The admissions criteria of international universities

If you have decided to apply for studies abroad or if you are still considering it, you have surely asked yourself about the criteria under which international universities accept students and how you can meet them.

For more than 10 years, we have been offering free counselling for students who want to study abroad and annually, more than 1000 students are accepted to our partner universities. The EDMUNDO team has accumulated the necessary experience to offer you some useful tips on the requirements that can enable you to be admitted to the university where you dream to study.

The criteria presented below is not mandatory for each international university, but it is generally valid. If you want to know certain details about a particular university we work with, you can write to us here.

1. Motivation

First of all, you will need an application file to apply to a university abroad. Its content may vary depending on the country or the profile of the university programme in which you wish to become a student.

However, most international universities will ask you for:

• the final grades transcript – accompanied by an English translation
• the final degree – if you already obtained it
• a personal statement – in which you will have to explain why you chose that university’s programme,
• one or two letter/s of recommendation – depending on university these should be from school teachers, professors and/or employees
• proof of English – you can read more about the accepted English tests here.
• CV
• ID copy

As expected, one of the most important aspects in your application file is represented by the personal statement. In this essay you should write about your motivation to follow the university’s programme and how passionate you are about that field of study. Furthermore, the admissions office will appreciate if you are well-documented about the university (why you chose exactly that programme from that university).

Our recommendation is to talk about your future career plans in this essay and in the admission interview (if applicable). The more your skills and passions will be linked to a job you dream of having, the greater the chances of being accepted into that programme that corresponds to those dreams.

Ask your EDMUNDO counsellor for tips and tricks regarding the structure and content of the personal statement and of course for feedback in order to improve it.

2. School / academic results

It is important to prove to the university that you have not neglected your student responsibilities, even if you do not have the best grades. This will be done by presenting in the application file the grades transcript and your final degree, when you obtain it.

Be careful! Depending on the study destination / university chosen, you may be asked for a certain grade in your final exam so make sure to ask your counsellor if this is the case with your chosen university.

Don't be discouraged if you do not have obtained the required grade for admission because there are also programmes within the international universities that accept students with lower academic results.

3. Extracurricular activities

It is essential to keep in mind that extracurricular activities are not mandatory, but they are a good indication for your initiative and passion to learn new things outside the formal educational context.

The more these extracurricular interests are in your chosen field, the better. Our advice is not to get involved in too many NGOs or other organizations just because you want your CV to be full of such experiences. Choose the ones most relevant to your aspirations and values that guide you in life. Authenticity is more revealing in this case than quantity.

We want to highlight these issues because, in the last period, we have observed an increase of these activities, in the CVs of the applicants, but for short periods of time and in very different fields. Our recommendation, with the feedback of the admissions officers evaluating your applications, is that these extra-curricular activities should be ideally in related areas and as relevant to your passions or to the field of studies you want to pursue abroad as possible.

So, do not pile up diplomas, your involvement and how much you have developed personally from that experience is much more relevant to the admissions committees of international universities!

4. International English test

Have you heard of IELTS, CAE or TOEFL international English tests so far? They are among the most well-known international English certifications and are recognized by all universities around the world. If you want to become an international student, the chances of being accepted to a top university increase if you already have such certification or are in the process of obtaining one.

We dedicated an entire article explaining this topic, where you can read about the differences between international English language tests, their prices, how you can prepare for them, and many other details you can go through here.

If you do not have such an exam and do not want to prepare for one, there are alternatives to prove that you will be able to cope with the courses taught in English (university-specific tests / English proficiency from the final high school exam / online interviews, etc.). Ask your EDMUNDO counsellor about these alternatives.

Last but not least, we recommend that you constantly practice English and/or the language that is predominantly spoken in the country where you want to apply to study in order to have a smooth transition if you become an international student. Moreover, knowing more languages can make it easier for you to find a student job 😊

Holistic criteria

If you managed to go through this article, you must have noticed that most universities abroad do not have the same requirements as those at home. Admission is mostly based on a well-developed file, motivation and a well-rounded personality, not only on the grades obtained.

If you really want to study abroad, it is worth applying! Especially since you can work with an EDMUNDO counsellor. The counselling is entirely free of charge if you decide to apply to one of our partner universities.

Contact us if you are determined to live abroad the experience of your life!