And sure, the financial sector has been severely hit, but some areas like commercial banking, insurance and financial planning are bucking the trend even now. Besides, you will be only entering the job market in 2011 - by which time the sector would have hopefully bounced back.

Delhi University's Department of Financial Studies, South Campus, offers Masters in Finance and Control at the PG level (www.mfc.edu). The MFC comprises of 16 courses in finance and accounting and a super-specialisation in the last semester to equip students with skills in financial planning, decision-making and control while familiarising them with the financial and regulatory environment. The revised curriculum, which will be implemented from July '09, will include courses in investor psychology, investment philosophy, mathematics of financial markets and technology valuation.

This is a good option for someone who wishes to focus on finance from day one. The two-year programme in finance is at par with an MBA. Graduates from any discipline can apply. The admission test (on Jan 18 2009) is on the same lines as CAT with emphasis on current business and financial environment followed by a GD and interview. The application deadline is December 04. What's more, at Rs 11,500 p.a. the fee is an absolute steal.

MFC is also offered at some other universities:

• Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

• Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra

• Panjab University, Deptt of Correspondence Studies, Chandigarh (www.puchd)

• Punjabi University, Patiala (www.univpunjabi.org)

• University of Lucknow, Lucknow (www.lucknowuniv.org)

• Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (www.bhu.ac.in)

• Bundelkhand University, Campus for Open Learning, Jhansi (www.bundelkhanduniv.org).

Aspects of funding are important, since your parents may not be able to foot your bills. You will have to procure assistantship, tuition fee waiver, award, scholarships, grants, work-study or loans. It will be possible to find part-time jobs to meet your expenses overseas. It is a good idea to plan your studies at least 15 months before the commencement of the programme. If you try to search seriously for financial help only after securing admission, you may not succeed. Of course, there will be questions on your sources for funding even before admission is granted. Universities award fellowships only to the brilliant. But many can secure teaching assignments with assistantships that help to meet all the campus expenses.

The requirements for eligibility will have to be fulfilled. You may have to show evidence of your competence through scores in tests such as TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, SAT and DAT. The application process will take a long time.
University, programme

You have a programme in mind that suits your ambition. But that is not the end of your search for the programme. Try to find the universities that offer the right facilities. Analyse the stature of the university. If possible, get in touch with those who have graduated in the discipline from the university and gather further details. Check the results of evaluation of the programmes. For many of these, you may use reliable websites.

Physical Education cannot be counted as one of the four academic subjects for a B. COM degree. Moreover, keep in mind that for a B. Com Honours programme you also require Maths as a subject in Class XII board exams.

The three-year professional MCA programme provides a sound theoretical knowledge as well as good practical exposure to the demands of the information technology industry in India. It covers various aspects of computational theory, programming, algorithm design and optimisation, network and database management, mobile technologies, electronics, mathematics, probability, statistics, accounting, finance, among other areas.

There continues to be a demand in the IT sector for professionals with MCA qualifications, and the jobs vary according to the different requirements of IT companies in terms of the services they provide. You can, therefore, work as a system analyst in a big company, develop software for companies like Microsoft and Infosys, work as a systems analysts in a corporate organisation, as an internet expert, designing specialist work or take up a career in computer training. You could get into the development of systems for different usages, provide solutions to your clients and design-customised software, develop platforms for software/server-based companies, or design vast networks for a range of clients like hotel companies, Indian Railways and so on.

work in foreign trade and with multi-national companies, then consider an MBA with specialisation in international business. This is available at many management institutes, including IMT, Ghaziabad; Fortune Institute of Management, Gurgaon; Narsee Monjee Institute of Business Studies, Mumbai; Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune, and many others. As the probable range of work opportunities is so large, it is difficult to give you information on entrylevel pay as it could range , from Rs 1.2 lakh-Rs 2 lakh with an NGO to Rs 4 lakh-Rs 5 lakh with an MNC.

To become a pilot, you must first acquire a commercial pilot's licence issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation. The training for this is conducted in three stages.

Aspirants at least 16 years old who have passed 10+2 with maths and physics can register at any one of the DGCA-approved flying clubs, the Rashtriya Uran Academy, Rae Bareilly or with private flying schools.

After registration an entrance test is held in subjects such as air regulations, aviation meteorology, air navigation, and engine (technical and specific).

Those who clear the entrance test go through a medical test conducted by the Air Force Central Medical Establishment, New Delhi, or Institute of Aviation Medicine, Bangalore. A security deposit and bank clearance is also required.

A Student's Pilot Licence (SPL), valid for 12 months, permits the student to train for flying. The SPL holder has to fly only under the supervision of a flight instructor within Indian territory.

After completing 60 hours of flying, of which about 15 hours are dual flights, i.e. accompanied by the flying instructor, and at least 20 hours are solo flights, you will be eligible to sit for the Private Pilot's Licence (PPL) certificate examination.

Admission to this is through a written test for graduates who have secured around 50 per cent marks. For admission to MA in psychology at Delhi University, you need 55 per cent marks or above in psychology as well as in aggregate. Those with a BA degree in subjects excluding psychology need 60 per cent marks. For Jamia Millia Islamia's (JMI's) MA programme in applied psychology, you should be a graduate with at least 55 per cent marks or 50 per cent marks with Honours in psychology.

The admission test covers basic knowledge of psychology of the undergraduate level and general and social psychology, statistics in psychology, clinical and industrial psychology/organisation and behaviour. The written test is followed by a group discussion and an interview. Some of the other good institutes offering the MA programme in psychology include Mumbai University, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur; Jodhpur University, and Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. Two-year M.Phil.

programmes in clinical psychology are offered by the Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi; National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, and Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), New Delhi. Several institutes also offer diplo ma and certificate courses in clinical psychology across the country. JMI and a few regional centres of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) offer diploma courses in clinical psychology.

A. You could look at the following universities that offer MSc Genetics in North India. The subject is also offered as a specialisation in MSc Biotech programmes. The typical eligibility for both courses is a Bachelor's degree in physical or biological sciences, biotech, agriculture, biotechnology, medicine, dentistry or veterinary sciences. Genetics is also taught as a part of Dairy Technology courses.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
University of Delhi (www.du.ac.in)
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal (MP)
Ch Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar 125004 (Har).
Devi Ahilya University, School of Biotechnology, Indore
(MP) (www.davvbiotech.res.in)
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punj)
Rajendra Agricultural University, Samastipur (Bih).

A. According to the revised regulations of All-India Council for Technical Education [AICTE], which regulates management education in the country, every 2-year full-time general management programme which is not affiliated to any university, must be referred to as Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM).

In addition, B-schools are required to mention the sector/branch in brackets. For instance, programmes focusing on finance will be called PGDM [Finance].

Only 2-year Management courses offered by Univs can be called MBA. Hence, even the management programmes offered by the IIMs are called PGPM because the IIMs are not a university or affiliated to any university.

So these terms are merely a difference of nomenclature, and no way an indicator of the value or quality of the programme.

Also all management programmes between 1-2 years duration are treated as
certificate courses.

This means no private B-school can offer an MBA or a PGDM if the course duration is more than one year and less than two years.

A. Although each of these positions typically requires more or less the same academic qualifications, they vary in job content, hierarchy and salary (larger companies pay more).

Database programmer: Responsibilities include writing efficient/optimal code to communicate with the database; writing server and user interface programs to handle business logic.

Qualifications: MCA/ BTech etc with 0-3 years.

Database administrator: Optimises the database, tunes applications, takes backups and ensures security.

Qualifications: 1-2 years work experience on Sybase, SQL Server or Oracle DBA after BTech/BE MCA/MSc (IT)/PGDCA.

Database architect: Consults with project teams, designs optimal and efficient databases, suggests database configurations and security schemes (5-8 years).

Qualifications: BE BTech/ MCA for all. Knowledge of Oracle and Oracle Apps/Sybase/MS SQL/Mainframe DB2 / UDB DB2 etc.