How to write an Impressive Academic Resume for University Applications?
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Check out these helpful resume writing tips and resources to help you write an impressive resume and secure admission to the best universities abroad. The most important part of developing an effective and impressive resume is to realize and understand the purpose of creating this document. You need to understand that your resume is not an autobiography; it is a summary of your professional and academic qualifications and achievements.
To help you write an impressive resume to secure admission at your dream universities abroad, we are listing out some helpful resume-writing tips and resources. Before beginning to write your resume, you need to understand the importance and purpose of this document. Know that your resume is not your autobiography; it outlines your professional and academic qualifications and achievements. Other than your university admissions, a resume will also be required during the visa process. You can go through the student visa guide for study abroad to get an understanding of the requirements of what to include in your resume.
Resume Tips
- UG: For, undergraduate applications, the focus should be on academic credentials and extracurricular activities
- MS: Applicants need to highlight their research interests and breakthroughs
- MBA: Aspirants must showcase their leadership abilities.
As and when you start working on your academic resume, the first task is to create sub-headings for clarity. Begin with Academic Qualifications, followed by Professional Experience, Academic Projects, Internships, Achievements, Technical Skills, Co-curricular Activities (including Seminars, Publications, Workshops, and Presentations), Extracurricular Activities, and Community Service. You can consider dividing your Work Experience into Professional and Entrepreneurial Ventures (if any). The contents of each section must be in bullet points, following reverse chronological order (mentioning the most recent event/occurrence first).
Related Links
- How to Prepare Resume for MBA Application
- How to Prepare Resume for MS Application
- How to Prepare Resume for UG Application
Additionally, prioritize your content as per your academic or professional profile. This would upgrade the quality of your resume and make it noteworthy. For instance, writing a quantifiable achievement before a general contribution or responsibility will leave a good impression on the reader. List all your significant accomplishments at your workplace. Further, use action verbs; these are generally used to describe roles in a project, internship or job; using effective and appropriate verbs will break the monotony of the document.
Predict your IELTS, TOEFL, and PTE in just 4 steps!
Know How to Make an Impressive Academic Resume
Given below are some key pointers to create an effective resume:
- Use bullets to provide a clean/organized look. Do not write in paragraphs. Each bullet point should preferably be in a single line. Writing too much in each point will lead to over-crowding of the draft.
- Add complete contact information in your resume. This means that you need to include your full name, complete postal address (including flat/house number, building, street name, area, city, pin code, state and country), along with your contact number and email address. Avoid funky email addresses that you may have created when you were younger. If needed, you can create a new and more mature and formal email ID.
- Pay Attention to Formatting: It is important and must be done neatly and carefully. Except for the name and contact details which are centred, the rest of the document should be in justified alignment. Use easily readable fonts and font sizes like Times New Roman/Arial with 11 or 12-point size. Use 14-point size for the name. The rest of the content can be uniform.
- Restrict the length of the document: Undergraduate and Master’s resumes should be within two A-4 pages and MBA Resume must not be more than one page in length. Your academic resume should not be very long. Divide it into clear subheadings, with the more important information mentioned first. Always begin with academic qualifications in academic resumes. MBA resumes, on the contrary, begin with work experience.
- Mention location, dates and durations: Make sure that you have answered ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ for all points. They should be written in reverse chronological order, mentioning the most recent thing first.
- Proofread your resume thoroughly: You must read and proofread your resume at least 2-3 times before submitting it. Take help from your family, your teacher or a professional, to help you create an authentic and error-free resume.
- Check all details: Whatever you mention on the document must be true, correct and verifiable. Information in different sections and across different documents, must be in sync. Take that extra effort to verify dates and durations, along with other formal details, with the documents.
- Follow stipulated formats: In case a resume format has been suggested by the university or college, the applicant must adhere to it strictly. In some instances, your university may provide a template or guidelines, which must be followed.
- Know your resume: Do not mention anything in your resume that you are not sure of or have less idea about. Never write fake or incorrect information just for the sake of adding content. This may lead to rejection.
Also, Read
How to Write an Impressive Academic Resume FAQs
Q. What is the right order of headings in an academic resume?
A. As the name suggests, your academic resume should begin with your academic qualifications. Thereafter, you should write your professional experience, internships, international exposure, research project, awards and achievements, technical skills, certifications, co-curricular activities, extracurricular activities, and community service.
Q. Where all will I need to submit my resume?
A. When you start your process of overseas education, you will first need your resume while applying for particular universities. Each university will ask for a CV, with or without specific guidelines. Further, you will see the resume as a requirement in student visa guide for study abroad. Basically, this document is crucial throughout the process and must be created carefully.
Q. Can I use samples for academic resume?
A. While it is a good idea to refer to some samples, avoid copying any content from references. In fact, a resume is a formal document with specific details; hence, it must be completely unique. You can take help in creating the sub-sections. Highlight your own unique experiences, especially the ones pertaining to research projects and internships. Your academic resume should outline your competence in your field.
Q. Can I add schooling details in my academic resume?
A. No, schooling details are not required in your academic resume. Only your Master’s and Bachelor’s details are necessary. However, if you accomplished something great in your schooling years, for instance, winning an award at the national level, then you can add it event under the relevant sub-heading.
Q: Is university of West of Scotland good for international students?
Q: What rank is Wolverhampton University in UK?
The University of Wolverhampton is one of the best universities in the United Kingdom. The university is consistently ranked among the best universities nationally and globally. For nearly 200 years, the University of Wolverhampton has been consistently providing a quality of education to students and producing highly skilled graduates. The national rankings of the University of Wolverhampton are given below:
| Ranking Body | Ranking |
|---|---|
| The Guardian University Guide 2024 | #101 |
| The Complete University Guide 2024 | #117 |
Q: Does the University of Essex require IELTS?
International students whose native language is not English must meet the University of Essex English language requirements to get admission. The university accepts IELTS scores as proof of English language proficiency. Mentioned below are the IELTS scores required for UG and PG admission at the university:
English Language Test | Score |
|---|---|
IELTS | Overall score of 5.5 to 8.0 with minimum of 5.5 to 7.5 in each section |
The university also accepts the score of other English language tests such as TOEFL and PTE for admission to undergraduate and graduate programs:
English Language Test | Score |
TOEFL iBT | Overall score of 72 to 114 |
PTE | Overall score of 59 to 84 with minimum of 59 to 80 in each section |
Also read: Required IELTS Score for UK Universities
Q: How can I get admission in the University of Manchester?
The application process at the University of Manchester may vary depending on the course and level of study. However, here is the application process for UG and PG courses:
The Undergraduate Application Process:
Step 1: You can apply through the UCAS common application portal.
Step 2: Go to the website and select the course you are interested in.
Step 3: Ensure you meet the Entry requirements (Academic qualifications, English proficiency, etc.
Step 4: Once you decide on the course, submit documents such as SOP, Transcripts and personal statements.
Check out: tips to improve your SOP.
Step 5: You can track the application's progress through your given credentials by UCAS.
Step 6: Once the applicant submits the application to UCAS, it forwards to the University, and the admission teams carefully analyse the application document.
Step 7: The university will send you an offer letter once selected. Hence keep checking your UCAS portal for your application status.
The Postgraduate application process:
Step 1: Select the postgraduate course you are interested in from the University of Manchester.\
Step 2: Ensure you meet the entry requirements for the chosen program, as they vary depending on the course.
Step 3: Complete the online application by providing your personal information.
Step 4: Upload the required documents, such as Academic transcripts and proof of English language proficiency ( TOEFL/ IELTS). experience in your fields and references (depending on the course). You also may require Two LORs depending on the course.
To make your admission better, check out the following: How Admission Officers Evaluate your application.
Step 5: If your application is successful, you will receive an offer from the University of Manchester.
Q: Is Hertfordshire University hard to get into?
With a 70% acceptance rate, the University of Hertfordshire is not hard to get into and follows easy selection criteria during admissions. This does not mean the university accepts all the students applying for different programs. The selection is based on academic performance, English language requirements, references, and many more. Some of the programs at Hertfordshire even demand an experience of 4-5 years. Students must fulfill the eligibility criteria to enroll in any programme at Hertfordshire University. In addition, students with average performance can showcase their relevant experience or extracurricular activities participation to increase their selection probability.
Q: How much IELTS score is required for Hertfordshire University?
International students coming from diverse backgrounds must prove their English language proficiency by submitting the scores of IELTS, PTE, and Duolingo at Hertfordshire University. The university demands an IELTS score of 6 from the students. Along with the IELTS scores, students can refer to the table below for all the required English proficiency score:
English language test | Minimum Score required UG | Minimum Score required PG |
|---|---|---|
6 or above | 6 or above | |
59 or above | 58 or above | |
105 or above | 120 or above |
Q: What is University of Wales, Trinity Saint famous for?
University of Wales, Trinity Saint (UWTSD) was founded in 2010, is a public institution for higher education and research at multiple locations. It was set up under the 1828 royal charter of Lampeter, the institution was the result of the merger between Trinity University College and the University of Wales. The institution merged with the Swansea Metropolitan University in 2013.
- Top Ranked University: The UWTSD is not ranked by any major ranking body, however as per the university ranking given on the official website of the university, it is ranked among:
- #1st in Wales and UK Top 5 Film Production and Photography
- #1st in Wales and UK Top 5 Fashion and Textiles
- #1st in Wales and UK Top 20 Graphic Design
- #1st in Wales and UK Top 5 Education
- #1st in Wales and UK Top 20 Sports Science
- #1st in Wales and UK Top 20 Mechanical Engineering
- #1st in Wales for Fine Arts
- Variety of Courses: UWTSD offers more than 300 programs at various levels including undergraduate, postgraduate degrees as well as multiple online courses.
- Highly distinguished and learned faculties: the faculty at UWTSD is highly learned and distinguished which enables students to be the best in their field of study.
- High Placements: According to Graduate Outcome data 2019-2020 quoted by the UWTSD, more than 95% of its graduates were found to be employed within 15 Months of graduation. The average salary of a graduate is not explicitly released by UWTSD, however, as per some unofficial sources the average salary of the graduates of UWTSD is approximately INR 30-35L. with the highest salary being reported as high as INR 66.5L for jobs in Financial Services.
Q: What is the ranking of NTU UK in terms of employability?
According to Uni Compare rankings 2024, NTU has been placed at #1 in the UK for employability. In addition to this, as per the details available on the web, some of the top companies where NTU UK alumni work are Deloitte, Microsoft, Tesco, Turner & Townsend, The Access Group, etc. Some of the industries where the alumni work are Operations, Business Development, Arts and Design, Sales, Marketing, IT, Engineering, Finance, Media & Communication, etc.
Aishwarya is a professional Writer currently working as a Study Abroad Expert in the Editorial Team at Shiksha. She has over 5 years of experience and is skilled at creating Online Content with leveraged knowledge i... Read Full Bio
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Hello Asif! You can get in touch with our counsellors at - https://studyabroad.shiksha.com/apply they will help you out with your admission-related queries and applications. Good luck!
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The University of the West of Scotland has five modern and diverse campuses in United Kingdom. The University has welcomed more than 3,000 international students which are representing 1/3 of the globe. They also have 130 European partners who are actively in global study and exchange options through the Commonwealth universities programmes. The University also offers study abroad opportunities for UWS who are eligible for the same and also have more than 20 transnational education partners worldwide which helps them deliver UWS Bachelors and Masters Degrees around the world.