Studying abroad is one of the most crucial decisions within a family. This choice would impact a student's career and life moving forward, hence it's important to think through and have a sound strategy to build your college list for overseas admissions, whether for undergraduate admission or postgraduate admission like MBA admissions.
The starting point should be an honest profile evaluation of your academic performance. A student's GPA or CGPA in high school, the rigor of the course work, class rank, and standardized tests scores (SAT/ACT/IELTS/TOEFL) are at the very core of the admissions decision-making process at Ivy League & top colleges in the world. By rigor of course work I mean, how have you challenged yourself beyond the regular class syllabus, such as by taking AP/IB courses or certified online courses and online projects, and how have you faired in those classes.
Similarly, have an honest assessment and profile assessment of your extracurricular activities and profile. Is it touching many activities list without really having a big impact or is it a unique profile which showcases your leadership roles, challenges and learning in your area of interest? Each top college would like to see how you have spent your time outside of the classroom and what's your unique impact and achievement. Participating in sports, debating, social work, volunteering, community work, fundraising, student exchange programs, camps, competitions, olympiads, research methodology projects, competitive summer schools, social projects and more can help with profile building for students looking to study abroad. These are great profile building activities that demonstrate personality development, public speaking skills, and international experience. Work experience, internships, skills, certifications, achievements, and research work are other important components to include on your resume and in your profile documentation. A strong letter of recommendation highlighting your profile strengths is also valuable.
Once you have an honest profile evaluation, it's time to think through a strategy encapsulating your life & career aspirations, country aspirations. Thinking deeply on these aspects should provide clarity on your best fit college list for undergraduate admissions or graduate admissions like MBA admissions. Generally speaking, this list can be anywhere between 8 to 12 colleges and can be bifurcated into three buckets:
- Safety: Academic profile significantly stronger than middle 50%; appx 80% likelihood of admission
- Reach: Academic profile similar to middle 50%; 5-20% likelihood of admission
- Dream: Academic profile is not as strong as middle 50%; 5% likelihood of admission Other important factors to consider include financial aid, scholarships, loans, application processes like UCAS and the Common Application, English language proficiency requirements, and visa counselling.
What is profile building? Profile building for study abroad refers to the process of developing a strong, well-rounded applicant profile that meets the profile requirements of your target universities. Effective profile building strategies include pursuing academics, extracurricular activities, and experiences that demonstrate your interests, skills, and potential. Profile building tools like a resume and statement of purpose (SOP) help showcase your profile balance and profile diversity.
Profile building is important whether you plan to study abroad after 10th or 12th standard. With the right profile building for high school students, it may be possible to go abroad for study after 10th. Scholarships to study abroad after 10th also exist. However, most students study abroad after 12th. Profile building services can provide guidance on how to study engineering abroad after 12th or pursue other paths.
For graduate studies, profile building for MS and profile building for MBA are critical for admission to top programs. MBA profile building requires demonstrating strong academics, test scores, work experience, leadership, and other key MBA admission criteria.
In summary, strategic and diligent profile building for university admission is essential to make your dream of studying abroad a reality, no matter which stage you're at in your educational journey.