Bhubaneswar: The COVID-19 pandemic has left the entire education fraternity in limbo. Millions of students aspiring for higher studies abroad have been adversely affected across the globe. The recent graduates and soon-to-be graduates have been the worst hit in terms of realising their dreams to study abroad.
Despite the situation, universities abroad look for holistically developed and skilled students with a variety of credentials beyond academic excellence. So, aspirants of a foreign education should keep in mind certain things that would enhance their applications and make themselves more appealing to their desired institutions.
Here are some tips that will help you enhance your application:
Area of Interest: The first thing that students must prepare is to answer certain questions like Why do you want to do this? What excites you? What are you passionate about? What are the financial implications? Once a student identifies the area of interest, more it becomes easy to get admission.
You have to be totally sure about what you want to pursue. This helps in streamlining the entire process and make informed decisions. A look at the career cell, placement records and international student per cent in a particular college are also important tasks ahead of applying.
Thorough Research: A planned and structured research of the colleges and universities offering the subject you want to pursue your higher studies in is another overwhelming task. Your career depends on the right choice here.
Here you need to know your priorities as in where you want to go, what you want to study, whether or not you need financial aid and what you hope to gain from the entire experience. Besides a search on the official websites of the colleges and universities, you should also try to get in touch with alumni to get a sense of the institute that you want to get admitted to. Choosing the right fit requires a huge amount of research work.
Extracurricular Activities: After you prove your academic excellence, the foreign institutions will dig deep to know whether you are a well-rounded individual with a range of creative, athletic pursuits depending on your interests and aptitude. Here, a candidate can showcase his/her other sides which are not mentioned in the resume.
Essay & Statement of Purpose: This is the most crucial aspect of your application process. Based on one’s statement of purpose, an institution gets a hint on how you want to progress in your career. It’s better to start early on this aspect so that you don’t have to finish in a hurry and end up writing a shoddy state of purpose.
Some universities ask for answers to few guiding questions, while others specifically ask for it. They want you to outlay your goals and ambitions, which proves your desire to study a particular programme.
It is always a good idea to take guidance from counsellors while writing the SoPs. The SOP must highlight a student’s personality and convinces the university to let you study your choice of subject.
Interview Skills: This is the last part of the application process. Once called for the interview, the student knows that the particular college or university is interested in you and wants to further evaluate you. Taking prior training to handle the interview is a better idea as it will help you respond confidently and realise your dream of pursuing higher study in your desire subject and institution.
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