborators at conferences or in courses with projects. I have done all of the above and have seen for myself how useful they have been — for research, as well as personal growth.
In USA, there are two primary factors contributing to making students all-rounded-
- Educational system: Education in USA is focused less on book knowledge and shaped more towards all-round development.
- Diversity: Diversity in the student population enables learning of inter-personal skills.
Both of the above factors attract smart minds from all over the world to USA, further fueling the diversity and soft skills of the students, in a seemingly virtuous cycle. Due to this reason, grad students are not ridiculed, but respected in universities in USA. Since learning soft-skills (like communication and leadership) was a high priority for me, I weighted this factor more than what others might. Thus, I pursued grad school in USA.
The gist
There is no single answer to the question “Are grad schools in India or USA better?” The decision tree in presented at the top can help you quickly consider important questions to make an initial choice. For instance, choosing free education in USA, and avoiding tier 3 or poorer universities in USA is a no-brainer. For a more nuanced comparison, one may consider other factors such as coursework, research opportunities, affordability, diversity, ethics, and soft-skills. But whatever you choose, try not to be like a Matkaa.
Financial resources for M.S. applicants
Regardless of where you choose to pursue your M.S., here are some resources to soften the financial strain. There are several charitable trusts in India handing out grants and interest-free loans. I have benefitted from them and highly recommend that you apply to them-
- J. N. Tata Endowment- Interest free loan up to INR 10,00,000 + travel grant upto INR 1,00,000 + grant of up to INR 10,00,000 after one year of studies contingent on outstanding academic record
- K.C. Mahindra Educational Trust- Interest free loan up to INR 8,00,000
- N. S. Foundation- Interest free loan up to INR 10,00,000
- OPEC Fund for International Development- Grants size based on area and need
- Fullbright Scholarship- Grants size differ based on area and need
Lastly, there are many funding opportunities at the University-level too in the form of teaching assistantship and research assistantship. If interested, find out how to secure one:
