Too Early.. Or Too Late!
If you’re interested in studying overseas, you may fall into one of these categories:
- You don’t feel ready to start applying yet?
- You’re in a rush to secure your place ASAP?
Not Ready?
Life can get pretty complicated. Working hard, family, friends, health, bills. The list goes on..
You might have enough on your plate without adding to it with preparations to study overseas.
Possibly now is not the right time anyway? Its not a good time to leave your job.. You don’t have the funds.. Or its just not the right time to ask for family support? Perhaps you’re not even sure if next year will be possible.. So why waste your precious time?
Perhaps last time you thought about it, the best programme wasn’t clear, or even the best country!
So is it time to just put your plans on hold and come back to it later?
In a Rush?
Or maybe you finally do have things in place to study overseas? How exciting! You now have a decent amount of work experience on your CV, some savings and your family have said they can provide some financial support too!
So, you’re all set! Now to find the best school, get your offer, your visa and.. job done!
It’s a great plan, but you realise the school you had in mind has already closed for applications.. You apply to a couple of other schools, but they are taking a long time to get back to you. Only then you learn about a school that would have been perfect for you. It was open when you started to make your applications, but now its closed!
You finally get an offer from a school that looks good, but now you realise there’s a visa requirement you didn’t realise to prepare in advance. You get that sorted and finally get your visa application in! All set! Phew!
OK but now there is a visa processing delay! Your school is letting you know deadlines to arrive and you’re watching the days pass by and the flight prices go up! You’re hearing from friends that arriving late can really be a bad idea.
A Better Way
Planning to study abroad is no easy task. Even with the best agent or best support network in the world, these are your own life decisions.. and they’re big ones!
You want to make informed choices that are right for you.
People underestimate the value in the application process itself. Making course or scholarship applications can really help you figure things out along the way.
Even writing the personal statement can actually be a learning exercise, you then have time to reflect on the course and the school messages with information or invitations to webinars etc.
Over time you can build a picture and compare the courses and that over time builds a picture and a framework for comparisons with other options. They also start to think more seriously and talk to people about the school, subject or even city.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t research your options before applying. But you will probably learn something, even from an application that doesn’t work out or turns out not to be your best fit.
The thought of a logical step by step sequence may sound preferable. To have everything ready and planned before applying sounds good in theory, but real life isn’t always so simple. There are so often overlaps in the preparation steps.
My advice would be to start the process early. Even if you can just apply for one university for next year, get the ball rolling and you will learn along the way. This approach makes to whole process much less stressful and you will have time to figure out what is best for you without any rushed decisions.
Oftentimes after you have made an application – the schools take it on themselves to start educating you! They may send you information by email, invite you to follow their socials, hold webinars and might even give you a phone call to tell you all the best things about their institution.
Not only is this informative but it’s also motivational and inspiring. As they say it’s not just about the destination, but the journey. So, make the journey work for you and try to enjoy it. Start early!
Contact Us to find out more.