Guides
Not a blog - a short, dated set of answers to the specific questions we wish someone had given us straight. We'd rather publish four of these well than twenty and let them go stale.
Is a master's in the USA worth it for Indian students?
A US master's costs roughly ₹93L, nearly twice the UK, and pays back in about the same time because salaries are nearly twice as high. The H-1B anxiety is aimed at the wrong risk: with 36 months of work authorisation against a 1.1-year payback, the lottery decides how much you gain, not whether you recover the cost.
Read the guide →Is a master's in the UK worth it for Indian students?
Same median payback as the USA on half the cost, plus a one-year degree that costs you one year out of the workforce instead of two. The catch is the runway: 18 months of post-study work, and shortening. The tightest margin of the three main destinations.
Read the guide →Is a master's in Germany worth it for Indian students?
On cost Germany wins and it isn't close: a median total near ₹25L against roughly ₹93L in the US, paying back in well under a year. But payback assumes you get the job, and in Germany that assumption is doing more work than the maths. The three things that actually decide it.
Read the guide →What to ask an MS consultant before you pay - and what a good answer sounds like
Most students meet a consultant with no way to judge the answers. The two questions that separate a consultant who knows your case from one handing everyone the same list, what a good answer to each sounds like, how university commission works, and what to get in writing before you sign.
Read the guide →Choosing an MS consultant in Pune: what to check, and the number that decides it
COEP's own NIRF filing puts its median B.Tech salary at ₹10.50L, with one in six graduates going to higher studies. That median is what an MS abroad has to beat - here is what to ask, and the Pune-specific detail on visa interviews.
Read the guide →Choosing an MS consultant in Hyderabad: two very different situations
IIIT Hyderabad filed a ₹32L median with under 6% going to higher studies, while IIT Hyderabad's placement rate fell 91.8% to 76.7% in one year. Same city, opposite arithmetic - which one you are in decides the whole conversation.
Read the guide →IIT placements, from the government's own data: median salary fell, placement rate fell, higher studies doubled
Every "average package" headline is self-reported and inflated by outliers. NIRF is the one place IITs must submit a MEDIAN to the Government of India. Across the top 7 IITs, B.Tech placement rates fell 85.8% → 73.0% in two years and higher studies rose 139%. Full table, every figure linked to its source PDF.
Read the guide →The US ended “duration of status” - what the new 4-year F-1 rule means for your MS
Final rule published July 17, 2026, effective September 15, 2026: fixed stays up to 4 years, a 30-day grace period, paid USCIS extensions - and a near-total ban on switching programs or universities mid-course. The 4-year cap isn't the scary part; here's what is.
Read the guide →The H-1B lottery changed in 2026 - what it means if you're planning an MS in the US
A wage-weighted H-1B lottery now makes conversion structurally harder for entry-level applicants - including nearly every fresh international master's graduate. The $100k employer fee remains vacated by court order, and DHS proposed a separate $103,265 fee on 24 Aug 2026 that is not in force. Here's what changed, what is only proposed, and how to plan around both.
Read the guide →Admit probability vs. ROI: why a high admit chance doesn't mean the degree pays off
Admit-prediction tools tell you if you'll get in. They usually don't cover cost, salary, payback period, or visa-pathway strength - here's the difference, and how to check both before committing.
Read the guide →Should you do a minor before switching to CS/Data Science for your MS?
If you're in a "core" branch - Mechanical, Civil, Electrical - and want an MS in CS or Data Science, the path you take before you apply changes what's realistic. Most consultants don't mention this at all.
Read the guide →Why the country matters more than the university's ranking
Post-study work-visa rules vary enormously by country and change most years. A stronger visa pathway at a less "famous" school can beat a big name with a shrinking work window.
Read the guide →How to actually calculate your MS abroad payback period
The exact, no-black-box math behind "is this worth it" - the same formula that powers every Honest Scorecard, explained so you can run it yourself on any program.
Read the guide →USA vs UK vs Canada vs Germany vs Australia for MS in CS/Data Science
Cost, starting salary, and visa pathway strength compared across the five countries we cover, using the same sourced figures behind every scorecard.
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