A Guide to Landing Your Place On the Go Abroad Programme.
Whether it’s cycling along Dutch canals on your morning commute or completing your essential readings on a Parisian terrace, we all have a clear image of what our ideal study exchange looks like. Making that image a reality, however, can prove to be a difficult task.
Let’s start with the technical stuff. The application consists of three separate sections including “partner research and motivation” and “budget”, both of which have word counts of 200, as well as “course matching” which has an unlimited word count. You are allowed to apply for up to three locations and must follow strict requirements when choosing your courses. All your courses typically need to meet an upper-undergraduate or honours level and you may have to take additional courses that you would be required to complete during your third year back in Glasgow, such as a research methods course.
The most important tip – one you’ve probably heard a million times already and are sick of hearing by now – is to start early. Hear me out. The application takes a lot of time and preparation especially when factoring in competing deadlines for coursework, exams, and extracurriculars. Giving yourself a head start will give your application more of an edge and will eradicate any last-minute stress. Many people go into the application assuming a place is guaranteed as long as they apply. Unfortunately, that attitude often catches them out. As long as you do your preparation, take the application seriously and give yourself enough time, you are bound to get one of your locations. Treating the application as just a formality, however, will only end in disappointment.
One of the easiest mistakes to make is to extensively research a location only to later realise that you can’t even study there due to a lack of suitable courses. So, while widely viewed as the most tedious part of the application, it is crucial that you compile your course plan first and get it approved by your subject coordinator before you complete the rest. Even if you have perfect information for the budget, partner research and personal motivation sections, your application will ultimately hold no weight if you do not have suitable courses. Starting the application early will also help with this in the event that one of your choices is not suitable, you will have enough time to find another option. This is particularly the case for joint honours students who will need to communicate with two separate subject coordinators and may face more restrictions on the courses they can take.
Another way to strengthen your application is to pay close attention to the scoring matrix. Knowing exactly what information to research can feel daunting, however referencing the scoring matrix will help guide your research in a productive manner. For example, since there are only 26 marks available for budget research, avoid writing excessive amounts for this section. Aiming for roughly 26 points or details on budget will ensure that you capitalise on the marks available and make the most of the limited word count.
What many fail to realise is that not choosing the full three locations for your application is unlikely to end in a positive outcome. This is because the partner locations are allocated in a tiered system. Essentially, all applicants are placed in a list based on how they scored out of 100. The applicants at the very top will get their first choice while an applicant in the middle may get their second or third, depending on whether their first choice location is already full. An applicant at the bottom is then unlikely to get any of their choices as they will probably be full. Only applying for one or two locations will therefore risk you ending up empty-handed. Applying for three locations on the other hand, even if you are not as keen on studying at the second or third choice, will ensure you get the maximum number of points available to you and will ultimately make your application more competitive.
It’s worth noting that you should consider applying to at least one lesser-known location. There are many underappreciated options that fly under the radar such as Aarhus in Denmark or Nijmegen in the Netherlands. While they may not be as well-known as your Barcelonas or your Hong Kongs, they still offer just as memorable, if not better, experiences without the fierce competition. The bottom line is don’t immediately overlook one of your options just because you haven’t heard of it. Applying only for competitive places is risky and may result in you getting none of your options if your application doesn’t score as well as expected. After all, you may end up applying for the “oddball” locations in the second round anyway so why not put one down at least as an insurance option.
Ultimately, the go abroad application isn’t based on luck but rather by putting in the work. Start early, sort your courses first, pay attention to the scoring matrix, and apply for all three choices. And genuinely, don’t sleep on the lesser-known spots, they might just be the thing that saves your application if your top pick doesn’t come through. Do the prep, take it seriously, and you’ll be sipping coffee on that Parisian terrace before you know it.
