DIU Blog

Higher Studies Journey, How to start?

Higher education is a must for anyone who wishes to pursue a career in academic fields. Toland a job in an international company, a degree from a top university will come in handy. Mostly, students who are seeking admission from foreign universities should start applying evenbefore the completion of their graduation. Some people do face difficulties due to indecision, family responsibilities and suffer from having an abundance of choices. The process itself usually comes as a package of steps but students can start preparing from their undergrad years.

Research

A student aspiring to be a teacher should always focus on being a good researcher from their student life. Maintaining contact with an experienced faculty member in a certain area should be the very first step. Publication is eventual but knowing how to conduct research and be a good one is the ultimate learning.

GRE,TOEFL/IELTS

Students seeking admission in North American or European universities usually have to complete standardized tests in order to receive admission. One is Graduate Record Examinations, popularly known as GRE and the other is an English Proficiency Test which can be either IELTS or TOEFL. GRE is a little bit trickier than the other two. A candidate is graded on a total mark of 340, where two 170 sections are for verbal and quantitative sections. An additional 6 marks are kept for the written test. Usually GRE takes an extensive amount of time for preparation but achieving a good grade will help in the admission process.

TOEFL and IELTS both assess a candidate in 4 different areas, speaking, writing, reading and listening. Whereas TOEFL is graded on 120 marks, IELTS is graded on a band score of 9.0, Usually, candidates who are well versed in English language should face no problem in acing
these exams.

Academic CV

A student needs to start working on their academic CV which can be sent to the prospective supervisor and admission committee to present them with a clear academic record of the student, such as their CGPA, their achievements, research experiences, publications and much more. It is much more helpful to the professor to sort through the candidate pool based on the received academic CVS.

SOP

A statement of purpose is a new concept to the students. SOP tells the story of a student in whole, everything that the academic CV can’t explain. Determination, character everything can be told like a story in this segment and the stronger and more captivating it is, the higher the chance of a favorable outcome.

LOR

Letter of recommendations are usually issued by the faculty members or sometimes supervisors from work places who can vouch for the candidate’s ability to see this journey through. PhD/ Masters usually test a students mental strength and sometimes stretches it thin. Only an experienced person who has went through a similar journey can recommend a potential student.

The whole application process is much more extensive. But its always better to start somewhere and never look back. Our country has been sending brilliant, young minds to foreign lands but it’s high time that the policy makers take sufficient steps to bring them back and offer them lucrative position from where they can truly contribute to their motherland. We might be a small nation but even if we can go a long way only with the right steps.

About Writer:

Mazedur Rahman is a lecturer in the department of Textile Engineering, Daffodil International University. Before beginning his career as an academic, he completed his bachelor from the department of mechanical engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology.
Mazedur wants to continue walking on this path of knowledge sharing and believes that everyone should aspire to be as educated as possible. He also believes that education can both be used as a tool of pride and humility and it is the most important to know when to use which one.