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Do you want to learn more about studying in Europe? The following websites can help you to find your study programme in Europe.

MastersPortal.eu - find and compare Master's in Europe

BachelorsPortal.eu - find and compare Bachelor's in Europe

ScholardshipPortal.eu - find scholarships for your studies in Europe

PhDPortal.eu - Find PhD opportunities in Europe

The Roadmap from Middle-East to Europe

by Anas Zyadin

roadmap_europe.jpgThrough our lives, we may believe that our choices in life might come from beyond the horizon of our minds or hearts, but what actually matters at the end is how these choices will be reflected positively on our life and the life of others we belong to.

I myself have not made some of my choices in my life, but these awkward decisions have drastically changed my life toward the ultimate intrinsic goal of life, happiness. You are now probably finalizing your thesis and thinking of your future or preparing yourself to apply for a job somewhere or you have started thinking to explore more choices in life including going for higher education.There are, indeed, far more things to see and experience in your life, and its your choice to have a normal life or a very-culturally rich experience with fellows from around the world. Thats what happens when you go to Europe.

Dont limit yourself to certain countries

Luckily internet is affordable and relatively cheap in most of Middle Eastern countries. Use this utilitarian to do some search on studying in Europe. Sit down and dont think which country to go to but instead make a plan of what is needed and what kind of studies you would like to follow. First thing is to get copies of your certificates and scripts in English language and get them officially certified (Arabic certificates wont help).Sign up for personal updates Get some nice recommendations from your supervisors, straightforwardly and honestly written (asking supervisor to decisively promote you is not an ethical approach). You may need to refer to them more often and when applying for more scholarship opportunities. A big mistake is, if you use the same recommendation letter for every application you make; each application requires its own documents and profile. Second, find some nice templates for the resume (academic) and make sure you make it a nice-looking but efficient one. Keep in mind that saying that you are good in ironing or cooking is maybe funny but it will not help. Try to accentuate your skills and education and any extra workshops that have developed your profile remarkably (your off-shore activities, workshops, training course are worth mentioning).

Good things to know for your application

A motivation letter is always needed - as the need to breath - and its the entrance ticket to success. Usually you address your skills, why you want to do that, and why it is important for you to do that in the motivation letter. There are countless numbers of websites that can help you in this regard. One page is usually the norm in such cases and being committed to the number of pages, every word and every character is of great importance. Dont worry, its a learning process and you will need to write few times before you get the juice of the fruit. English proficiency is mandatory and I know it can be one of the most challenging things since higher education in Middle East is instructed mostly in Arabic language. I myself found it very difficult at the beginning but worked hard though to find my way (subtitled TV series and movies still play magnificent role in learning proper English).

Europe wants to ensure high quality education and research and proper communication in-between the diversity of European languages and therefore, good English is inevitable. However, during your Bachelors or Masters studies you have plenty of free time. During summer time, you can register to for example at AMIDEast center where you can get English courses and TOFEL exams. This centre can be found in almost all Middle Eastern countries.

If you think little bit of the benefits, then you wont regret going there. Getting the minimum score of TOEFL test which is about 80-90 out of 120 will put you on the right track. If you manage to gather all these documents then the next stage is much easier.Some study opportunities might exist through the European embassies in your country, for example NUFFIC from the Dutch government is available, Spanish ministry of Foreign affairs also provides some study opportunities through scholarships. Its worth checking. The big gate to Europe is the Erasmus Mundus programme. Each programme has its own web page for further investigation. Reading the web pages is very important; but also do not hesitate so contact the universities if you have more specific questions or you do not understand some things. Then list the requirements, deadlines and other relevant issues. Most of the time, there is application either solely online or online and print out or handwriting application. Its noteworthy that the application is the main document and shall be filled with full cautious and preciseness.

Dont hesitate to ask!

Luckily nearly each programme has an assigned coordinator who is willing to provide help and answer your questions. Remember that he/she might have limited time, so ask as short and precise as possible. If you receive negative response, dont get disappointed, its probably just a sign to further develop your application or you just do not meet certain requirements for this specific country or programme.

Last but not the least, some young guys have been fortuned with wealthy parents thus, they are able to go to any country to study and afford living. In most of the cases, you would need external support e.g. scholarship to survive. This means that you need to have competence and exhibit merits to compete with many other internationals, so make sure that you have an excellent or at least a very good performance at the graduate level (bachelor level)!

More information

Do you want to learn more about studying in Europe? Have a look at "Why study in Europe?" or the numerous other articles on the STeXX website. Besides, the following websites can help you to find your study programme in Europe.

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The author

Anas

Anas Zyadin

studied at Jordan University of Science and Technology and is currently doing his PhD in Forest Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland