In our globalised post-COVID world, students have amazing opportunities to pursue higher studies in the best international campuses – often with scholarships! However, the application process is complex and timely information about scholarships often hard to come by.
Our End-to-End Solution from guidance to preparation for admissions in top campuses, ensuring that your potential as a candidate is clearly reflected, includes:
A Statement of Purpose is an essay that details your reasons for
applying to a particular college or university for a particular course. It is a
great tool to share your ambitions, skills and experience with the
admission committee. It is also a mandatory document when applying
to educational institutions abroad, and is often required by various
Indian colleges and universities too.
Most colleges and universities have a standard format/template of SOP. However, the content in the SOP varies with different students applying to different institutions to pursue courses of their choice. Also, their reasons and motivations for choosing their career paths, and their personal life situations make their SOPs unique
The first paragraph usually
highlights the student’s key motivation for pursuing a given course
The second paragraph details the student’s background, academic and professional achievements, as well as short-and-long-term goals
The third and fourth paragraphs
talk about why the student wishes
to pursue the course from a particular college/university to
which he/she is applying. It should explain how the chosen institution will help the student achieve his/her career goals and ambitions
The concluding paragraph should be impactful. Here, students should highlight how their experiences and learning will positively influence their peers and benefit the educational institution that they wish to join
A graduate school Statement of Purpose focuses on the academics, professional qualities, accomplishments and goals of a student. It informs the admission committee about why a student is interested in a particular graduate programme, their journey thus far, their future career plans, etc.
Letters of Recommendation (LORs) provide a comprehensive insight into the applicant’s suitability of candidature for admission into a given educational institution. Crafting an impressive Letter of Recommendation is just as important as creating a winning SOP.An ideal LOR should be from someone who knows you well, and should showcase aspects of your personality that are not mentioned in your SOP or resume. Including qualities and accomplishments that are unique and authentic will add to the strength of your application. Irrespective of the course (UG, MS, MBA, or PhD) and country, every student requires at least three letters of recommendation from either their college or professional background.
Who knows you well
Readily agrees to provide specific
instances of your valued
contribution and excellence
Has personally witnessed the
quality of work delivered by you
Most of the universities require the LOR to be on
the official letterhead of the recommender or the
organisation he/she represents.
These can be taken from teachers, professors, school counsellors or the principal.
For master’s level applications, college professors, internship supervisors, or team lead/managers from the company where you have worked can issue recommendation letters.
A Resume or a CV is a summary of your academic history, professional skills, achievements and delivered contributions. It’s your first impression on the admission committee and, hence, should be designed very carefully.
The resume must capture the attention of the admission committee within the first few seconds. Here are some important points to keep in mind while drafting your resume:
Divide your resume into relevant headings like Academic Qualifications,
Professional Qualifications, Projects, Internships, Seminars, Workshops,
Presentations, Achievements, Technical Skills, Extra-Curricular Activities,
Sports Participation, etc.
An undergraduate programme aspirant must focus on their academic credentials, extra-curricular activities and internships
Master’s level applicants must emphasize their professional background and achievements, research, skills, awards, etc
Admission Essays are documents sought by colleges and universities abroad to consider your candidature for specific courses. The essay is a chance to make a great first impression and show the university administration why you are the right fit for your preferred course and institution. You can also use it to highlight your commitment to your educational and career goals.
Colleges/universities would provide the applicants a list of required questions or essays. These usually vary, depending on the unique requirements of a given programme and institution. The questions are designed very carefully to ascertain the eligibility of an applicant for a given programme. The aim is to find the right candidates for specific programmes.
Explain why and how studying abroad will make a difference in your educational journey
Outline your reasons for applying for a particular course
Provide details of your qualifications
Follow the instructions given by the college/university
Proofread your essays before submission
Short Answer Questions/Essays (200 – 500 words)
Long Answer Questions/ Essays (More than 500 words but less than 800 words)
Full-Length Essays (More than 800 words)
Goals Essay
Leadership Essay
Career Progression Essay
Ethical Dilemma Essay
Achievements Essay
Failures Essay
Situations Essay
While getting admission in your dream university and course is great, fulfilling the visa and legal documentation formalities is what will actually make your studies abroad dream come true.
Every country is governed by its own Immigration Laws. These vary in terms of:
Students are advised to plan their admission/application process according to the university deadlines and work backwards.
Students are required to appear for the English eligibility tests as per the university requirements, and have the required documents in place for the smooth processing of their application. Hence, a timeframe of 3-4 months is ideal to avoid any last-minute rush.
Candidates seeking financial aid, scholarships and education loans should add another couple of extra months to the process as these applications take longer getting assessed.
This is the primary requisite. However, passport validity requirement may vary. Some countries require the passport to be valid till the end of the course even at the time of applying for the student visa. Some, on the other hand, may let you apply for the visa but request you to get the validity extended till beyond the period of your intended stay in the country.
If you are applying for any category of Student Visa, you must be able to prove that you are a bonafide student. This is often done by producing documents confirming your admission at an educational institution of that country.
Most countries require proof that the student has enough funds to cover his/her tuition, college and personal expenses for the intended study period. Some countries stipulate the amount that needs to be shown in the financial proof, while others have broader, more relaxed guidelines.
Another requirement is to prove that you can communicate in the language that would be your medium of instruction. Since a majority of students plan to study in English-speaking countries, written and verbal proficiency proof is required for the same. This is usually done by taking English Language Tests like TOEFL or IELTS . Accordingly, if you plan to take up a course in any other language, you would be required to provide proficiency certification for that language.
Deciding on which colleges to apply to is one of the most critical steps for students
planning to study abroad. Given the amount of time and effort that goes into each
college/university application, it is extremely important to shortlist the institutions carefully.
Here are some key criteria to consider when working on your college list.
While ranking is one of the considerations, it is important to understand the parameters that it is based on. Ranking publishing agencies/organisations may give different weightage to different parameters. This the reason why we may see a difference in the rank awarded to a particular college/university across various publications.
Don’t just consider the overall ranking but also the weightage given to the individual factors that are important to you when selecting your best-fit college. Researching the ranking of the course that you want to pursue is also an important aspect.
Every student has unique expectations from college life. So, while considering a particular college or university for higher studies, they must take these expectations into account. Some factors that influence students’ decisions on which colleges to apply to are:
Financial aid – Does the college provide financial aid to international students?
Sports – If you are interested in pursuing a particular sport seriously in college, shortlist institutions where that sport is popular.
Size of the college – Are you ok studying at a state college with 30,000 students, or would you prefer studying in a smaller college with just 3,000 students?
Campus – Some students prefer studying in a city campus, where there isn’t necessarily a college campus – university buildings are spread across the city. Others may prefer to study in a smaller city/town, where the university life is campus-based. The latter offers more of a community life.
Weather – If the college is located in a part of the world that gets very cold (or hot), it can impact your well-being.
While one should definitely apply to their dream colleges and universities, it is also important to apply to institutions where your chances of gaining admission are higher.
The best way to find out information about a college is to connect with its students and faculty members. Admission officers, also a great resource, are usually eager to share necessary information about the college/university, student groups, clubs, alumni, etc.
Although not always possible, visiting a college/university that you aspire to join will give you a really good sense of the student life there.
Gaining quality education in top international universities is a dream for many students. However, arranging funds can prove to be a major hurdle in realising this dream. There are many scholarships provided by organisations, universities and governments to eligible candidates.
Below, we have provided a list of top international scholarships that students can avail of for pursuing higher education abroad.
Academic scholarships
Need-based scholarships
Sports scholarships
STEM scholarships
Merit-based, etc.
Research Assistant
Teaching Assistant
Fellowships
Benefited 450,000+ students in 1,000+
educational institutions across the world.
ICS conducts regular career guidance programmes across
India, South and South-East Asia, and the Middle East.
