Why BISS Began
Why BISS
Began
DESPERATION!
in 1988
Parents in
Mumbai,
India
in 2011
Our Own
Children
in 2018
Pakistan &
the Nations
In Education
Universities, VoTech
& Language Institutes
For Parents
High School
Parents
For Counselors
High School
Guidance Counselors
For Schools
International
Secondary
Schools
– 1988 Mumbai –
Desperate Young Parents
The seeds for BISS were planted when Greg Bancroft, the future founder of BISS and of a US-based humanitarian NGO, was listening to a desperate group of young Indian parents and educators share their dilemma. He was impacted as they shared the stark reality they faced. If they wanted their children to have a chance of getting a quality education they needed to pay a sizeable deposit to reserve a spot in a ‘prestigious preschool’ when their child was 6 months old!
Desperate Situation
Going to the ‘right’ preschools was a precursor to getting into the ‘right’ primary schools setting them on the path to possibly get into the ‘upper level’ accredited secondary schools, which would give their son or daughter the chance to enter the ‘upper level subsidized’ universities to gain access to better jobs in the highly competitive Indian job market. Simply put, if these young parents didn’t get their child into the system from INFANCY, they were faced with the reality that their child had little chance of receiving the education they needed to secure a bright future! Furthermore, quality education in the prestigious private schools is not only limited, but very expensive as well and, for many in the middle class, unsustainable and for the working poor unobtainable with a few government mandated exceptions.
– 2018 Pakistan –
Desperate Students
Thirty years later, this time with Pakistanis, Greg was again the center point of a conversation as they passionately shared how some 60,000 hopeful secondary school graduates pay the equivalent of $40 USD to take a university entrance exam attempting to win one of 20 available seats! Some 59,980 students paid $40 dollars to be bitterly disappointed! Many of them lose hope and give up on the dream of having meaningful and sufficient employment that would provide a moderate lifestyle that could sustain a family with modest comforts. History has shown that such a scenario can lead to civil unrest as intelligent, moderately educated young adults have little to no hope of securing a prosperous future, with minimal means to provide for themselves or their family.
– In 2018 –
Desperate Nations – the real cause of the dilemma!
As of 2018, there are over 600 million Indians under the age of 25 with 28% of the population under 14 and that percentage is growing! Many other Asian, African and Latin American countries have similar dynamics with burgeoning population growth.
The struggles these nations face is two-fold:
1.) They simply do not have enough post-secondary educational opportunities to satisfy and keep up with their ever-growing young populace. There are many more students than educational institutes to service them. The high cost of a secondary education (past 8th grade/standard) or private universities for the majority of those who do not get selected to go to the Government sponsored universities, only adds insult to injury The only way that many of these young adults have any hope of obtaining the education they need to have a chance for a reasonable future is to look to study abroad.
2.) Many of these same nations lack the quality jobs that require educated/trained employees to support a ‘moderate’ lifestyle. So, many of these are also looking to find work abroad. The lack of post secondary education and jobs in their home country is arguably the major reason for the often discussed ‘brain drain’ where the best and brightest from a ‘poorer’ nation leaves for ‘1st world’ nations, like the US. However, what is often forgotten and not discussed is the ‘brain waste’, where hundreds of thousands, even millions, of bright secondary/high school graduates, mostly from the middle class, have no reasonable opportunity to further their education and therefore have little hope of securing the few quality jobs there are back home! This can also be said of thousands of university graduates as well! (There are some 60,000 unemployed engineering graduates in India as of 2017.) India and Pakistan are by no means the only countries facing this dilemma.
On the flip side of the coin, many of the western industrialized nations are facing the opposite dilemma. Their societies are aging as the birth rate falls. These countries are facing worker shortages, especially in vocational/technical (VoTech) fields.
The problem is that these nations often will not recognize the degrees, certificates and licenses from other countries. Furthermore, foreign workers face the difficulties of gaining a visa and the requisite language skills necessary to be considered for the job. Consequently both foreign workers and local industry suffer.
– In Education –
Desperate Colleges, Universities, & VoTech and Language Institutes
“Enrollment is dwindling. Deficits are mounting. And more closures are looming: that’s the prediction of many higher-education experts, who are concerned about the future of small private colleges in America.”
This is the opening quote of an article from a US based online educational journal about the present state of 4 year (bachelor’s degree) institutions in the US. While ‘elite’, famous and large state-funded flagship universities have no shortage of student applications, many of the lesser known mid-tier state (tax subsidized) and private institutions are struggling to find enough students to break even. There are about 1700 private 4 year institutions in the US providing education to about 30% of the total number of US university students attending a 4 year college/university. There are hundreds of mid-tier, state funded schools as well. Many of these quality institutions are struggling to fill their available seats. Many do not have the budget or resources to make their name known outside of their immediate location, let alone internationally. BISS was primarily created to help “BRIDGE” this divide between students desperate for post-secondary education and institutions that are eager or desperate to have qualified students fill their empty seats as many are on the verge of shutting their doors!
This does not take into account the hundreds of VoTech and Language Institutes that are desperate to have International Students attend their school, but have no real viable way to make their institute known to the thousands of International students that would not only are desperate to attend them, but would be an excellent match as well. BISS can be the bridge that makes this happen!
– For Parents –
Desperate High School Parents
When Greg was dealing with his own children’s educational future beginning in 2011, he also experienced a sense of helpless desperation. There had to be a better way and a better system to help students and their parents navigate this minefield!
He had another conversation, this time with a`passionate, perplexed international parent whose child was one year from graduating at an elite international school. He faced the same dilemma as many other parents of graduating high school students from all over the world.
“What should my child pursue after secondary school graduation? How do I choose the right school? How can I pay for this?”
The cost difference between paying for a top tier high school education and an acceptable university education can be significant! Even this affluent, US-educated international parent was stressed and at a loss about what to do. US high school graduates and parents face the same dilemma as the BISS founder faced.
Many parents and students are desperate for the useful and affordable help that Bridges International Student Services provides.
– For Secondary/High School Counselors –
Desperate High School Student Guidance Counselors
Our own senior counselor, Dr. Brita Nash, was overwhelmed and frustrated while seeking to guide hundreds of International secondary school students through the minefield of preparing them for their post-secondary academic pursuits. Even the most experienced, caring and professional consultants are unable to give the personal time and guidance that many need.
Furthermore, with over 3000 accredited 4 year universities in the US alone, there is no way any student advisor can know all the institutes that could be a great match for a student.
BISS offers assistance and services that can be extremely beneficial to students and families that are seeking to make a difficult, complex life-impacting decision.
BISS BASIC is an outstanding and inexpensive supplemental aid for student guidance counselors to refer to their students.
– For Schools –
Desperate International Secondary Schools
Many international high schools do not offer any viable counseling services for their students that might wish to continue their post-secondary studies overseas.
Other international schools desire to present to their secondary students an academic track or guidance program to prepare them to be able to study abroad.
Then there are international schools with students that want to study in a country other than the one for which the school that they attend prepares them. For example, there are many fine international British schools which have students that want to study in the US and their counselors have no real experience with how to help their students walk through that process or even tell them what the process entails.
In all of these scenarios BISS services is an effective platform to aid student advisors/counselors and secondary high schools from around the world help their students and families make an educated decision and find the right post- secondary graduate option for them, especially those that wish to study in the US or abroad.
How does BISS help Students & the Educational World deal with Desperation? We build a Bridge between them!
BISS Basic PACKAGE

The foundation of BISS services is our BASIC package a proprietary, highly affordable, web-based, ‘matchmaking’ platform that offers a comprehensive step by step approach for US domestic or International Students who desire to continue their education in the U.S (Coming Soon: U.K, Australia, Canada, etc.).
Biss Basic Package
FULL ACCESS!- *’Pre-Approved’ Institute admissions process (*Preferred Institutions)
- *Exclusive BISS Discounts & Scholarship Opportunities (Preferred Institutions)
- Comprehensive Step-by-Step Application Guidance
- 3 Track Matchmaking system: University, VoTech or English language institute.
- Personal Contact with matched University/Institute Admissions Counselor (Preferred Institutions)
- Community Connection (where available)
Get the tools you need to advance your education.