The Ultimate Guide to Getting into University

1. Explore Your Options

As an international student you have endless options for university, and the choice can be overwhelming. Most schools subscribe to a careers guidance platform, which is the first place to start. At Prague British International School we have a platform called Unifrog, where you can search for any university course taught in English in the world, take psychometric tests and search for careers based on preferred subject combinations. Unifrog allows you to make as many university shortlists as you like. Each shortlist includes vital information such as webpage links, course structure, entrance requirements, deadlines, tuition fees, and living costs.

2. Curate Your Choices

I’m often asked, “How many universities should I apply to?” Of course, the answer depends on the individual, but many students choose around three different destinations, for example UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. Applying to too many universities can be counterproductive as more applications do not necessarily lead to more offers. The quality of the application is what’s important. One way to choose between universities is to use world rankings like The Times Higher Education World University Rankings or the QS World University Rankings  Top global universities | TopUniversities. These lists can be easily filtered for country or subject.

3. Make a Plan

You will apply for university during you last year at school, but the best time to prepare for applications is in the penultimate year. Whether you prefer a paper journal or a spreadsheet the next step is to write down your curated university shortlist and record all the most useful pieces of information such as the correct name of the course you’re applying for, the university entrance requirements, documents that you need to submit, university contact details and, most importantly, application deadlines. This will keep you organised and help you make the applications in the correct order based on which deadlines come first.

4. Write a Motivation Letter

Most university applications require a motivation letter, personal statement or essay. It takes several drafts to get this right, so make sure you have plenty of time to practise. Motivation letters and personal statements are similar, common in European university applications, they are usually around one page long and require you to demonstrate why you want to apply for your chosen subject, why you want to apply to that university and what makes you an ideal candidate.  Essays, on the other hand, are focused on a distinct question, such as “Describe a time when you faced a challenge, how did you overcome it?”, and are often required for admissions onto courses in American-style universities.

5. Write a CV

Writing a Curriculum Vitae (CV) is another common requirement for university applications, especially in the Netherlands. It enables universities to view personal information at a glance. A CV should be on one page and is written in bullet points rather than sentences. It includes information about your education, qualifications, work experience, skills, and interests. On a CV what you’ve done most recently is written first. The terms CV (UK English) and Resume (US English) are interchangeable.

6. Gather Documentation

All university applications will require some sort of grades (usually called transcripts); the format will vary according to the destination. For example, the USA wants to see grades for Years 10-13, the Netherlands is usually only interested in Year 12 grades, while the UK only want to see predicted grades. Predicted grades are the grades teachers genuinely think you will achieve in the IB exams in May and they should be as accurate as possible, as underpredicting or inflating the grades can have a negative impact on receiving or fulfilling university offers. It is important to request these transcripts from school ahead of applying.

7. Approach Referees

Most applications require a reference and again this varies according to destination. You must submit at least two references for the USA, the UK only requires a brief paragraph from a subject teacher, whilst the Netherlands may not need a reference at all. References are either uploaded by the referee via a link or given directly to you to upload depending on the application instructions. The referee must be someone at your current school, ideally it should be the subject teacher who teaches you for the subject area you are applying for. The best time to approach referees is in Year 12, the year before you apply, as this gives them plenty of time to write the reference and include relevant information. It really helps to give the referee a “Brag Sheet” listing all your achievements both academic and extracurricular. The words reference (UK English) and recommendation (US English) are interchangeable. 

8. Research Pre-admissions Tests and Entrance Exams

Some subjects or universities require pre-admissions tests. These include subjects such as Medicine or Law and prestigious universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in the UK and Bocconi in Italy. You must register for these online during the summer before Year 13, and take them in the following Autumn either at a physical test centre, (which can be found in most large European cities) or through a secure online platform. Some destinations require an entrance exam as part of the admission process. These are usually taken later in the academic year, sometimes after the IB exams. Destinations requiring an entrance exam include the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain.

9. Apply

Now you have done all your research and collected everything you need, it’s time to apply! Most applications are online, apart from a few notable exceptions that still require everything on paper, I’m looking at you Japan and South Korea! There are three main types of online application: centralised, partially centralised and direct. The USA has a centralised application called the Common App where you can apply for up to twenty universities with one application, the UK has UCAS where you can apply to five universities with one application and Ireland has the CAO Central Applications Office where you can apply to ten universities with one application. Other centralised applications include France, Sweden and Denmark. The Netherlands is an unusual case, as you apply partially centrally and partially direct to the university. Students submit up to four universities on Studielink, and wait to receive links in their email inbox to the individual Dutch university portals. Most other destinations, you apply directly to the university, or faculty, as is the case in the Czech Republic.

10. Foster Your Intellectual Curiosity

At the beginning of this article, I was being disingenuous in evoking the self-help genre. In my opinion any book that offers a quick fix to life’s knotty and nuanced problems, is not worth the paper it is written on!  Moreover, you are not expected to simply help yourself get into university. Across NAE schools there are countless dedicated careers guidance counsellors, not to mention teachers and parents you can ask for advice and guidance. Finally, far more can be learned about life’s journey from great literature than the self-help genre. For example, considering the life and work of William Blake can tell you much more about resilience than The Subtle Art. Which brings me to my last rule - read! Read around your subject. Read to foster your intellectual curiosity. Not only do university admissions officers love to hear from well-read applicants, but reading will also encourage a love of life-long-learning that will support and sustain you for years to come.

Author: Elizabeth Wilburn, University & Careers Advisor at PBIS

Interested in more information about how we help students navigate their future pathways at PBIS? Read the article about how we are Helping students navigate future pathways.