On the basis of skills
With 1.5 million engineering graduates emerging every year, there is an urgent need to upgrade the courses and make them more relevant for today’s world.
ests are to students what tournaments are to sports people. Your performance in these tests become your credentials when you apply to college. If you’re eyeing a college abroad for your undergraduate studies, you might need to tackle a few standardised tests along the way.
TSAT/ACT
These two crucial standardised tests for U.S. college admissions are offered in fall (August), winter (December), spring (March), and summer (May and June) to assess readiness for higher education. The best time to take these depends on individual readiness and application timelines. Taking it early allows for retakes, but some may prefer to prepare and give it one strong shot.
The SAT focuses on reasoning, while the ACT emphasises curriculumbased knowledge. SAT scores range from 400 to 1600, with separate scores for ver the last decade, there have been frequent reports of fresh engineers unable to find jobs. Only one in 10 engineering graduates in India is likely to land a job at the end of the final year. With 1.5 million new engineering graduates entering the market each year, this is a real problem.
If getting a job in the tech sector, after spending four years on a B.Tech. or B.E. course, is hard, it is natural to ask why do these courses?
It is also important to understand that the Indian IT sector grew at a time when costarbitrage was the primary market strategy.
Today, this has weakened to a point where even onsite workforce is being scaled down. Simultaneously, the face value of engineering degrees dropped and the lack of marketing skills became apparent. There was a gaping hole between what academia taught and what
OThe Mongol Storm: Making and breaking empires in the medieval Near East reading/writing (out of 800) and Math (out of 800). The ACT includes English, Math, Reading, and Science sections, with scores ranging from one to 36 per section and a composite score calculated from the four. Both hold equal weightage so students can choose according to their strengths.
During the pandemic, many colleges made these optional to promote fairness in admissions. However, this year, many universities are making SAT/ACT compulsory again. Brown, MIT, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Yale, and Purdue will reinstate test requirements. The University of California colleges (UCs) remain testblind. More colleges may declare such a change in the months to come.
Indian private colleges like Ashoka, FLAME, and Plaksha also consider these tests for undergraduate admissions.
English proficiency tests
Most Indian students may be required to take language proficiency tests such as the IELTS, TOEFL, and DuoLingo, to demonstrate their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills to universities the market demanded.
Changes
To plug this, new institutions (what we now call edtech) began to emerge; built mostly by industry professionals. They created marketrelevant content and hired experienced professionals to teach (both part and fulltime). This also opened new avenues for those who wished to get into the sector without an engineering degree. Companies like Google are willing to hire professionals with relevant skills even if they don’t have a tech degree. Today graduates from top engineering colleges are keener to join productbased companies like Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (MAANG) because not only do they pay well, but also offer challenging and largescale problems. Traditional engineering colleges are unable to skill their students to meet this specific demand: work for product companies.
The engineeringbased higher education spaces ow did the Mongol invasions of the Near East reshaped the balance of world power in the Middle Ages?
For centuries, the Crusades have been central to the story of the medieval Near East, but these religious wars are only part of the region's complex history. During the same era, the Near East was utterly remade by another series of wars: the Mongol invasions.
In a single generation, the Mongols conquered vast swaths of the Near East and upended the region's geopolitics.
Amid the chaos of the Mongol onslaught, longstanding powers such as the Byzantines, the
Habroad, including the U.K., U.S., Canada, and Singapore. CBSE and ICSE students with scores of 85% and above in English language or IBDP students with scores of five and above may be exempt from these tests. However, it is always good to have a score handy for ease of application and for cisa applications.
TSA/TST
The Thinking Skills Assessare also seeing other changes. Traditional heavyweight colleges insist on hiring those with a doctorate as professors leading to a situation where teachers do not have any realworld experience. This partly explains the lack of marketrelevant skills in their graduates. However, the introduction of ‘Professor of Practice’ shows that even these colleges have started seeing the value of having experienced professionals from the industry as part of the faculty.
But this change has just begun. India still produces 1.5 million engineers every year. Some large companies continue to hire B.Tech./B.E. graduates and train them for six months or so before deploying them. But this model cannot prevail for too long. Instead of a traditional fouryear engineering programme, what young engineers need are courses more immersed in the industry and relevant in the fastchanging world of technology.
Seljuk Turks, and the crusaders struggled to survive, while new players such as the Ottomans arose to fight back.
The Mongol conquests forever transformed the region, while forging closer ties among societies spread across Eurasia.
This is the definitive history of the Mongol assault on the Near East and its enduring global consequences.
Nicholas Morton is a senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University whose most recent book The Crusader States and their Neighbours won the Verbruggen Prize 2022.
Author: Nicholas Morton
Publisher: Hachette
Price: ₹1099 ment (TSA) is an important test for Social Sciences courses at Oxford such as Experimental Psychology, Human Sciences, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics, Economics and Management or History and Economics. UCL, too, uses a version of this for some Social Sciences courses. TSA/ TST (Thinking Skills Test) evaluate critical thinking and problemsolving through a 90minute multiplechoice section and a 30minute essay section. Typically taken in the final year of high school, the TSA is based on the Classes 910 syllabus with tricky questions designed to demonstrate clear thinking and logic, rather than knowledge.
MAT/TMUA
The Mathematics Admissions Test and Test of Mathematics for University Admission are subject specific for admissions to Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics degrees at the University of Cambridge and Oxford. Typically taken in late October or early November, it evaluates mathematical aptitude beyond the standard curriculum with two threehour papers, including multiplechoice and essay sections.
LNAT
The National Admissions Test for Law is essential for law degrees at leading U.K. universities like Oxbridge, LSE, Durham, and Kings. This twohour computerbased test comprises MCQs and essay sections that evaluate comprehension, verbal reasoning, and argumentative skills. While only one attempt is allowed in the cycle you are applying in i.e. after September of the application year, students should attempt it in the previous cycle i.e. till July, to assess their level and prepare accordingly.
UCAT/BMAT
The University Clinical Aptitude Test and Biomedical Admissions Test are vital for admission into undergraduate medicine and related courses in the U.K. The UCAT evaluates cognitive abilities through multiplechoice questions, while the BMAT assesses scientific knowledge, critical thinking, and problemsolving skills. Typically taken in the final year of secondary school or during a gap year, the UCAT is administered between July and October, while the BMAT is offered twice a year, usually in September and November. Many universities are transitioning from BMAT to UCAT, with the final decision pending.
Advanced Placement (AP) tests help showcase academic rigour in college applications, particularly for Indian students from CBSE, ISC and State Boards, as they assess collegelevel proficiency across subjects from Math to Humanities. Administered annually in May, registration is through authorised high schools listed on the College Board website. AP exams are tough. Ideally a student should work with a tutor since one has to score above three on a fivepoint scale. High scores may also bring credits that allow you to reduce your load during college or reduce the time you take to complete your degree.
Thorough preparation and understanding of each test’s format and requirements are key. Choose your challenges carefully and plan your calendar starting from Class 11 so that you approach them with confidence.
With inputs from Anjana Anand
AP