If your final aim is to crack CAT, then you have already decided that you want to do an MBA. And if management is your ultimate aim then branch is not exactly a matter of consideration for you. On the other hand, a college with campus placements is always a better choice, since cracking CAT also has an element of luck.

So, even if you crack it in a few attempts, and you are employed, then the pressure on you would come down drastically. And in the long run a college with good placements will have a better alumni network and that would further help your professional growth in the long run.

The Government of India has mandated that for the purpose of employment and higher studies, all degrees offered by distance learning mode are equivalent to the ones offered under the regular stream. But the institute has to be approved by the Distance Education Council.

In the case of professional degrees, only those with less than 40% course content in practicals could be offered under the DL mode. So, you cannot earn a BTech under DL mode. Also, all other professional degrees offered in DL mode must be approved by the Joint UGC-AICTE-DEC committee. So yes, a BA (H) from School of Open Learning is completely valid degree.

National Institute Open Schooling is an autonomous organisation set up by Ministry of HRD to enable students who are not able to study in formal school system to study and join the mainstream. Its qualifications are fully recognised and you will not face any problems when you take the NDA examination.

International Business primarily focuses on providing you with inputs on how to do business across borders. Initially, the discipline focused on teaching you concepts and skill sets essential for an exporter. So one learned export-import management, documentation, shipping and logistics and international finance. One could specialise in logistics, marketing or finance within IB. The most visible programme in IB was offered by the

.

But with increased globalisation and corporations easily moving across borders, IB also now offers courses on cross-cultural management, marketing for different markets,  multinational human resource management, etc. Even today, most the IB graduates find their first jobs in export sector. Though corporations with major export arms such as Tata, Birla and trading houses like Adani also used to recruit these graduates.

The State Trading Corporation of India and MMTC are the two major government corporations that recruits IB graduates and some PSUS like BHEL and NTPC offer opportunities once in a while.

Unless it is a very specialised MSc such as Embedded Systems or Nano Electronics, it may not be advisable to do an M.Sc. In any case, both and MSc and M Tech invariably take four semesters. In fact most MTech programmes can be completed in one and a half years, unless you are doing it from an European university where all MSc programmes are of a two-year duration.

More over, in the job market, an MTech degree is considered more relevant and appropriate than an MSc degree, especially if you want to enter the academic field, where the opportunities are plenty if you have an MTech degree. A PhD in engineering would also be easier to achieve if you move further. So if you are interested in higher studies go for an M.Tech.

A PhD is a primary requirement for a fruitful academic career. Between the two options, a PhD from a good foreign university is always a better option, though institutes such as the IIMs and IITs do offer you a reasonably good programme. The course at IIM, especially, is rigourous.

Yes. Most of the good foreign universities do offer you a scholarship or teaching assistantship. A scholarship is more prestigious and does not involve any reciprocal responsibilities. But a teaching assistantship would involve teaching undergraduate students, and tutoring for at least 20 hours a week. But most top tier universities offer you a good financial package.

There is no specialisation at the PhD level. You identify a problem with a broad disciplinary domain. But invariably PhD problems cut across multiple sub domains. You could look at the financial implications of new technology product development, for example.

Watch out for our October 2010 issue, which deals with foreign education in detail.

It is nice to see you are planning your studies well. Please read the following piece: Largest medical colleges across the country. Do read the related stories, there is one on Cracking Medical Entrances that should be of help to you. Good Luck!

If you have completed your graduation, you can apply for Banking jobs. Read our article on Cracking Bank PO. All Banks hold entrance exams for Probationary officers, so keep track of vacancies that come up and apply.

MSW is offered by various institutes such as TISS and the Delhi School of Social Work. Read the following article for more information. Also, read our social sector special.

Language studies is a vast area.  You need to decide whether you want to pursue an Indian Language such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil or pursue a foreign language such as French, German or Chinese.  Please read: http://www.careers360.com/news/3189-Opportunities-in-Foreign-Languages . This story will educate you on your options in this area.

For information about the GRE read: http://www.careers360.com/news/3425-GMAT-GRE-Getting-a-high-score. Also visit FT.com or WSJ.com to see rankings of universities abroad.  The fee structures vary according to the university you are applying to, you can go to individual websites of colleges/universities for more information.  Please read the related stories as well.

Audio Engineering is about capturing, recording, copying, editing, mixing and reproducing sound using electronic and mechanical devices. It can broadly be categoriSed into two parts: production and post production. Production part includes everything from set-up to the actual recording. Audio engineers use a variety of devices to record even the slightest sound variations. Electronic mixing board (console board), which contains variety of switches, dials, lights and meters, is a vital part in audio engineering as it can control sound input while recording or editing. In the post production section, the recorded material gets polished or "amalgamated" into sound. Digital signal processors, audio workstations, and sequencing software are the other equipment and tools used in audio engineering.
 

An audio engineer is involved in production and manipulation of sound through mechanical and digital means. One can become an audio engineer by doing a course in audiography and sound recording. He is responsible for the final sound that we hear in music, for e.g. in songs, background scores in videos, films, advertisements and so on. An audio engineer should have a good ear for music and sounds just like a photographer should have an eye for pictures. He is also known as recording engineer or sound engineer, even though the latter term generally refers to persons who develop instruments for audio engineers. 

Following is the list of some courses available in the country in the domain:
 

Hi there, do read our story on animation & technology for a rundown on the institutes which offer programmes in this area: http://careers360.com/news/3416-Animation-Digital-Technology

You can look at Careers360's May 2010 issue on 50 gratuate courses in detail and 324 options available: http://www.careers360.com/Archive/16-Archive.  Please read the related stories to make a more informed decision. Good luck!

Please read our article on pharmacy studies for more information: http://www.careers360.com/news/3147-Pharma-studies-sure-shot-prescription-for-jobs.  You will find a listing of universities abroad that you can explore as well. Do read the related stories, too.