New Beginings
A list of things that was wildly new to me when I started researching for my masters, needed help with and many things useful for kids applying for colleges as well:
¡ There are colleges with more study options than we regularly hear about and some of them are even wildly exciting. Although not every parent would agree with your options, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO STUDY. Donât let anyone else make that decision for you.
¡ As controversial as evening colleges, gap years and underrated subjects are, donât hesitate to choose for yourself if that is what you need. Not everyone needs to have a degree in a STEM subject before choosing a masters of their choice or choosing a completely different career path.
¡ Research scholarships and grants. There are more than we can imagine, and numerous organizations other than mainstream that fund for you co-scholastic skills as well or depending on your nationality, ethnicity or religion-caste.
¡ Marks arenât everything. Not every college demands that their students have top grades, but also to possess different skills, interests, hobbies and qualities. However, this DOES NOT mean that really bad grades get you accepted. Unless the colleges are, in rare circumstances, greedy and accept students with extra fees, basic acceptable grades are required in almost every college.
¡ Personal research is essential. Sure someone else can choose and decide for you, but as a young adult it is completely necessary for you to research what kind of colleges are in your vicinity, the subjects you want study, their curriculums, evaluate costs and many more things.
¡ Knowledge of finances is something we all have to learn and keep up to. Most households have a tendency to keep kids, and sometimes, girls out of money matters. Knowing more will only help us manage better, organize and make an efficient plan.
¡ Have experience with basic legal matters. Like getting a driverâs license, having a passport, going to the bank for transactions, how to pay taxes, knowledge of loans and credit cards, how to rent an apartment, how to get your vehicle fixed, etc.
¡ Confidence in yourself that you can do it. Honestly, the first thing I built myself on is that I can handle this and decide to plan it methodically. I cannot imagine doing everything and then not having the nerve while taking the big step to move out to study or otherwise. Iâve had a friend freak out because it all happened too fast and I saw them struggle alone.
¡ Find a friend or a senior or anyone who has done this before. Hearing out their experience makes it better for you as a confidence booster and helps you plan more neatly. Try getting to someone whoâs studied the same field as you. I had enough trouble to find a humanities graduate to tell me how they did it all, as I grew up in a community full of people always pursuing STEM subjects.
¡ Keep in track of the deadlines for the applications and map out what you want to get done by when. Pushing the planning and execution of the whole process to the end only makes it more stressful and causes a time crunch. Some people plan it for years, while some for at least an year to be prepared sufficiently. I started out a rough plan years ago, but Iâm only getting into the details months in advance. Iâd have done it earlier if not for the situation I was in.
¡ Know how to speak the local language, at least the basics, when going to a different place to study. Interacting with the locals and finding your community would make your experience infinitely better and more memorable.
