“The world is full of wonderful things you haven’t seen yet. Don’t ever give up on the chance of seeing them.” – J.K. Rowling
Yes, overseas education can be a life changing experience. It carries with it a lot of exposure, learning, adapting to, experiencing newer points of view about our world. Students who successfully complete their foreign education often refer to it as an eye opener. However, this blog post is not about how enriching this experience could be.
Today’s blog post is about asking a few questions before you decide to embark on this journey. While overseas education is an adventure in itself for most of the students, but there is a small proportion that does not voice similar positive opinions about it and they have their own reasons for it. Some are just not mentally prepared to deal with the transition and others find the preparation as overwhelming. Whatever be the reasons, these disappointments leave a deep impact on a young mind.
The aim of this post is to help you decide if overseas education is for you. Following are some of the most important aspects that you would experience and deal with once you go to another country to study. Treat it as more of a thought experiment. Try to imagine every scenario listed below in your mind and see how you will cope with them. If you are able to cope with all of them with minimal stress, then you would find it comparatively easier to deal with them when you face them in real life. So, here we go:
- Adaptability to the foreign weather and food – This is question of mental adaptability more than biological. Most of the countries for overseas education have weather that is vastly different from what we experience here in India and it’s the same with food and spices. While, due to globalization and connectivity, you may get Indian food everywhere but it won’t taste the same. With weather, there are countries which have extreme winters and mild summers. How adaptable do you think you are on these two parameters? Is your desire to study abroad stronger than your taste buds? Would you be able to manage the different weather conditions with minimal grim? These are the questions that you need to explore and find answers within.
- Clear reasons for studying abroad – Why do you want to study abroad? What is that one goal that you will realize by getting foreign education? Clarity on this front is very important since you would need to answer this question in various formats in your application form, admission essays, SOPs, visa application and interviews. If you are struggling with clarity, you may as well speak to one of our admission officers to discover your reasons for overseas education.
- A determination to successfully complete the course – When you opt for a course in a different country, you don’t go there alone. You also represent your own country informally. You might wonder why but your conduct and intent throughout the stay would help people around you form impression about your country and its people. Are you someone who is determined enough to successfully complete the course because no university would want students who leave the course halfway. Such negligence would make it difficult for future students to get admission in that particular university in future since there will be comparisons with the past. Are you aware of this responsibility and are you ready to shoulder it on?
- Integrity and an overall good conduct – No country would want to entertain students with questionable conduct. Integrity, honesty, abidance to local law and order are some of the basic unsaid rules that every country expects international students to follow right from day 1. Do you believe in all of these virtues and do they come to you naturally? These are some of the important aspects that a visa officer in almost every country would look for before granting you a study visa. They may ask you directly and give you situational questions to get a more honest reply. Whatever it is, this question helps them to keep their country a safe place for their own residents and other international students.
- Clear financial plan to manage expenses and a strong financial back up plan – This is a question of survival in that country for the duration of the course. Your financial planning should be precise and practical and your back up plan needs to be strong and reliable. During your application process, you will be asked to submit sufficient proof of your plan. So, it is important to create a proof based financial plan to manage all your expenses during your stay.
- Strong intent to prepare for the application process thoroughly – Applying to a foreign university is a long process – one that needs hard work, patience and perseverance. Are you ready to give that kind of dedication to be able to complete the process till the end? You may want to get in touch with one of our counselors to understand the length of the procedure to decide.
- Adaptability to foreign culture and people – Are you a people’s person or a loner? Do you like interacting with strangers or are you a couch potato? Well, both have an equal chance of completing an overseas education. What makes the difference is how they do it. People who love interacting and experimenting with new things are more open to the diversity that foreign education brings. They find it easy to adapt. While people who are more introvert may take a little longer to find their own space in the new world.
Hope the points above have helped you to understand what it would mean to study in a different country. If you are still unsure, let us help you discover your strengths that will make this journey memorable for you. At GoCan, we are just a call away!