Kavita Singh says she has always taken calculated risks and that they have, so far, paid off. Currently CEO of education consulting company, FutureWorks, Singh attended Oxford as an undergrad and Columbia as a post grad student. And with both she says she decided to adopt the “all or nothing” approach: aiming only for Oxford for undergrad and only Columbia for post grad and winning places at both on the strength of her determination, clarity and confidence.

Braingain’s Rajyasri Rao spoke to Singh at the One Globe 2012: Uniting Knowledge Communities conference in Delhi on February 4 and asked her to describe what makes for a successful applicant, what kinds of requests she receives at her company and what the abiding value of studying abroad may be.

Following are excerpts from the interview.

You have studied at two of the most coveted institutions of higher education in the world – Oxford and Columbia - what do you think got you there?

I credit my school a lot - I went to Dubai College in UAE which had extremely qualified teachers –helped by the fact that they pay people very well.A large proportion of our teachers had graduated from Oxford and Cambridge. Besides the fact that they were very smart people – they really engaged with their classes – they got us to really think, they got us to do things on our own, and they made classes fun and exciting.

“...that’s what the Oxford interview process is really all about – its academic but it’s also a debate going back and forth – where they pose a problem to you and then they wait for you to get back to them with your thoughts and analysis...”

And at home it was the same thing – my dad went to the LSE, my sister went to Oxford, my uncles went to Oxford, but it had a lot to do with how my dad thought: that a young kid can do a lot. And that’s how I think too – I remember being 8 years old and sitting with my dad while he made decisions on the stock market – “should we buy this foreign currency, should we be looking at these options?” he’d askand then also explain concepts to me and let me make decisions. As long as my reasons were logical, he would go out and actually buy a small amount of what I said – and I could see the results at the end of it.

So I’d say the school system fostered a sense of independence and the home environment strengthened it: thinking independently and believing that you can actually do things when you are young, helped me tremendously.

You have set up a consulting company, FutureWorks. Can you tell us a little about what it does?

Yes, so one of the things my company does is a college admission counselling service. And two of our clients recently have got into Oxford. And if you look at both of them, I’d give credit to their parents. Both are extremely well read, very smart individuals – you can sit and have a very engaging intellectual conversation with them – and that’s what the Oxford interview process is really all about – its academic but it’s also a debate going back and forth – where they pose a problem to you and then they wait for you to get back to them with your thoughts and analysis and a lot of kids can’t do that – because that’s not happening either at school or at home for various reasons. But that’s what distinguishes even today one child from another who is successful.

Is there a trend you see in the sorts of concerns clients bring to you?

“I would say once you have been through the process of self directed learning it makes it much easier to adapt to any new learning environment irrespective of cultural or pedagogical differences, because you are in control of your own learning and that makes a big difference.”

There are several things but one trend is people nowadays coming to me are younger and younger – and I find that extremely exciting. When I founded this business, it wasn’t just about helping people get into colleges abroad but helping them build the skills such universities are looking for because those are the skills that help them be successful in life. So we are offering to help young people build skills on a customised basis which doesn’t necessarily have to tie in with their wanting to go abroad to study. My youngest client is in class six and he is an extremely intelligent young man who asks good questions.He is looking for information guidance and he has spent time thinking about these things. What we are doing for him is building up a set of experiences which if he was in the US would have taken him into a gifted child program.We are trying to give him experiences to stop him from getting bored in class because he is not being challenged enough currently.

He did ask me a question though – whether he shouldgo abroad for undergrad or postgraduatestudies.

A lot of people who come in to meet us say:“Oh! I wish I had started younger!”

And then Ialso have parents say to me: “Can you unbundle your college admissions so that you still provide everything else that you do because my child may or may not study abroad?”And I think that’s fascinating.

When you look back on your studying abroad experiences – what would you say strikes you as different between Oxford and Columbia?

“I think the whole process of thinking of what you want to get out of that (studying abroad) – is really important. For it isn’t about the branding – the Oxfords or the Columbia’s – it’s about going to those places and leveraging what those universities have to offer.”

They were different because one was undergrad and one was postgrad – but also because their teaching methodologies are very different – Oxford still runs a tutorial based system which is an expensive system to run – so you come in and you get a question and a reading list – and after poring over some of the books prescribed you present your argument in the form of an essay which you discuss with your professor. And this takes the form of a debate which really builds the skills you need in the future:debating, going back and forth, and learning how to evolve an argumentthrough debate. And this is of course completely different from going to business school where you have the case method of teaching.I would say once you have been through the process of self directed learning it makes it much easier to adapt to any new learning environment irrespective of cultural or pedagogical differences, because you are in control of your own learning and that makes a big difference.

What got you to think of starting a business in India?

I was looking at starting my own business and I had two ideas neither of which had anything to do with India – one was in the area of health education and the other was in education and training. But I happened to visit India and I was fascinated by the changes in the education system and what was missing and was struck by the opportunity to make an impact. So I went away and came back and went through rounds of talking to people and I realised there was a huge opportunity to make an impact by bringing things that aren’t in the system that people really do need.Ultimately it would be great if it was in the curriculum, but as long as the child has access to opportunities then that’s good too. And I can say India is an interesting place to be in right now.

When you think back to your own decision to studying abroad what were the primary factors propelling you to foreign lands?

“Given how the world is changing – getting more global – such opportunities I would say open your mind to networks across the world, diverse perspectives, and it forces you to think that way – and continues to force you to think that way well beyond your stay abroad.”

My initial study abroad experience was not mine – my parents moved around and so all my schooling has been outside India. The initial decision to go abroad was obvious – I wasn’t going to return to India – but I always knew I wanted to go to Oxford.I’ve made risky decisions in my application process where I knew I wanted to go to Oxford, and nowhere else in the UK. I refused to apply to the US, much to my mother’s dismay, because I said this is the place I want to go and I will figure out if things don’t work out.And I did the same thing with Columbia.It was the only business school I wanted to go to and the only application I put in and I think whether you decide to go abroad or stay in India – I think the whole process of thinking of what you want to get out of that – is really important. For it isn’t about the branding – the Oxfords or the Columbia’s – it’s about going to those places and leveraging what those universities have to offer. How are you going to make use of the immense resources that such places have to offer while you are a student and as an alumnus?

Given how the world is changing – getting more global – such opportunities I would say open your mind to networks across the world, diverse perspectives, and it forces you to think that way – and continues to force you to think that way well beyond your stay abroad.A big trend I’m seeing is people going abroad to study with the intention of returning immediately – and that’s a good thing for India.