I have often come across students asking and sometimes worried, especially those nearing graduation in Pakistan; about getting admission into a university in US/UK/Canada…
Many are stuck at stage 1. They are not sure where to start. Some do not know which exam to appear for, GRE or GMAT?
The purpose of this thread is to make the road ahead a little more clear. I would appreciate others sharing what they think is the best way to start.
Step 1:
Search for universities via going through different rankings in your desired area of interest. US News, McLeans (for Canada, i think…) and Times for UK. By browsing through different universities and programs, one can get an idea about what options one has - in terms of the program structures etc.
Step 2:
Short list different universities based on programs and thoroughly review and note down the deadlines and requirements. How many recommendation letters would be needed (usually 3). What is their cut off score for GRE / GMAT /TOEFL / IELTS. With this one can have an idea about what score one must have.
Step 3:
Study and prepare well for whichever exams are required. A lot of material is also available online for test preparation. There are some good forums also dedicated to such test preparations. A good score is extremely important, so do not take it easy. In addition appear for the exam at the right time so that scores can be sent on time.
Step 4:
Recommendation / reference letters are very important also. Keep in mind where the professors are or people with whom you may have worked. Plan in advance so that you are not running after them for such favors at the last moment.
Step 5:
This step can also be done before. Many schools may ask you for personal statements and maybe research proposals depending on the discipline. A good proposal comes out after several revisions (atleast in my case). So write it well and imporove upon it. Again do some googling and you may find very nice resources on how to write personal statements and proposals.
I hope this information is useful for those applying for higher education.
It's not hard to get into top UK universities with mediocre grades if you're from Pakistan/India. As long as you have money, they'll accept you. At the university I'm in, local students such as myself had to have no less than 3A's at A-levels, have a crap load of recommendation and then go through grilling interview to get in, paying (£3000) yearly tuition fee. Whereas international students get in with B's, some even with a C, just because the university charges international students £20,070 a year! Its all a money game now....
Good post though, with some very useful information :)
^ I agree. Same goes for Canada. International students are accepted with very less challenge because they pay a lot more then students that are residents of Canada. I know a couple of students that are from Pakistan and did not have very impressive grades. I would say they got in with a "C" to University of Toronto, York, and Ryerson. Also, I think when it comes to limited space in a program, international students are given priority over canadian resident students. Simply because of the money factor.
Dont worry about language requirements. I recently finished grad school, and there were plenty of korean dudes who could barely talk in english...and they got on. intl students have it easy, if you're paying 12,000-aint no one about to fail ya.
Dont worry about language requirements. I recently finished grad school, and there were plenty of korean dudes who could barely talk in english...and they got on. intl students have it easy, if you're paying 12,000-aint no one about to fail ya.
believe.
conversational ability is only a part of language competency. The foreign students you mention certainly may have difficulties in speaking the language but they have fairly good writing skills and that's what matters more in most graduate programs - unless we're talking about professional schools.
I've come across ppl who can't express themselves in person but when they write me an email, I can't believe it's the same person.
Written language competency is usually a minimum criteria in a lot of Universities.