How to Apply to Colleges Abroad: Your Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide

How to Apply to Colleges Abroad - In the hopes of quality education, international exposure and better career opportunities, many students dream of studying abroad. From the infinite number of universities, countries and courses, it would be a challenging task to shortlist and apply to the top universities in the world.

Students willing to study abroad in countries like the USA, UK, Canada, etc., must know that each country and university has a varied type of application process. Students who are thinking about “how to apply for colleges abroad?” can follow some necessary guidelines that help in the smooth processing of the college application and ensure admission to the university/college.

How to Apply to Colleges Abroad

Several steps and stages are involved in admission to foreign universities. All the details are discussed below.

1. Assess the course

The first step in “how to apply for abroad colleges” is course selection. The candidate can first decide the course or program they are willing to study abroad. For this, the candidate can check their interests and goals and choose a course with exactly suits their requirements. Also, consider the career opportunities available after course completion.

2. Search for University/College

Once the course is decided, search for the colleges. Choosing the right Abroad university is one of the crucial stages in “how to apply to colleges abroad.” The Abroad universities provide the course details on their official website. If the candidates find trouble understanding the information regarding course names, subjects or modules, they can contact the university admission office through chat, call, mail, etc.

Shortlist the colleges based on their rankings in the world(university ranking and subject-wise ranking), admission acceptance rate, placement rate ( for employment opportunities), etc. Not all top universities charge high tuition fees, students can also look for cheap universities with the best ranking for budget-friendly options.

Candidates can select 10 to 15 universities and later decide on a few depending on the upcoming process and criteria.

3. Research about the country

Choosing a country to study abroad is an essential step in the process of “how to apply for abroad colleges.” Shortlist the country based on university, interests, existing family members or friends, visa acceptance rate, cost of living, safety and secure environment, etc. For students looking for budget options, there are affordable countries to study abroad.

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4. Check the admission requirements

Know the course qualification criteria like age, education, admission necessary documents, fee details, and admission intake for the course. This is one of the crucial stages in the process of “how to get into a foreign university”. Check every necessary thing for admission requirements.

5. Entrance exams

Many students who are thinking about how to apply to colleges abroad are required to attempt these entrance exams to get admission into an abroad university. Most universities and courses have two (2) types of entrance exams for abroad study. Candidates need to check the minimum qualifying scores for these exams and start the preparation. Candidates can devote approximately 1 year (partially or full-time) for preparing and attempting these tests.

Few Aptitude Entrance exams for Abroad Education

English Proficiency Requirements

English proficiency exams act as one of the eligibility steps in the process of “how to apply for abroad colleges.” Along with the courses related to entrance exams, most of the universities in English-speaking countries demand an English proficiency test or proof of language proficiency, to make sure that the candidates understand the lectures of the course.

English Proficiency Tests to Study Abroad

6. Plan for the financial expenses

Planning the finances is the mandatory step in “how to apply to colleges abroad.” Once the candidates check the tuition fees for the course and admission requirements, they can start planning for the overall financial budget required for the abroad study. Tuition fees, entrance exam registration fees, visa charges, abroad living expenses are some of the major expenses required for study abroad.

7. Admission Intake

Each country has a varied admission intake. Most of the universities follow these intakes according to the country-wise for accepting admissions from both international and domestic students. However, students need to check the admission intake for every university and course separately, as they are varied.

In a few universities, the admission application is available throughout the year. For these universities that have these rolling intakes, it would be better to apply at the earliest possible to get selected for the university scholarships. So, candidates can consider these things in the process of “how to take admission to foreign universities.”

8. Collect the necessary documents for the University Application form

A long list of necessary documents must be submitted while applying to the abroad university. Check the necessary documents available on the university website. Pay attention to the details mentioned, if the candidates find trouble in understanding the information related to the documents they can contact the university admission office for clarifications. Here is a list of common documents for students to know in the process of how to apply to colleges abroad.

Common documents necessary in the university application are

• Academic Transcripts - Academic Transcripts are academic records that can be collected from the college or university the candidate studied.

• Entrance Exam Test score report - GRE/ GMAT/ LSAT/ MCAT

• English Language Proficiency Test - Score reports like IELTS/TOEFL/DET.

• Research proposal/ Portfolio/ Project Description (for specific courses)

• Letters of Recommendation - Candidates can request their college professors to provide Letters of Recommendation. Choose the professors wisely, who know the candidate's accomplishments, skills, personality and capability, etc. Not all universities or courses require LOR.

• Statement of Purpose (SOP) - Universities demand SOP to know the candidate’s purpose behind applying for the course. The SOP articulates the career goals and path of the candidate. Mostly essays are asked for UG applicants, SOP for PG applicants

• Work Experience Letters (if any)- If the candidate has any previous work experience, they can include them.

• Certificates - extra-curricular activities, internships, publications, etc.

While applying to universities in English-speaking countries, make sure all the documents are in English language or else attach with English translated.

Related Reading:

• How to write best SOP for MBA

• How to write SOP for MS

• SOP Sample for Warwick University Admission
  

9. Online Application Process

It would be harder to submit applications for each university and course separately for study abroad. Universities accept student applications through common application interfaces like Common App, and UCAS. Using these services candidates will be able to apply for multiple universities of the same course in one single process. Check the university for its available options in the application or else directly apply through the university's official website. The application processing can take up to 6 months.

10. Prepare for Admission interview

Few universities ask the candidate to attend the admission interview before finalizing the application. This phase is not mandatory for all the applicants in the process of “how to apply for colleges abroad.” Questions related to candidates, interests, career goals, previous projects or work experience are frequently asked.

11. Arrange for the Financial Expenses

Once the candidate receives an admission acceptance letter from the university, they can start arranging for the finances required for study and living costs abroad. Many banks provide education loans to students for abroad study.

How to apply for scholarships in foreign universities?

Many abroad scholarships are provided by universities, government authorities and other private organisations. University-based scholarships can be applied before admission application or after depending on the university. This varied university scholarship application process, eligibility criteria and necessary documents for the scholarships should be checked and then applied accordingly.

Some of the required essentials for these scholarships can include a letter of recommendation, a personal statement (essay), good academic grades, and proof of financial need, etc. for shortlisting the candidates for scholarship.

Few Scholarships Abroad:

• Fulbright Scholarships

• Commonwealth scholarships

• Inlakhs scholarship