Speaker 1: Hi guys, welcome back to another study abroad video in the study abroad series. This video is going to be all about guide for applying to universities abroad. I'm going to be covering everything step by step so that you get the gist of everything and as for the videos for the CVs, the essays and everything I'll be making a separate video getting into detail how to do that exactly. So make sure that you subscribe and turn on the notification bell and also comment below what is your dream university because I would love to know and let's get started. Step number one is to choose the program that you want to study. Now the first thing that came into my mind was what program do I want to study. So basically it first matters that what like subjects you're studying currently. So for example, in my undergrad I was studying marketing and economics and I wanted to explore that bit a bit further but not exactly get into that because since I've already done my undergrad in marketing and economics, I did not really want to pursue that further but I wanted to go within a branch of that for example in the marketing field. I was very interested and I was like I want to go into media marketing that's what I wanted to do. Since I already have a background in marketing, it would be a good idea to study media and communications a bit further because they're all very related and when it comes to economics it gives me a bit of a background of how the industries basically work and it's also kind of related to media and communications when you look at it because I was just reading a book about it and there were lots of mention of economics. So that's like I kind of already knew that I wanted to study media and communications apart from my general passion and interest to pursue the field. So if you're in your grade 12 for example, you need to have the right kind of subjects. So if you want to pursue anything in the science related field, it's very important that you have opted for the right stream which would be a physics, chemistry, maths or physics chemistry bio or both sometimes. So you kind of need to make sure that you have the right kind of subjects in order to pursue that particular subject in your higher education. After you have sorted out what program you want to study, it's time to choose the target country or target countries. So now this could be a bit different from anyone's I would just give you the factors which I took into account while choosing the country which I want to study. The first factor that I considered was the language spoken. So it is very important to me that I understand the local language. I won't be able to speak anything if I do not know the language right. So my first was definitely the UK and USA because English is the primary language spoken there. And then I also considered like a few other countries like Netherlands, Germany and a few other countries as well, just to be sure that even if I do not speak the local language, I know some people, if not the majority, like some people do understand the language. For example, in Netherlands, in Amsterdam, a lot of people speak English. Even in Germany, a lot of people know and understand English, even if they don't speak it. So I wouldn't be totally alone because I would not want to go in a country where I just do not speak or understand the language, it is not closely even related to English. Even if the program is taught in English, I would still want to go to a country which the local language spoken there, I understand a bit of it. Then another factor which I took into consideration was the environment. One other country which I was considering was Canada, but there was two reasons why I did not apply to Canada. Firstly, the universities did not rank much higher when compared to the other universities in other countries. And the second one was it is really cold in Canada, like it's super cold and I won't be able to survive because I always feel cold all the time. And another thing which I think everyone should consider is the travel distance. Canada was again really far from India and as well as like the USA was really far from India, I did not want to go that far from home. So I chose the UK because it was comparatively a bit closer to India. And also like direct flights. The other thing which I would also consider is the living expenses. Now, I think I did not really consider this one as much because like UK is one of the most expensive, especially London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. If I would be want to like go for more expensive places, I'd probably go to like New York, Sydney and places like that. But you also need to take into consideration while choosing the cities as well as the countries. Like you do not want it to be that expensive that there's no way you could afford it. Choose the country that fits your expenses. For example, in Germany, in like Austria, France, Belgium, the tuition fees is really low or there's no like tuition fees even for the international students at all. So that's like something which I would also consider. And lastly, I also search like what's the local life over there. For example, as an LGBT person, I would not choose a country where being homosexual or like bisexual or transgender or anything of that sort is illegal. I would not want to go there because that would be like a really bad place for me to go. So I'd definitely not go to those countries. I'll check if it suits my need as a woman and as an LGBT person. Step number three is to shortlist the universities that you want to apply to. Now, considering there are so many like thousands of universities in the entire world, you would want to go to a university which fits your needs, right? I have again shortlisted a few things which you should consider while choosing a university. The first one is that you need to categorize the university that you want to apply to into three categories. So one would be the dream university. The second one would be the competitive university and the third one would be the safe university. So make sure that you apply to like universities in each of these categories or at least like in competitive and safe. You definitely need some safety schools. If you, for example, did not get into any of your dream schools, like you would just be nowhere. You just have to wait for another year. So I'd say also apply to some safe universities. For example, I applied to five universities. I applied to Erasmus Mindus Journalism program. I applied to London School of Economics. I applied to Goldsmiths University, City University and I also applied to University of East Angalia. So I'll just like shortlist that for you right here. For the dream university, LSE was my dream university, Erasmus Journalism program was my dream university like program I'd say, Goldsmiths and City University were my competitive and then for the safety school, University of East Angalia basically was my safety school. So that's how I categorized mine. Luckily, I got into all of them, which is like crazy. Usually doesn't happen. I guess like usually doesn't happen. I guess I got kind of lucky also. So for example, if you want to apply to Harvard, that would be in your dream university because Harvard is so competitive and then you could maybe like apply to University of Texas as the competitive school and some other like, University of Arizona as a safety school, for example, like University of Arizona, you know, has a very high acceptance rate. So I did check the acceptance rate for each school before applying. Safety schools are generally the ones which accept most students have an acceptance rate of 70% or higher would be your safety school and for the competitive, they have an acceptance rate of around like 30 to 50% and the like the dream school would have an acceptance rate of somewhere from 1% to 15% I'd say because like, yeah, it's that low to be very honest. And then another consideration while choosing the university is obviously checking the like the ranking, university ranking. For example, LSE is in currently ranks in the QS world ranking, it's at 56. I hope it would be higher in the future because like it's such a good institution, but for my specific program, the ranking is number three in the world. So you also need to kind of check the program ranking along with the university ranking because that's also very important. In world rankings go to Times, world ranking go to QS, QS though is the one which is like I basically check. What's the program ranking? They have like two separate ones. Make sure that you check both of those and then I also say attend education fairs and now education fairs is a great way to meet representatives from the university. So for example, the one that I went to, which was the QS education fair, there were loads of universities from all over the world. There was RSU university and I remember telling that lady, I'm going to apply to the Erasmus program and she was like, oh, that's like a really competitive program. I was like, yeah, I was a bit scared to be honest and I got in, I did not like, I was like, oh my God, I actually got in. That's crazy. Meeting the people from the university give you an idea about that university. You can ask them any questions that you have about the university. So for example, uh, the education fair that I went to, I only went there to be very honest because they had LSE coming in and the last minute LSE canceled. So there was no LSE in that education fair. I also met with the King's College London, UCL, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia university, and then all these like good institutions are coming on to that point. I also say attend the offline events and the online events which are hosted by the universities. So LSE did not participate in that education fair, but they did have a separate event only for LSE. Like it was hosted by LSE in the British council in New Delhi where I went and I had the chance to directly like talk with them. They had this presentation thing and I could talk to them, ask them questions, listen to the entire presentation to see if LSE is actually a good fit for me or not. Obviously the last factor that you should consider is checking the program requirements. Do you actually meet the program requirements because that is super important before you apply. Otherwise the application would straight up be rejected. So make sure that you're checking the minimum grade requirement, which is like the minimum percentage that you need to have to apply to a university along with subjects that they require. Again, as I mentioned, if you're applying to a science field, you need to have the right kind of subjects. If you're applying to economics, you need to have the economics degree. If you have like whatever thing that you're applying to, you need to have the right kind of subjects for that. And also make sure to check what tests they require. So for example, you need to take the IELTS. Most institutes will require you to take the IELTS exam, as well as some institutions might ask you to take the SAT exam. And then there's also the GRE exam, which I kind of prepared for, but I did not take the GRE exam. It wasn't required for my degree. So I was like, that's good. I really did not want to appear for the GRE to be honest. Step number three is to start the application. Now you have it all sorted. You know the target countries, you know the institutions and the program that you want to apply to. The next step is to start your application process. So firstly, I would suggest you to appear for all the tests that are required, even though I myself did not like take the tests well in advance, I took them after I submitted my application and got into LSE. But anyways, I'd say take them early on and make sure that you check the requirements at least a month before your application, just make sure that you have all your tests sorted out. So like appear for the IELTS or the, what's the other one? There's IELTS and there's also the other one, TOEFL, yeah. Some institutes will ask you for the GRE, some will ask you for the GMAT. Most of them will just like take either of those two. As for the SAT, some institute would ask you for the SAT while some have their own exam. So you also need to appear for the university examination, which could be different for some universities. For example, I know some universities in Italy as well as in Germany have their own examinations. So you kind of have to appear for them instead of taking the SAT exam. Then also make sure that you check the deadlines because you do not want to miss out on any applications. Next one would be to craft your CV. Now CV is one major aspect of your application along with the letter of recommendations as well as the essays. Everything is very important. Just like consider that no one factor is greater than the other because all universities take a holistic approach. They consider all parts of your application in order for them to select you. Pay attention to every single thing rather than just grades or just your CV or just your essay. Everything is equally important. So obviously craft your CV. I'll be making a video on how to craft the perfect CV in my upcoming video. So make sure that you subscribe and turn on the notification bell. Then obviously I'd say go for the standard CV for that specific country. For example, the CV in the US can be different from the CV in the UK, can be different from the CV from Europe or Australia. So I'd say like check which country has what kind of CV. You can usually just download the templates from the university's website and apply with that CV. Do not mention useless stuff in your CV. Did something in grade 7. No one wants to know that. Okay. If you did something in grade 7, just don't put unprofessional stuff over there. Okay. Like if you're applying for postgrad degree like I was, just mention your achievements from your undergrad degree. LSE did not even ask for my grades before my undergrad degree. Like they did not even ask for my 12th and 10th grades, which is like good because I did not want to give them that anyways. So most institutions won't, but some institutions might. Again, check for the specific institution. Also now coming on to the essays, which is again a very important part of your application. That is like the main part, sort of like everything is main, but this is like where most of the students kind of mess up. I'd say do not just download a template from the web and edit it for you. It has to be very specific. It has to be very you. Personal statement is very different to an academic statement. Some of the colleges that I applied to ask for a personal statement, whereas the other ones ask for an academic statement. The other thing is references. Now references or letter of recommendations should be from your teacher. It could be some of the internships you might have done. For example, for LSE, they generally ask for like teachers. If you are currently in academia or otherwise, if you have been working like for a few years, one can be a professional and one can be a teacher's recommendation. It depends. So just check again, don't just download a template from the web and edit it according to you. That's just weird. Don't do that. Ask your teacher to highlight your achievements within that reference because that is one great way to stand out. I asked my teachers if they could highlight the points and go into as much detail as you can. Again, I'd say the remaining two things, just get your grades sorted. If you do not match the grade requirement or if you are falling behind, make sure that you keep your grades up. Very important. One of the most important things of your application is the grades, because if you just fall behind, if you do not score the grades that you are asked to, there's no chance you would get in anyways. So make sure that you have your grades up and also if your universities provide predicted grades, you could also mention that. Mine did not, so I did not mention it. But other than that, also make sure that you pay your application fees. Now, application fees, again, can be a hectic task. Some universities have a waiver for the application fees. LSE has a waiver. Some of the Ivy Leagues like Harvard, Yale and stuff like that, they also have a waiver for it. Some universities in Germany, I believe, have a waiver. Some do not. So you need to pay the application fees. Again, some universities do not have any application fees for all, so don't be surprised if you do not see any application fees, because that's good. Now that you have submitted your application, it's time for you to start applying for these scholarships, loans, bursaries, everything of that sort. So I'd say firstly, you need to apply for the scholarships which the university have. That's like the ones you have the most chance of getting. Now, there are two kinds of scholarships, like some of them are finance based, which means it depends on your finances and the other ones depends on your merit. So you should apply for both of them if you have fit the criteria for both of them. But if you only fit the criteria for one of them, then apply for that one. Again, I'd say the highest chance you have of getting a scholarship is directly from your university. So consider choosing universities which also have scholarships and apply early. That is one of the main things you should do, because scholarships applications go in sometimes earlier than the application even. So yeah, you do not want to miss out on that, because when I applied to University of Amsterdam, I missed out on the scholarship application and that really sucked. But yeah, it did not end up going anyway, so I guess it's fine now. Try to track all the scholarships deadline in like a notion page or something, because that would be really helpful for you. And other than that, also after you apply for the scholarships, I'd say the university scholarships also apply for the government scholarships. So for example, the Indian government, as well as like your home country, whichever home country you're from, those governments also provide you like study abroad scholarships. They're not very many. So I'd say like start early again, and the country that you're going to, their home like government also has scholarships. So for example, the Chevening scholarship or the Commonwealth scholarship is provided by the government of the United Kingdom. Keep track of those deadlines as well. There's also third party scholarships, which means there are also some big like corporations which provide scholarships. So for example, one of them which I can state is the Tata, Tata has lots of grants and scholarships for students. Again, very competitive, I did not match the criteria for any of them. So I did not apply, obviously. And if you do not get any scholarship, I'd also suggest you start applying for loans, student loans. Now, there's so many banks in India which give out student loans. So I'd say go for the public ones first. And if you do not get any loan from them, then go for the private ones. Now there's two kinds of loans. There's one loan which is called the secured loan and the other one is called the unsecured loan. Secured loan usually requires you to have a collateral, which means you need to mortgage maybe your property or something like that. And the unsecured one does not require anything. So you can just get the loan. Now up to 7 lakhs in India at least, you can get a loan. Like if you just require a loan for 7 lakh rupees, Indian rupees, then you do not need a collateral. You can just ask for the loan and they'll most probably give it to you. But if you're asking for like a major chunk of money, they would definitely require a collateral. Unless and until you're from one of the STEM subjects or management or law fields, which you do not actually require a collateral for some of those depending on the bank, for example. I did not require collateral because mine was a STEM course. Now you might be wondering how is like media and communications a STEM course? Well, because we also have mathematics in it. So it's an MSc program. It's a master in science, which makes it a STEM course. If you're wondering what STEM is, it's basically like sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. So if you're studying in any of these fields or management field, it could be like business or management. Or if you're studying in like law, then you usually don't require like, no, it does not usually just cut that out. Some banks will allow you to go for an unsecured loan above 7 lakh if you are studying one of these subjects. Congratulations, you've got an admit from your dream university or whichever university you apply to. You got an admit from there. Now you're wondering, oh, I've got the loan, I've got the application, like results. What do I need to do now? Well, it does not really end there because you need to apply for the student visa, which can be a long, hectic queue. I'd say apply for student visa as early as you can, because it really gets crowded up there. You need the cash letter. You also require the cash letter, by the way. So make sure that you keep in touch with the university. For this, you can usually take help from an agent. And yeah, after you have received your visa, make sure that you also submit your grades on time. Because for example, for me, I need to submit my final grades. If you aren't already graduated, then you kind of need to submit the final grades. After you've got your application results, you should also book your accommodation as well as your flight tickets, because those get really pricey. Again, my flight ticket was very expensive as well, because it was so last minute, because I did not have my student visa and I did not have my grades and cash letter on time. So it was very delayed and luckily I got here on time. But again, it cost me so much money and you can save all of that money if you book tickets in advance, if you book your accommodation in advance. So I sort of had an idea of the accommodation. I just had to pay the deposit and yeah, after that I was here. My sister was luckily here. So what she did was she came around here to check the place out first, but I know a lot of you guys are new, like you do not have someone already living over there. So in that case, I'd say choose a few properties. But firstly, if you are like completely new, I'd suggest you to book like halls of residence or the university's accommodation if you can. That's why I had to go for a private accommodation. But if you're going for a private accommodation, I'd say book in Airbnb, live there for four to five days and have some of the accommodation sorted out and go and check that place before paying anything to the people for the private accommodation. If it's a university accommodation, again, it's safe. You can probably pay them and they'll book a room for you. And there are so many different rooms. It can be a sharing room. It can be a private room and different sorts of room. It could be a flat or something. I don't know. Some industries might have that as well. Just check that. And that is all. You are prepared to apply for universities abroad. Now, all the best for your application and make sure that you subscribe and turn on the notification bell. I'll also be posting videos for the CV, for essays and everything related to that. Thanks so much for watching. Follow my Instagram at Samriddhi and Sam's Study Station where I'll be posting more content related to careers, education and study motivation. So make sure that you follow me over there and you can also comment below any questions. DM me on Sam's Study Station regarding any questions and I'll see you guys in my next video. Bye.