Disha Consultants, a prominent US and Canadian education counselling firm in Western India, guides students aiming to pursue higher education outside India. The firm has offices in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Disha Consultants, established in 2003 by Ms Kavita Parikh, has helped students secure admission to Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, John Hopkins, and other leading US universities, as well as top Canadian universities including the University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo. Disha Consultants is a certified member of The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) and was one of the first firms in India to be approved by it. The firm also has the International Centre for Education (ICEF) status and NAFSA membership.
Founder of Disha Consultancy, Ms Kavita Parikh, shared how her venture came into existence, “After returning to India from the US, I established Disha Consultants in 2003 after a long stint in the corporate world. Interactions with many people over the years made me realise that there was a dearth of international educational consultants in Ahmedabad who could provide the correct guidance to many foreign education aspirants. My experience of studying in the US could be helpful to Indian students who dream of studying in another country led to the founding of Disha Consultants. What also helped was that more like-minded people became a part of Disha Consultants over time. I am joyous to share that we have helped more than 11,000 students realise their dream of studying in some of the best universities in the world”.
Further, Ms Parikh told how DC stand differs from other consultancies. “The big differentiator for Disha Consultants from other education consultancies is that all its directors have studied in the US. We all gave up permanent US residence (green cards) to settle in India. Our experience with the American education system means we can understand students’ expectations and concerns better, identify the programmes and universities that are best for them, and counsel them accordingly. My team offers personalised guidance to the students throughout the admission process to help them realise their dream of international education. Moreover, Disha Consultants focuses only on the US and Canada, two of the most popular international education destinations for Indian students”.
Being residing in India, she was promoting foreign education and it was definitely not an easy task. Sharing about the same she said, “Foreign education has always been prevalent among Indian students because of better career prospects and the chance to lead a better life. Disha Consultants is just the facilitator in the process and helps aspirants make better choices. When I first started, the biggest challenge was educating the market. Most students chose overseas universities where someone in their family or friends had been to. It took our focused efforts. But, once the results started showing up, the job became much easier. The aspirants and their families realised they would get only the right advice from Disha Consultants, which helped. Word of mouth has also been a great boost”.
Optimistic Personality Ms Kavita told us where she saw her venture in the near future, “By growing the staff, building a strong online presence, and developing a new division, I want to scale up the footprint of Disha Consultants. The field of foreign education is expected to expand in the upcoming years as more students pursue it and more parents can afford to send their kids to study abroad. We aspire to grow into more cities of Gujarat. There is no set amount or goal, but I am convinced that Disha Consultants will continue to solidify its position as the market’s top choice for students seeking overseas education advice.
