6 factors to design the application that gets you an interview - its easier than you think!

 Hello my Chai buddies and welcome back. Hope you all have been having an amazing time so far this November. 

Today's blog is for my student friends who are planning to study abroad. Having studied abroad myself, and after a lot of conversation with my peers, I realized that many find the task of applying to a foreign university pretty daunting. With so many to-dos on the list, confusing sets in pretty quick. And then, we all have come across some of those agents who claims to paint such a motivation letter for us that we ourselves might fail to recognize ourselves in it. How would then we convince the admission board to believe in us and recognize our talents? So, in today's blog, we will talk about how to make the stunning application that helps you stand out from among the other hundreds of applicants and get you an interview. Mind it though - interview is a very crucial step in selection. And you will need to ace it as well. But we will cover that part in a later blog. For now, we will focus upon how to design your application. So, let's begin.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

 
       Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

1. What's your interest and what do you truly want to achieve?

This is the beginning step of designing your application. This question not only helps you in designing the perfect C.V and motivation letter which truly describes you, it also helps you in identifying and shortlisting universities meant for you. It will help you progress faster in your career as well.

Say for instance you are unsure whether you want to embark upon a research-centric career or corporate career. You are just about to finish high school and are seeking admission into colleges. Choose an university which has lots of clubs for extra-curricular activities and which gives credits for those. Make sure to pick one where you can have a good balance between academic and industry exposure. 

If you already know your research interests, pick a lab that works on your area and then the university the lab is associated with. Talk to the professors of the lab before applying. If possible join them as summer intern or volunteer in their research projects. This way your application will have a much higher chance of being noticed, as such familiarity counts a great deal.

If you more fascinated by the industry than academia, pick an university whose alumni:

a.  are well placed in industry.

b. have formed a network to help other graduates from their university.

Also, make sure that the university generously supports student internship activities. This will help you build up the right experience before you have entered corporate field.

2. Shortlist THE University designed for You.

Rankings! Rankings! phew! Well, good rankings of universities may be a parameter to consider, but that shouldn't be all. Following step 1, make your own ranking of the university. In addition to the above, Ask yourself the following:

a. What weather conditions I prefer / want to explore? 

b. How far is it from my home country and what would be the (expected) travel costs including visa etc.? Consider the exchange rates and fluctuations.

c. Is getting a visa too-much of a hassle? 

d. Do I TRULY want to learn the language and culture of the place? Sometimes some people get guided by fantasy only to be hit hard by reality. Learning some languages can be tough and an enduring process.

e. The food habits of the country vs my food habits - is it a drastic contradiction?

f. Will I live in an university allotted dormitory or will have to seek accommodation on my own? How is the rental market structure there?

g. The factors I am looking at step one - are they TRULY freely accessible to everyone? 

In some countries while they may say that foreign students can work on their student visas, employers might completely refuse to hire you just because you are a foreigner. 

Also, some universities may have a lot of student clubs but inclusivity of foreigners might not come easy. 

Are the professors truly welcoming of foreign candidates (or any candidates) to work with them? See of they have foreign collaborations AND foreign students whom they have SUCCESSFULLY mentored. So, make sure you choose wisely by trying to gather as much information as possible.

h. What are the admission requirements and the admission cycles? What is your budget? 

i) My pastimes vs the country & university: Will I be able to develop the person that I am? Will I be able to carry out my hobbies or learn something I am truly interested in? 

This way you will find out a customised list for you and will also be able to figure out your own competitive edge.

3. Design the CV - from You - for the University.

Imagine that you get a gift from someone - who wants to say to you that you are very special to them. The wrappers colour is your favourite colour. It is wrapped very artistically. The gift is something you have been wanting for yourself at that moment. So thoughtful isn't it. 

You would be impressed. So will the universities be, if you design your CV customised for them and the position you are applying to.

From steps one and two you already know your great fit. Now, from your life: both including academic qualifications, experiences, extracurriculars etc. shortlist what you would love to present to each university. The Target: to convey them that you and they are destined by Cupid to be together!

Pro tip:- Colour code your CV as per the university or lab's colour scheme. Use fonts they use in their website. Add references well connected within their circle or related to their research. (Make sure to have those references to recommend you. I will cover this section later in another blog.)

Remember: One size doesn't fit everyone. And this is HUGE mistake many people make in their applications that they make a single CV and shoot it to everyone. Take your time, find out the niches and customize words and colours. The more you customize, higher are your chances of being noticed. 

4. The Sincerely Motivated Motivation Letter.

Majority of the universities will ask you to fill in an SoP or a Motivation letter. Here is where I have noticed many students hire someone from freelancing websites or variety of places to write one in perfect English for them. The problem here is: The professors or admission body is no fool to not understand this trick.

Trust this - even if your ML isn't written in impeccable English, demonstrating the finest use of literary grandeur, you can ace over others. Here's How.

a. Your motivation letter should speak of why YOU want to pursue that program. Whether a particular PhD project or a masters or undergrad program, it should speak why at all you want to engage your time, energy and money into all these. And honestly, no one but you can describe yourself in most adept manner. So, Tip: write your ML yourself. 

b. It should descriptively correlate the position and your skills which you seek to transfer to the position. Whether it's an undergrad school or PhD project, every team (from university as a whole to the specific project team) speak of how your skills would add as an asset and help both you and the university to grow collectively.

c. Present a real human being. Tip: Imperfections are okay, if they tell a real story - a story of growth, unique trajectory that your life's been through, your hurdles and how you outgrew them. Even the greatest glories of academia may have had downsides. Every one understands it. So, speak what you truly are and speak your story yourself. Connect your story to the position you seek to apply for.

d. Try to paint a realistic yet ambitious picture onto how you wish to grow together.

e. Try to keep it to 1 page unless stated otherwise. Keep it concise and simple

f. Colour & font coordinate your CV and ML.  

g. Use you ML to cover for any skills you wish to talk about beyond your CV or explain any gaps in your CV. Use it as a complementary extension to your CV. Many times students simply repeat the same information in their ML as is in their CV. Please don't do it as redundancy isn't desired here. 

In short, tell them why you want to be there with them and why you are the one who should be there with them.

h. Proofread using AI-based online tools. Grammarly, Instatext.io are some tools you can use.

5. Choose your references wisely.

All references are not good references. Choose those professors who can actually write a very good letter of reference (LoR) for you. In academia, believe it or not, some professors may be excellent in their classroom conduct but truly busy beyond their own research agenda. 

So, just because you have had great grades in someone's class or fared well in their projects do not expect them to return you the favour by writing an exciting engaging or very good LoR for you. Ask them if they would. I advice that you pick up someone who is responsive to you rather than whom you are attracted to. Because a professor who is responsive to you is likely to write you better than one who may not even know who you are no matter how classy they might seem. Choose someone who can comment on various facets of your behaviour and not just classroom calibre alone.

6. Arrange your certificates.

This is something people often neglect. But it is a very essential step. Get good quality scans of all your id cards, marksheets, language certificates, certificates, letters, etc. and store them in a file in your laptop with proper file names. This is so that you can easily access your files while making your applications. 

These are some of the tips for creating an excellent application. More to come soon. Stay tuned. Stay healthy and Stay blessed.