Common mistakes Indian students make while applying to Top Universities Abroad
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Applicants have big queries around the application process to top universities abroad - the Dos, the Don’ts and everything in between. We have consulted our team of Shiksha Study Abroad counsellors and identified the most common mistakes Indian students make while applying to the top universities abroad. We will not only identify the mistakes but also tell you ways to avoid them to experience a successful application process.
Common mistakes applying to top universities
As informed earlier, in this article we will be discussing the most common mistakes students make while applying to top universities abroad.
Inaccurate academic requirements
The first and foremost point of error that applicants tend to make is to assume the academic requirements of a particular university/course. Most of the time, the academic requirements provided on the official website of the university for a particular course are the minimum criteria required to apply to the university. However, this does not guarantee admission. Applications of candidates with better academic achievements would be preferred over yours.
What you should do
You are required to build a strong academic portfolio. Treat the academic requirements of the university as only minimum criteria and always aim to achieve higher scores. The stronger the portfolio the better the chance for admission.
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Wrong Selection of Course
A lot of times candidates opt for courses that don’t interest them in the long run. They tend to choose courses that promise them better job prospects or rank highly for a particular year. However, it does not prove to be beneficial in the long run, resulting in the candidate losing interest in-between terms. Selecting an unsuitable course can cause irreversible damage to the academic future of the candidate.
What you should do
Candidates are strongly advised to look at the contents (syllabus) of the course before applying. Course rankings should only be treated as an indicator and not the final verdict. Courses/ universities would also require candidates to have pre-requisite knowledge of their opted course. Hence, it is important that the profile of the candidate matches the opted course, or else, the candidate would only face rejection.
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Random shortlisting of Universities
World university rankings and suggestions from friends often pressurize students to shortlist universities randomly. This should be avoided at all costs. University rankings should be treated as an indicator and while a particular university may be good for your friend, it does not necessarily be the best choice for you.
What you should do
Candidates should set their priorities straight. Instead of following university ranking trends or listening to friends, they should give more importance to factors such as the course curriculum followed at the university for their course, the faculty for the said course, and the location of the university should be the deciding factors.
Templatised SOPs, LORs & CV submissions
Your Statement of Purpose (SOP), Letter of Recommendation (LOR) and Student CV are documents that are going to break or make your application. These documents should be precise, self-explanatory and reflect your intentions of studying abroad.
SOPs
The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a document that should ideally reflect your personality traits to the admissions committee. It is an essay stating the purpose of applying to a particular course in a particular university. This essay consists of a gist of who you are, who you want to become, and how ready you are to pursue a certain course in an institution. In order to put their best foot forward, students outsource their SOPs to experts who completely miss out on the real function of an SOP. Template content is provided to the candidate which is immediately flagged by the university.
What you should do
Candidates are required to write their own SOPs. They can definitely take guidance from experts however, they should understand that a well-written SOP is important for the admission process and should come from the candidate, reflecting his/her intentions of studying abroad.
LORs
The Letter of Recommendation (LOR) is a document that provides the admission officers with a comprehensive insight into your suitable candidature, for admission into the concerned university. It aims to provide a favourable picture of your experiences, achievements, contributions, and skills communicated by the recommender. A lot of times, candidates are unable to secure genuine LORs and often end up having to write their own Letters of Recommendation (LOR) and get them authorized by the concerned person. In this arrangement, the recommender is often unaware of the contents of the LOR and is unable to vouch for the candidate if the university wants to confirm the same.
What you should do
The key is to start early. Know that your recommender is a busy person. And you are required to provide him with ample time to write you your recommendation. If you request for a LOR early, you allow the recommender to flesh out a well-versed recommendation letter which will further strengthen your application process to universities abroad.
Student CV
A resume or Student curriculum vitae (CV) is a summary of your academic and professional qualifications, achievements, contributions, extracurricular activities, and technical skills. Your resume casts your first impression on the admission committee and thus, must be designed very carefully and subsequently, critiqued meticulously. Candidates often make the common mistake of submitting a professional resume that is fit for job interviews often highlighting the professional background and leaving out academic achievements.
What you should do
Candidates should know the difference between a professional resume and a student CV. The candidate should keep in mind that the main purpose of the student CV is to highlight the academic achievements and professional experience of the candidate that is tailor-made for university admissions.
Poor interview skills
An application interview is often the make or break of any admission process. The university admissions committee is looking to see the genuineness of the candidate. It is important to establish that you are going to the country to study and not settle down. You should be aware of the programme you are looking to undertake at the university. Knowing the person in charge of your department or other intricate details of your course will only make you look like an asset to the university. Any response that suggests otherwise during the interview process could be a red flag in your admission process.
What you should do
Know about your university and your preferred programme. Talk to them about your future plans, your goals and your ambitions. Convince them that while studying at the university is a golden opportunity you have plans of returning to your home country after the duration of your post-study visa.
Applying on the last date
Perhaps the most common mistake that candidates tend to make is to assume they have ample time to apply. You Don’t! Candidates often treat the university application deadline as the last date for submission of your application. While technically this is correct. However, you need to understand that all universities work on a first-come-first-serve basis. So if there are 100 seats for your preferred course and they have filled up before the deadline, you will be asked to apply for the next intake.
Often, candidates who opt to fill out their university admission form(s) towards the end of their deadlines tend to leave out important details in their forms and make mistakes while filling out their university applications. This presents a very bad impression and should be avoided at all costs.
There is also misinformation that all countries follow the US intake season. That is incorrect. While the US universities have two intakes, namely Fall (September – December) and Spring (January - May). Other countries, be it Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand all follow the Fall Intake season that starts in September.
What you should do
Be it the USA, the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Canada, universities across top study abroad countries are opting for early admissions. Candidates are strongly recommended to opt for early applications as this way they will be able to secure a seat for their desired programme at their preferred university and not worry about seats getting full.
As mentioned earlier, candidates should opt for early admissions and also fill out their university applications carefully. Candidates should avoid last-minute application form submissions. Start early, take your time and fill out the application form. You could also take help from experts in areas that you may have confusion with. But never guess on an application form. Any carelessness or error in the university application form will reflect poorly on the candidate and could affect the chances of getting admission into the university.
Not diversifying college applications
A lot of times, candidates are fixated on the Tier I universities and forget to diversify their application by applying to multiple universities. This way, a lot of times candidates miss out on applying to other universities as they are obsessed to get into top universities especially when their academic profile does not support the high competition one finds on the top. Candidates often are unable to book their seats as they have missed out on the university deadlines and have to wait for the next intake season to apply.
What you should do
The pool of universities you are applying to should be a healthy mix of Tier I and Tier II universities. This way, even if your application is not selected for Tier I colleges you will have Tier II universities to fall back on and not waste a year.
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Not applying early for scholarships
Scholarships and financial aid are one of the most important factors in the application process. They help bring down the cost of studying abroad for candidates. Applicants often wait till the end of their application process to apply for scholarships. This should be avoided at all costs. Scholarships are financial grants that are given to meritorious students. There would be multiple students who would have applied for scholarships and the scholarship granting committee would take weeks to select the right candidate for the grant. This entire process could often take up to months to complete.
What you should do
Candidates should keep in mind that the scholarship process could take months and hence apply early. Once they have made up their mind about studying abroad. They should start their search for scholarships, shortlist the ones they are eligible for and start filling out the scholarship application form. This way they would be able to flesh out a well-written application for their scholarship and increase their chances of getting one.
Last-minute registration of exams
While standardized tests such as GRE and GMAT are not mandatory components for all universities. However, GRE/GMAT scores will only further your application. A high GMAT/GRE score will only increase your chances of admission to universities abroad. Similarly, English language tests such as IELTS, TOEFL and PTE are not mandatory requirements across universities however, having English language scores will only make your application more impressive. Candidates often tend to leave such exams towards the end of their application process. This is not advisable. Candidates cannot prepare and appear for the exam in a month’s time.
What you should do
The scores for such exams are valid for multiple years. Hence, candidates should use the benefit of the validity of the scores and try to prepare and appear for the exams well before the application deadlines. Candidates are advised to appear for their exams three months before the first application deadline to the university. This way they get to have ample time to revisit the exam in order to better their scores.
If you think we have missed out on any of the common mistakes while applying to top universities abroad, feel free to get in touch with us in the comments below.
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- Universities in UK175 Universities
- Universities in USA1037 Universities
- Universities in Canada174 Universities
- Universities in Australia122 Universities
- Universities in Ireland32 Universities
- Universities in New Zealand70 Universities
Statement of Purpose
Letter of Recommendation
Student Visa Application
Admission Essay Writing
Student Curriculum Vitae