Tips For Applying To A Master’s Program As A University Graduate, A Low-Grade/An HND Holder

In no particular order, here are some very important, mistake-avoiding, and progressive extra tips for your entire application process:

1. Make it a habit to read different types of books! As unimportant and irrelevant a lot of people think this act is, it has saved a lot of people while working on tip 2 on this list. You don’t have to be a content writer to write good content in your mails, have conversations during an interview, write essays, etc. When you make this an habit, good speaking, writing, reading, and more becomes a part of you. These, you would need not only during your application process, but also for life!
2. Get your personal statement, or your statement of purpose (sop) right. Do all the research you need to do to ensure you have the best standing you could have in that essay. The same goes for your CV/resume. These two documents determine a whole lot!
3. Make sure to have identified the people you would want to write your reference/recommendation letters for you, for your application. Unfortunately, most people make the mistake of reaching out to these people when they need their help with these letters. It is so wrong! Make it a duty to stay in touch with them from months back, and when they have agreed to write you a letter, ensure to remind them over reasonable periods, till when they submit your letter to the school. Even after, still keep in touch.
4. In case you need clarifications, or have questions on any of the requirements or information on the school, make sure to fill in the inquiry form on their website. Alternatively, simply copy their email address and send them a mail.

More tips for applying to a graduate program as a university graduate

1. Start your graduate school/master’s program as early as possible
2. Take note of the application deadlines for both the graduate program and the scholarship/funding, if any, and make sure to work towards submitting early enough. Additionally, you should never wait till the last set of hours or the last hour before submitting your application. Moreover, we all know how much internet connection could fluctuate so whether you have the best internet in the world or your location’s internet is very questionable, ensure to submit days before to avoid stories that break the heart.
3. As lenient as foreign universities can be with their doings, they can also be very strict. For this reason, make sure to adhere to their rules, regulations, deadlines, and general instructions throughout your application, and after.
4. Being that most people would like to apply to different schools with the hope to get admitted into at least one, it is important to keep track of the individual activities and/or to-dos from the different universities. To not be overly stressed out and maybe even overwhelmed with multiple emails, deadlines, requirements, and essay creations, from multiple universities, you can:
   • keep a book for such records
   • have your sticky notes up on your wall or wardrobe or anywhere they can be placed.
   • have the individual universities’ details on your mobile device’s notepad.

Extra tips

1. Save events organized by the school that you need to attend on your calendar. An example is your google calendar, ical, and outlook.
2. When you receive fresh mail from the school, confirm that it is not a scam email. You can go back to the school’s website to look very closely, to confirm that the exact domain is the same that the email address carries. A lot of people have fallen for this, and have lost a lot of money to scammers in foreign universities’ clothing.