Levi's mixed with jholas, as students went through prospectuses of 45 UK varsities. They are meeting Indian students between February 13 and 24 as part of the British Education Fair '99 at Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

Until recently, American universities seemed to be the last word for Indian students. But the number of Indians making it to American universities appears to have reached a plateau. New statistics show a definite rise in the number of students enrolling at British, Australian and French universities. According to the USIS, not more than 8,000-odd students have been going to the US in the past few years. After the United States, Britain seems to be the next best choice. As many as 4,775 Indian students left for Britain in the academic session 1997-98.

Many students visiting the British Education Fair '99 were eager to go to just about any UK college even if it was a lesser-known one in an unknown county. There has been an 84 per cent rise in the number of students going to the UK in the past four years to pursue higher studies (Source: British Council). And 65 per cent of all students who approach the education department at the British Council here are prepared to fund themselves. Says Nakul Jain, graduate from Kirorimal College, who has applied for a one-year MBA programme in Britain: ``The US is definitely the first choice but not everyone can afford to go there. American universities are very rigid about the Graduate's Management and Aptitude Test (GMAT) scores. UK universities don't need high scores. If one is a graduate with a first division and has good recommendations from teachers, one stands a good chance for admission.'' Also, UK does not have the 16-year school education requirement that American universities insist on.

There has been a 222 per cent increase in the number of students who made it to UK between 1994-95 and '97-'98 for post-graduate courses. An increase of 197 per cent has been recorded in the number of students going to UK for undergraduate courses in the same period.

Pooja Punshi, who graduated last year from Lady Shri Ram college, told Express Newsline: ``I chose UK because it's the only place where you have one-year post-graduate courses. Other countries have a two-year post-graduate programmes. It offers value for investment so that students don't waste too much time studying''.

Punshi has applied for a post-graduate course in Environmental Law and Conservation. Ruchika Castellino, manager of The British Council's education department, agrees with Punshi: ``Students want to get over with their studies quickly and go ahead with their careers''.

A survey of the enquiry pattern by students at the British Council reveals that the most popular courses are management and commerce which makes up for 50 per cent of all the enquiries. It is followed by science and technology at 20 per cent, medicine at 12 per cent, humanities and social sciences at 8 per cent, fashion design at 5 per cent, both hotel and tourist management and law at 2 per cent and media-related courses at 1 per cent.