Hi Serene Roy,

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System and is one of the most popular testing system for the language, English.

The exam is regularly held throughout the year, with 48 fixed dates, which is held based on local demand with upto four times in about one month. And the certificate is valid for only two years.

So I would recommend you to take up the exam a few months before you plan to take up your PG course.

Additionally, I'm explaining further details about the exam.

There are various academies and institutes that offer training for students willing to take up the exam. You can choose an institute depending on your geographic location.

The exam is divided into two parts- listening & speaking test and Reading & writing test.

Depending on your choice, you can take either the Academic training version of the test which will help you study in any English speaking country at the tertiary level or you can choose the General Training version of the test if you want to go to an English speaking country for work, school or any training program.

Hello RJ Jebha .

Like IELTS you can give one more test that is GRE which will help you to qualify to study in Germay as well as futher work as an employee. Full form of GRE is graduate record examination. 

Hello Sheetal

For pursuing education abroad, you need to first of all decide, in which country you wish to study, then you need to decide how are you going to finance your studies.

As per your profile, you may consider pursuing:

- Msc in physics.

- MBA.

However, please remember in order to pursue MBA from good universities abroad, you need to have atleast 2-3 years of full time work experience after graduation.

Besides work experience you also need to have very good academic record, preferably 60%-70% plus in graduation, plus you need to take below mentioned test:

1. GMAT.

2. IELTS or TOEFL.

Hii,Nav

Thanks for approaching us..

As per your question firstly I would like to say that there is no problem after 3 years of gap after graduation to take ILETS...Take a look about ILETS procedure..

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS),Is a standardised English language test designed for those  who wish to study, work and live in an English-speaking environment. The IELTS language certificate can open doors to international academic and professional opportunities in many institutions and places in the world where English is used.

IELTS is jointly owned and managed by the British Council, Cambridge English Language Assessment and IDP Education Australia. IELTS testing materials are written by international teams of writers from different English-speaking countries, so the content reflects real-life situations.

Moving further there are three types of IELTS Exam,(I added another type that you didn't mention for your better understanding).

• IELTS Academic is intended for people who want to attend study programmes at universities and other institutions of higher education which are taught in English. You will need an Academic test band score to enrol for an undergraduate or graduate degree where the teaching is in English.
• IELTS General Training is a good choice if you want to migrate to an English-speaking country and work there, or if you plan to attend a secondary school. An IELTS score is often required by the government authorities of English-speaking countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
• IELTS Life Skills, the test for UK Visas and Immigration, is appropriate if you wish to immigrate to or obtain citizenship in the United Kingdom. Unlike the other two versions, the Life Skills test assesses only your speaking and listening English skills, at levels A1 or B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The three IELTS versions do not all have the same scoring system. There is no minimum score required to pass the Academic or General Training tests. You will be graded with band scores ranging from 1 to 9 for each of the four parts of the test: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.

Heading towards the Test format 2018 now.

• Listening (30 minutes) 4 sections, 40 items
• Reading (60 minutes) 3 sections, 40 items
• Writing (60 minutes) 2 tasks
• Speaking (11-14 minutes) 3 part one-on-one conversation

On the test day of exam, candidates appear for the Listening, Reading and Writing tests one after the other in the same sequence, without any breaks in between the module sets.

From the above information I hope  it will help you to find out for your perfect one ..If you want to know further information please inbox us on career360

DO YOUR BEST!!

Dear Sanjana, IELTS is a Language proficiency test and it solely depends in how you have practised all the while and how well you can artuculate it on the D-day. There is nothing such as an ideal or optimum month to appear for IELTS. However you need to remember that the validity of IELTS score is 2 years only and so it makes more sense to write it just couple of months before you are ready to take your applications to the next level. 

Hello Gaurav,

Here are some preparation tips for IELTS Listening section area, You can follow:

IELTS Listening passages include a conversation between two to four people and a monologue. Before listening read the questions quickly and predict about the content. Try to Identify key words in the questions and also try to find unfamiliar words. Try to guess their pronunciation.

When you are listening, concentrate on all the information and listen for both the specific(key words) and general information. Don’t try to understand every word, If you are not able to answer, move on to the next question, Attempt every question.

In case you have any other query then let me know.

Good Luck!

Hello Ajay Pratap Singh,

Studying microbiology abroad is a very wise decission at your part. Since the course is research oriented, you will have a lot more scope for this abroad than what you will have for it in India.

Examinations for testing English:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for countries like USA and Canada.
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for countries like UK, Australia and New Zealand. 
• The Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) and The Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) for countries like UK.

These examinations test you in the parameter of reading, writing, speaking and listening in the English language.

Examination for all other parameters:

• Graduate Record Examination (GRE): It is accepted in universities in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe and UK. In this test the candidate is evaluated in his quantitative ability, analytical writing skills, and verbal reasoning skills. to give this test an individual should have a huge control over mathematics and English. You need to have a huge English vocabulary and should know basic mathematics.
• GRE Subject Test: In order to improve your profile you might have to give an examination on a particular subject you plan on studying abroad. They offer an examination in biology so it is advised that you give that examination as it tremendously enhance your chances.

In UK you will have to apply to the universities you choose through the UKPASS and then individually apply to each university from their online website portal. You will need to upload scanned copies of certain documents required by the universities you choose. These documents being your passport, filled masters application form, a personal statement specific to your course, academic qualification, letter of recommendation, TOEFL/IELTS test results.

With your applications to colleges in Europe you will need to have copies of your certificate of the previously completed degree, an official translation of grades and course modules, a passport size photo, copy of your passport, proof of language (English), recommendation letters, statement of purpose, and motivation letter.

Top colleges abroad for pursuing industrial microbiology are:

• University of Westminister, London
• La Trobe Univeristy, Australia
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
• University of Sydney, Australia
• Massey University, New Zealand
• University of Glasgow, UK
• Univeristy of Birmingham, UK
• Duke University, USA
• Harvard University, USA
• University of Portsmouth, UK
• University of Heidelberg, Germany
• University of Postdam, Germany
• Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Germany
• University of Pennsylvania, USA

All the best!

I hope this answers your queries!

Do revert back in case of any further doubts.

Hello Aanandi Bansal, 

IELTS is accepted in countries like the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland.

Top colleges in USA are:

• Princeton University, Princeton
• Harvard University
• Columbia University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• University of Chicago
• Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• Michigan State University
• Michigan University, Ann Arbor
• University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Williams College
• Amherst College
• Stephens College
• Pennsylvania State University
• New York University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth University
• Brown University
• Carnegie Mellon University

Top colleges in UK are:

• University of Cambridge
• University of Oxford
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• University of Manchester
• University of Edinburgh
• King's College London
• Imperial College London
• University College London
• University of Bristol
• University of Warwick
• University of Glasgow
• Durham University
• University of Sheffield
• University of Nottingham
• University of Birmingham
• University of St. Andrews
• University of Leeds
• University of Southampton
• Queen Mary University London
• Lancaster University
• University of York

Top Colleges in Australia:

• Australian National University
• University of Melbourne
• University of New South Wales
• University of Queensland
• University of Sydney
• Monash University
• University of Western Australia
• University of Adelaide
• University of Technology, Sydney
• University of Newcastle
• University of Wollongong
• Macquarie University
• Queensland University of Technology
• RMIT University
• Curtin University
• University of Sout Australia
• Deakin University
• University of Tasmania
• Griffith University
• La Trobe University 
• James Cook University

Top colleges in New Zealand:

• Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
• Victoria University of Wellington
• University of Auckland
• University of Waikato
• Massey University
• Wellington Institute of Technology
• Bay of Plenty Polytechnic
• Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki
• University of Canterbury
• AUT University of Technology
• Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
• UC International College

Top colleges in Canada:

• Centennial College
• Humber College
• George Brown College
• Seneca College
• Red River College
• McGill University
• University of Waterloo
• University of Alberta
• University of British Columbia
• University of Toronto
• McMaster University
• University of Montreal
• University of Alberta
• University of Ottawa
• Western University
• Dalhousie University
• Laval University
• Queen's University
• University of Calgary

Top colleges in South Africa:

• University of Cape Town
• University of Witwatersland
• University of KwaZulu Natal
• Stellenbosch University
• University of Johannesburg
• University of Pretoria
• North West University - South Africa
• University of the Western Cape
• Rhodes University
• University of South Africa
• University of the Free State
• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Top colleges in Ireland:

• Trinity College Dublin
• University College Dublin
• National University of Ireland - Galway
• University College Cork
• Dublin City University
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• Maynooth University
• University of Limerick
• Dublin Institute of Technology

All the best!

I hope this answers your queries.

Do revert back in case of any further doubts.