Postgrad UK 2008 - (Page 7) www.prospects.ac.uk/PostgradUK 7 APPLY YOURSELF THE INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS’ TOP TIPS Start thinking early about what is most important to you. With so many factors to consider when choosing a course, preparation and research is key. Ultimately, we all study at university to enable us to have a better future in an area that interests us, so look at what graduates of your chosen course are doing now. Is there opportunity for work experience, exposure to employers or opportunities for further research? Rankings aren’t everything, so ensure the course content is right, that it is affordable, that you can meet the entry criteria and that the choice is yours: never feel pressured by anyone else to study something that you don’t want to. ANDREW PLANT, ASTON UNIVERSITY SHOULD I ALWAYS USE AN AGENT TO HELP WITH MY APPLICATION? Birmingham is fairly unusual in that we don’t have agents in every single country that we recruit from, so we are entering into agent agreements on a very serious basis. It’s a relationship whereby we invest a lot of training in our agents, so that they are in a position to guide students who contact them about the university and what their options are. Agents can facilitate the application process in terms of sending the applications in on their behalf. Because they have a lot of training, they have a lot of knowledge about the University, and for particular countries, they can offer a visa guidance counselling service, which is very important for students when they are applying for their student visas. HILARY EVANS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM Start early. Filling in the application form is just the last step of a long process. Allow enough time to become clear about what subject you want to study and where. Scholarship applications close up to a year before the start of your course, and many require you to already hold an offer. Don’t just select on the basis of rankings, think about whether you could see yourself living in this place for up to three years. Is this a town or city where you would feel comfortable? DR MARTIN BICKL, DURHAM UNIVERSITY HOW DO I MAKE MY APPLICATION PERFECT? The student really needs to be able to demonstrate that this is an obvious choice for them; that they have done the research and that they have a genuine interest in this subject; how it is going to meet their career aspirations etc. Obviously, they need to have a good academic background as well; at Birmingham the majority of our postgraduate courses require students to have an upper second class degree, or equivalent. HILARY EVANS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN APPLICATIONS? Forgetting to include important details such as their name. Students also often forget to sign the form or leave out the key sections. Incomplete forms will take much longer for universities to process and respond to quickly. CLAIRE PANDEY, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS A winning application is focused and demonstrates enthusiasm. Put yourself in the position of a selector: would you accept somebody who seems only vaguely interested? Also make sure you have included all relevant details. No selector likes guesswork. DR MARTIN BICKL, DURHAM UNIVERSITY Formulaic applications. Universities see many hundreds of applications and there are limits to how many students that can be accepted. Make your application stand out by demonstrating your interest in the subject you want to study. PETER INGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH Not necessarily. We select agents carefully and have their details in the country pages of our website. Agents should not charge applicants for submitting applications or for academic counselling. The only charges that may be acceptable are those for courier charges. Agents can be very helpful but advice should be sought from friends or the British Council on which agents they have dealings with. PETER INGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH Applicants are highly encouraged to submit a personal statement about background experiences and also what their expectations are, and what they expect from us. For certain international students a personal statement is quite good. A lot of international students do tend to submit CVs as well - that is good. DR RHYS WILLIAMS, POSTGRADUATE ADMISSIONS, UNIVERSITY OF ABERYSTWYTH It is not essential that you use an agent, but if the process of applying for universities and visas seems complex and daunting then you may find official representatives useful. They can act as a very good intermediary and ensure that you receive the correct information about courses, finance and visas. Most importantly, they can offer you peace of mind. You should never feel pressured into making a decision by an agent and you should ensure that you are using one approved by your chosen university. Most universities will list their in-country representatives on their websites or you can check with them directly. A good agent will listen to your needs and work hard to meet them. ANDREW PLANT, ASTON UNIVERSITY http://www.prospects.ac.uk/PostgradUK
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