In the previous episode of Students Speak, we explored Karman Kaur’s academic background, university, course, motivation to pursue higher education, and career plans. In this episode, let’s learn about her preparation to seek university admission and her Statement of Purpose (SOP).

Key Highlights:

• How she prepared to be ready for university admission?
• How to draft an engaging SOP?

How she prepared to be ready for the university admission

• Research paper: Karman Kaur learned that she had to meet a few parameters in order to study at NYU, such as preparing a research paper. Since the US education system stresses practical-oriented coursework, her university required a research paper. So, she collaborated with her professors from her college to draft the best research paper. When working on this project, she intentionally combined Industrial and Organisational Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience to qualify for university admission, which worked in her favour. Once she completed the assignment, she included the same in her application to NYU.
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS): IELTS is an English language proficiency exam that study abroad students have to clear to secure seats at international universities. Although Karman Kaur was pretty confident that she would pass the exam, she thoroughly prepared for the exam and successfully cleared it.
• Graduate Record Examinations (GRE): GRE is an entrance test that students have to appear for to study overseas. This exam is for all graduate-level study programs, including business management studies. Fortunately for Karman Kaur, her university had waived this test, so she didn’t have to take it. Since the pandemic, this test is not a mandatory criterion by many universities. So, it is advised to check the university-specific requirement before applying.

How to draft an engaging SOP?
SOP is an essay that captures your academic journey, projects, career plans, reasons to select your university, course and destination, and achievements, among others. SOP is a part of the admission process of most international universities. Karman Kaur wanted to draft an appealing SOP. So, she invested a month and a half to perfect it. She shared that the competition was tough as only a few seats were available for psychology, so she wanted to ensure her SOP stood out.

• Tips on writing effective SOP
• Things to include:
• Inspiration to pursue your preferred study program
• Academic qualifications and achievements
• Projects
• Publications/Research papers (if any)
• Extra-curricular activities
• Certification programs
• Work experience (if any)
• Reasons to choose your university and destination
• Short-term and long-term goals
• Career aspirations

• Know your university, course and study abroad destination

Your university will be interested in knowing why you have selected specific varsity, study program and country. Therefore, including data demonstrating your knowledge and capturing the reasons for your choices will impress the moderators. For instance, highlighting the information about your university’s faculty members or research initiatives can be added to the SOP.

• Proofreading

Karman Kaur stressed on proofreading the documents until students have eliminated every error. She suggested you give your SOP to others to understand their point of view as it brings a fresh outlook so you can find scope for improvement too. She reached out to her peers, college professors and involved her family members too.

So, in this episode, we captured Karman Kaur’s preparation to seek university admission and Statement of Purpose (SOP). In the next episode, let’s take a closer look at student visas for the US, her education loan partner, and her advice to study abroad aspirants. Meanwhile, if you have any queries, please remember we are just a call away.