Continuing from where we left in our last post on writing great statements of purpose. Try to make your paper-and-ink self come alive. Don’t just say, “I used to work on an assembly line in a television factory, and one day I decided that I had to get out of there, so I went to college to save my own life.” How about this: “One Thursday, I had soldered the 112th green wire on the same place on the 112th TV remote, and I realized the solder fumes were rotting my brain. I decided college would be my salvation.” Both 35 words. Which narrative do you think will keep the admissions committee reading?
Tell stories (briefly). Use vivid language. Be specific. …

This is part 1 of a 2 part series of advise on writing a great statement of purpose. It has been wrriten by Prof. Vince Gotera of University of Northern Iowa, and we got access to it from this blog. The Statement of Purpose required by grad schools is probably the hardest thing you will ever write. (Incidentally, the statement of purpose may also be called an Application Essay, Objectives for Graduate Study, Personal Background, Cover Letter, or some comparable title.)
I would guess virtually all grad-school applicants, when they write their first draft of the statement of purpose, will get it wrong. Much of what you have learned about writing and also about how to present yourself will lead you …

In our last post, we covered a lot on the scholarships available for students wishing to pursue education abroad. But that route is not always open to all. In fact, scholarships for students who wish to study abroad are often hard to come by, and competition is stiff for the few scholarships that are out there. Sometimes, even after the announcements of scholarships, the decision on who would actually get the scholarship is not taken till very late. In those cases, students are often left in the lurch. And hence, the idea of taking student education loans is also in vogue. A lot of students from India take up loans from various banks. These loans are then paid off within …

Higher education has become very expensive. Added to that, the cost of study abroad means a big hole in your pocket. More than 80% of the students studying abroad have to club personal savings along with some sort of aid/loan etc. in order to meet the expenses of education in foreign land. Therefore, one needs to plan carefully.
Scholarships are one of the more popular options for funding their education. But they are highly competitive and most universities/colleges do not have large budgets. Hence universities offer scholarships to a very small percentage of successful applicants upfront. However after reaching campus and by the end of the first semester students are able to obtain aid in the form of teaching/research/graduate assistantships. The …