Nowadays, pursuing higher education abroad has become one of the goals of many students’ lives. However, it is not enough to just have a desire, you need a clear plan to fulfill your desire. Otherwise, dreams can easily turn into disappointment. The
things that need to be emphasized at the beginning of planning are selecting the right country and university, proper preparation, saving the necessary documents, and submitting the application on time. With proper preparation, the dream of higher education is no longer a dream – it becomes a reality.
1. First select the country
When going to study abroad, you first have to choose a country. Where you want to pursue higher education. There is no alternative to higher education abroad to develop yourself to a high standard. However, studying abroad alone does not do that. Because the quality of education and education system of all countries are not the same. This issue should be kept in mind first. In Asia, countries such as Malaysia, China, Japan, South Korea and in Europe, countries such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Canada, Russia, America, etc. conduct quality education programs. Many people migrate to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Hong Kong, Norway, Ireland, England—even to various universities in our neighboring India—to pursue higher education.
2. Department and University Selection
Some people go abroad for undergraduate, some for postgraduate, some for PhD. You have to decide for which level of education you want to go abroad. In that case, you must keep the age in mind. It is also more important to decide which subject you are going to study. You can go abroad for diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, PhD at any level according to your qualifications. If you want, you can choose a new subject beyond all the conventional subjects. You can also choose a subject that is in demand in other countries of the world. Medical, engineering, business administration, commerce, arts, science, marine engineering, etc. can also be the subject of your higher education. Once the country and subject are selected, you have to choose the right educational institution. The geographical location of the institution, tuition fees, number of foreign students, residential facilities, scholarship system, position in international rankings, method of study, basic admission qualifications, cost, etc. must be taken into account when selecting an institution. For this, you can find detailed information from institutions in different countries on Google.
3. Keep the original certificate in a collection
You need to collect the original certificates and mark sheets of the secondary and higher secondary examinations from the education board or school-college. In case of applying for a postgraduate degree, the original certificates and mark sheets of the graduation should be collected from the office of the university’s examination controller. Keep in mind that in many universities in Europe and America, you have to send the certificates in the envelope designated by your university to do a postgraduate degree. Again, in various universities, you have to submit a certified copy of the original certificate along with the application. Therefore, the certificate should be attested by a university teacher or a notary public.
4. Keep your passport ready
It is better to have a passport before planning for higher education. Because passport number is required for applying to institutions outside the country. However, it may vary from institution to institution. Apart from this, passport is required to take IELTS, TOEFL, SAT, GMAT, GRE exams. However, the spelling of the name in the passport must be the same as the secondary-higher secondary certificate. Because many people cannot apply for admission or scholarship due to spelling errors.
5. Fulfillment of admission requirements
Each educational institution has its own admission requirements. The requirements depend on the subject and the level at which you are going to study. A student must meet each requirement. One of the requirements is proficiency in the English language. Although many European countries have a relaxation in the subject area. However, in the case of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, IELTS is required, and in many countries, GRE, SAT, GMAT, TOEFL is required to prove language proficiency.
6. Admission process start and end dates
This is an important point in higher education. It is essential to have detailed and clear knowledge about the dates when admission applications start and end for the educational institution to which you wish to apply for admission.
7. Costs and Scholarships
You need to have a good and clear idea about the standard of living in the country from which you wish to pursue higher education. Everyone wants to grab the opportunity to get a better standard of living and quality education. However, before grabbing the opportunity, you must keep in mind the cost of education and living. If you want to complete the course of your choice at your own expense, then you must have a clear idea about how much the total cost of completing the course may be and how to pay for it. If you want, you can get a draft estimate of the total cost and payment method by emailing your chosen educational institution.
Those who wish to study on scholarship need to keep several things in mind. First, you need to see how long the scholarship is for. Whether it can be renewed or not. If the scholarship can be renewed, you need to know what kind of qualifications it will be based on. It is also important to know what expenses can be spent on the scholarship money.
8. Required documents
In higher education, documents are required as per the requirements of the educational institutions. You can easily find this information from the list of required documents as per their requirements on the official website of your chosen educational institution.
- National Identity Card (NID).
- Copy of passport (used pages of current and previous passports);
- Application form.
- Birth certificate.
- Letter of permission to enroll in the relevant educational institution (Confirmation of Enrollment);
- Health insurance certificate.
- Educational qualifications (all board exam certificates) and work experience certificates.
- Completed financial capacity (sponsor or guarantor) form.
- Birth certificate, passport or school documents as proof of the applicant’s relationship with the sponsor.
- Detailed documents on the sponsor’s source of income.
- If you have worked in the armed forces, your service record and clearance.
- In some cases, a police clearance certificate (not older than 12 months).
- For married persons, birth certificate and marriage certificate as proof of relationship between husband and wife and children.
- Death certificate or divorce papers if one of the spouses is deceased or if the spouses are separated.
- Health examination certificate.
