IELTS - Nature of Test

IELTS Academic Module is a requirement for admission in many of the non-US universities. A person applying for immigration to the UK, Australia or Canada is required to appear in IELTS General Module. The test consists of four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. There are 10 bands from 0 (being lowest) to 9 (being highest). Usually a score of 7 is considered quite satisfactory.

From Sep 2003, the test fee has been fixed at Rs. 7000/-. The scores of the test are valid for 2 years and you must have a gap of 3 months before re-appearing.

Test Sections:

For speaking part, an interview of about 15 minutes is held. For listening part, you usually hear an audio cassette and have to answer the questions on your answer sheet as you go. The reading part has 3 passages (one of them being quite complex) followed by comprehension questions. The writing part has two tasks (an explanation of a graph and a short essay). The duration for listening, reading and writing sections is 1 hour each.

Speaking and Listening are same for both General and Academic Modules. General Module is easier than Academic Module when it comes to reading and writing.

Preparation:

The test is not very hard; however, it's not as simple as TOEFL. The best method is to self study for reading and listening (and writing too, to some extent). You can purchase Cambridge IELTS Preparation books from Urdu bazaar (for a sum of Rs. 180/-). It comes as a set of 3 books with 4 audio cassettes and covers a lot of ground. For speaking, however, you will need to do practice. In my experience, most of the people find difficulty in this area and it's best to get hold of a friend and start practicing with him [You know that already. Don't you? Why don't you start it from today? Believe me, it will give lots of tension at the end].

In case you are not getting enough time to study independently (or you are lazy in these matters like me), it's better to get admission in a training institutes. There are many and you should attend a class before joining the institute. I would recommend The Princeton Review at Clifton (near Abdullah Shah Ghazi). Back in Sep 2003, they were charging Rs. 4000/- for a one month crash course. Each week, there were three classes and there was one day for full-length test. My only issue with them is that they didn't let us practice speaking part much. Their address follows:

The Princeton Review
F-37, 26th Street, Block 4 Clifton,
Karachi
Tel: 5824726-27
Fax: 5824725

[For those, who don't live in Clifton: with Abdullah Shah Ghazi on your right hand, go straight; cross the round about and walk for a minute; you will find the place on your right hand.]

Beware that IELTS tests your ability to understand and communicate in English - a skill that you have acquired throughout your schooling. By practicing for the test, you can only raise your score by a band of 1 or 2 (which isn't insignificant and it's worth practicing as much as you can).

Applying for the Test:

The test is given by both British Council and Australian Education Office. I am not sure if there is any difference between the two (there shouldn't be any; however, there are rumors that AEO is easier while British Council is preferred by universities and immigration authoritites). The test fee is Rs. 7000/- (as on Sep 2003) and you should plan ahead because there is a lot of rush during admission days. The details below apply to British Council:

You can get the application form from Standard & Chartered Bank, Metropole Branch (near Marriott). Pay the fee; you will be given two copies of the payment slip. Take the form with you; fill it in (don't forget to write a valid email address); attach two photographs, a copy of your ID Card and Passport as well as the Examination Services copy of the fee slip and submit the application pack either at Standard & Chartered or send it via courier to British Council [in that latter case, keep the copy of courier slip with you].

The address of British Council follows:

British Council
PO Box 10410
Karachi, Pakistan

Tel: +92 (21) 111 424 424
Fax: +92 (21) 111 425 425
info@britishcouncil.org.pk


You will be informed about your test dates via email. That's why don't give an address on which you are getting too much spam. You will also receive a formal letter and instructions for test a week before your test date. I had applied n Aug 2003 and got an email within a week. The test date given to me was 11th Oct. I received a formal letter on 1st Oct, announcing the test dates to be 6th Oct for Speaking part and 11th Oct for the rest of three tests.


Sample Speaking Test:

General Introduction:
-> Introduce yourself
-> Why are you interested in computer science?
-> What do you intend to specialize in?

Trend Questions:
-> Do you like shopping? Which type?
-> What are the trends in young adults regarding shopping?
-> Do you like photography? Which type?
-> What are the trends in photography in Pakistan?

Time for Short Speech:
-> Describe your room (make notes for 30 seconds and then speak for 1.5 minutes)

Follow up Questions:
-> What would you like to change in your room?
-> What are the houses like in your locality?
-> Do young adults live with their parents in your country? (unmarried adults of your age)
-> What are the advantages and disadvantages of living with parents?
-> What will be construction of houses like in future in Pakistan?

Deciding the Right Place for Studies

Putting all the intermediate details aside, let me start with how my university hunt went. The details are most appropriate for computer science students seeking a Masters level course, though others would benefit too:

There is an e-group named SaatFASE for Pakistanis who want to go abroad for higher education esp to EU states where education is considered a basic right and is free even for international students. You will find emails regarding admission processes and deadlines; help in finding an accommodation abroad; etc.


The Options:

I joined SaatFASE and from there came to know about one Rauf Agha of FAST Institute of Computer Science, Islamabad. He went to Chalmers, Sweden for Masters in Dependable Computer Systems in 2002. The course outline for this post-graduate program is excellent. I would say that Helsinki University, Finland (where Linux was born) and Chalmers, Sweden are very good universities (amongst others). And best of all, there is no tuition fee! There are living expenses though. Also, the chances of getting a job are quite scarce and most probably you will have to return to Pakistan after completing your education. You will find details about Sweden on Rauf Agha's website. All the courses are in English but you will need to learn their language in order to find an odd job (with people interaction) or to live there after graduation. Approximately, the same applied to all EU states and their universities.

Another university of high standard is National University of Singapore. NUS has faculty and student exchange programs with MIT and is perhaps one of the best universities in Asia. NUS' Computer Science Graduate Program is also very good and most importantly the tuition fee is very low (perhaps, the lowest ones in foreign universities I know). However, admission is very very competitive. The quality of education and the tuition fee make me say that NUS must be given a serious thought.

Then, two of my friends (Kamran Sheikh and Usman Iqbal) were selected for the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2003. The UNSW offers a 1 year Masters course (MEngSc in Comp Sc) for people with computer science background and work experience. The UNSW is arguably the best university of Australia. Their program is relatively costly - about Rs. 800,000/- a year for tuition fee and at least Rs. 250,000/- a year for living expenses. You might find odd jobs to cover some of the living expenses but that's it. People do apply for Australian Immigration at the end of their course but the rules are being changed.


How to Make a Choice:

Before applying to any place, weigh your current standing and make a guideline for yourself. There is only one rule: Wherever you go, choose the best university of that place. The living expenses in developed countries are almost the same. The difference lies in their tuition fee. Amongst English speaking countries, Australia is much cheaper than the USA (where the average tuition fee is about Rs. 1,400,000 per year) or the UK. On the other hand, NUS has a very high standard and much lesser tuition fee. In my opinion your first priority should be NUS if you want to save money. [I am not doing any comparisons with Canada, simply because I don't know much about the education there.]

In case, you don't get admission or aren't interested in NUS, you can apply in some EU country or some other English speaking countries. The only disadvantage of EU countries is that you will most probably have to return after graduation, which makes them excellent choice if you are "research-minded" person. In case of Australia, however, people do apply for immigration after completion of their course.

I chose the UNSW simply because:
. I wanted to study in an English speaking country
. I couldn't afford the USA
. An uncle of mine lives in Sydney
. Two of my friends were already living in Sydney and taking the same course

In the posts that follow, I will only discuss the UNSW and the related admission procedures.