Choose a school to study abroad, limit "spreading" your application

Ms. Minh Chau (right cover) with some Vietnamese students studying in Germany. Photo: MC

We can roughly compare the decision of major to study abroad as the same as choosing a university entrance exam. Should we choose a major we like or a major with many job opportunities? Should we choose a major that has been approved even though it is not our forte or should we continue to wait for a major that matches our passion?

Nguyen Thi Minh Tam - currently a senior student majoring in IT at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Germany) - was previously a chemistry student at the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University).

The day she entered university, Tam wanted to find a way to study abroad because she longed for a good learning environment. During more than two years at the Polytechnic, Tam studied, researched, and applied to universities in many countries, accessing government scholarships such as Japan, Korea, Finland, Australia... and then got into the IT major.

Tam said: "Studying IT is a trade-off for my passion for chemistry, so sometimes I feel regretful." In general, some young people with a "blood" for studying abroad like Tam often think that studying abroad means being exposed to an advanced education system with many development opportunities, or at least better than in the country, so they are willing to accept studying in a different field to study abroad.

As the only Vietnamese person to receive a full scholarship from the German Government for a master's degree in 2012, Bui Thi Minh Chau believes that young people when choosing a study abroad destination should prioritize their field of study because it is directly related to their passion, strengths and long-term career development orientation.

Clearly defining your major will limit the need to "spread" your application to many schools, instead focusing your efforts on investing and researching the maximum number of scholarships.

Chau advises those who intend to find scholarships not to "spread" their applications to increase their chances, but then all of them will be "bland" and unable to convince schools why they deserve their scholarships.

Instead, invest time in researching specific scholarships and focus on your Letter of Motivation and Letter of Recommendations to get the best results.