Studying abroad isn’t a magic pill for a great career; it needs to be thoughtfully planned and executed to be effective. Choosing the right course can be the first and most important step towards a successful career. With hundreds of courses in thousands of combinations, how should one decide what would be a good fit? The Masters guides you in making the right selection with a few tips that will help narrow down your choices.
Self-Assessment
Your counselor or parents may insist that you would do well in a particular course due to great scores or other reasons, but you know it best that what course would motivate you enough to put your heart and soul into it. Listen to your heart but stay practical. You may think you will be able to take on a really tough subject, that you will break free of your old habit of doing everything last minute and be regular with your work, but these things are easier said than done. If you haven’t done something all your life, try not to aim for a course that requires a completely radical approach and stay realistic.
Get Online
With so much material available online, you could look for courses that interest you and read up in detail about their requirements. This will not just help make a more informed decision but also ensure there are less chances of an unpleasant surprise at a later stage. You can base your research on your interests, scores, budget and other parameters. It is better to get professional guidance in addition to online guidance for best match.
Previous Stream
If you have been a non-medical, medical, commerce or arts student, it is better to choose a course in sync with your particular subjects. Not only is admission to a course without a background in it difficult (or may not even be allowed), you may not even be able to perform as well. Most study abroad courses require a fluency in English and a minimum score in a standardized test like IELTS. To ensure you don’t have to compromise because of a lower score, get in touch with The Masters for excellent guidance and coaching to get a great score or improve a previous one.
Future in Mind
It makes sense to do some reverse research. Think of what could be the perfect career for you. Once you have a few ideas in mind, think of what would be the right course to help you with that career. This way, after you complete your course you won’t be disappointed by your career options. It is common to see students who were not guided well disheartened when they do not find appropriate career options after course completion. Not just time, but also a lot of money ends up wasted in an exercise that was supposed to be a dream come true.
Personality
If you want to set up your own business or want to travel or want to work in a position that affords you a lot of prestige, your choice needs to be aligned with this. If you make a choice against your grain, it may work for a while but you will have a hard time sticking to it and may end up being unhappy with your choice. Finally, after you have narrowed down your choices, know that you may not get admission to your preferred course for a variety of reasons. It helps to have a backup plan. Think of courses other than those that are your first choice and fill in ample applications to different colleges based on your scores and grades. This enhances your chances of acceptance to at least one of the universities of your choice.
