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Your Study Guide in the USA and Europe

“Know-How about scholarships and study abroad”

February 18, 2010 Study abroad. Getting started

It is not easy at all. And it is very long process. You will need time, money and patience. One day you may feel extremely tired and be ready to give up. Never do it. The most difficult part is the first step. Once you started, you CAN and you SHOULD complete the process. So, go on.

It is not easy at all. And it is very long process. You will need time, money and patience. One day you may feel extremely tired and be ready to give up. Never do it. The most difficult part is the first step. Once you started, you CAN and you SHOULD complete the process. So, go on.

Rule #1. Never Give Up

It took me very long time to take the first step towards my aim – study abroad. During last several years my friends every day, every week, every month my friends used to hear from me: “Oh, it would be so nice if I get western education, or “Oh, today I visited Website of NNN University. It was sooo attractive, nice campus, excellent, program…” One day I realized I’d lost a lot of time. I was not as young as 5 years ago and I’d missed several opportunities. Thus I guessed to

Rule #2 USE TIME EFFECTIVELY.

Use it effectively, think much, look through websites, read newsletters, prepare for tests, every minute is decisive and after every second you are closer to your aim.

Next, number of questions will appear:
1. Why do you want to study abroad? Are not there any good universities in your country? What programs and services do they provide? What resources do they have? What is the difference between home and foreign universities? If the difference is not notable, then it’s useless to go on the next step.
2. What do you want to gain? Universities have designed their programs in different ways. You can not find two absolutely similar syllabuses for example, in the field of International Affairs. One university may focus on security issues, another one – on economic relations, etc. So, before you start, you should precisely know in which field and concentration you are interested in. Besides, some universities provide only theoretical development of the students, other also offer internships. Thus, after graduating latter kind of university, you have good knowledge + some experience.
Another subquestion deals with finances. Do you have sufficient funds for your study or you need financial assistance? If you already have sponsor for your study, it is easier to make a choice, because only few universities have full scholarships/grants for foreign students. In the case you want your university to cover all tuition and living expenses, you’ll have to do more.
3. Where do you want to study: in Europe? Asia? USA? Africa? Application process may differ according to the countries. This decision may be affected by different factors. E.g. one of my friend dreams about studying in London and nowhere else, because she loves England, English people, their literature, art, history… She’s got lots of pictures, posters, films about it. Thus it is useless to speak with her about studying in Sweden, USA, Canada or other location.

Rule #3: CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITY. Answer 3 main questions precisely: Why? What? Where? It is very important as it defines next steps that will be presented in my next postings.

Good luck.

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