For Many Students, Applying to College Still Means Filling the Same Form Again and Again
GyanSanchaar is building a common application experience for students navigating India’s fragmented college admission system.
Ask a student who has applied to several colleges about the admission process and the answer is rarely just about academics. There are forms to find, documents to upload, deadlines to remember and different portals to understand. Much of the information is the same, but the process is repeated from college to college.
India’s higher-education system is large and diverse. AISHE 2023-24 records 48,246 colleges, and more than 70% of them do not have a common application system. That leaves students dealing with separate admission processes even when they are applying with the same academic records and documents.
The problem is not simply the number of forms. It is the uncertainty around them. Families who do not have easy access to admission guidance can end up relying on local agents, with assistance sometimes costing between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 50,000. For students in Northeast India, the challenge can be greater when admission information is primarily presented in English or through platforms designed around larger metropolitan markets.
Repeated applications also mean repeated attention to small details: which documents are required, where they should be uploaded, when an interview is scheduled and whether a college has responded. For a student already preparing for examinations or making a major career decision, keeping track of all of it can become a burden.
GyanSanchaar’s idea is to make the first step much simpler. A student creates one profile, uploads their documents once and can use that profile to apply to listed colleges. The platform’s team then helps coordinate with the college and keeps the student informed through WhatsApp, including guidance through the admission interview stage.
The student does not pay GyanSanchaar for this service. The admission fee itself is paid directly to the chosen college. GyanSanchaar’s revenue comes from colleges through a fixed referral fee, and only after a referred student has been admitted and paid the institution. There is no subscription or per-lead fee for students.
That model is designed around the outcome rather than the number of enquiries. A student’s application is not itself the point at which GyanSanchaar earns a referral fee; the payment comes after the admission has actually happened and the student has paid the college.
The platform is based in Guwahati and covers all eight Northeastern states. It currently supports nine Indian languages, including Assamese, Bengali and Nepali. For a region where language and access can influence how comfortably students navigate digital services, that local focus is an important part of the platform’s approach.
A common application experience does not remove the student’s responsibility to choose carefully. Instead, it is intended to make the administrative side of that choice less complicated, leaving students with more time to compare courses and institutions.
GyanSanchaar is operated by Sanchaar EduTech Private Limited, which is recognised by DPIIT under Startup India and registered as an MSME under Udyam. Its platform is live at gyansanchaar.com, with the aim of making a fragmented application process feel more manageable for students.
About the Author
Dr Kausshik Hazaricka MBBS Doctor
