Today's Paper » FEATURES » EDUCATION PLUS

Published: June 3, 2013 00:00 IST | Updated: June 3, 2013 06:02 IST

LoR, SOPs give students an edge over others

Brainstorming:Students being counselled by the Faculty of Visu Academy on

admission process, visa procedures, fee structure, career opportunities and selection
of various universities abroad during the workshop on ‘Global Education’ at Keyes
High School, Secunderabad. —PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL
In the quest to pursue higher education abroad, there are a number of
students who fret about not getting enough or better scores in the
Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and Test for English as a
Foreign Language (TOEFL). Some, despite having a good academic
record in Intermediate and four-year engineering course, tend to
throw-in the towel and do not apply to foreign Universities, just
because of their average GRE and TOEFL scores.
Experts, however, point out that the admission committee in foreign
universities are not going to reject a student’s application just because
their GRE scores are less or they have less percentage in engineering
degree. Industry veterans point out that scores in TOEFL, GRE and
percentages in engineering only reflects the academic strength of the
student and do not provide the student’s overall profile.
In the race to get good scores in GRE and TOEFL, students tend to
overlook the importance that a Letter of Recommendation (LoR) and
Statement of Purpose (SOP) play in impressing the admission
committee of university and getting a seat.
“There is literally a race between Chinese and Indian students to get
into universities in US, Germany, UK and other European countries.
For a single seat in a programme, at least ten aspirants from China
and India compete. They have same academic records and the only
way out for Indian students is to differentiate themselves from others
by making their profile more balanced. This is where, SOPs and LoR
come into picture,” says Arul Joseph, Global Education Head (R&D),
Head, Visu Consultants.
An expert in foreign education, Mr. Joseph gave an insightful
presentation during a workshop on ‘Global Education’, which was
organised by The Hindu Education Plus in collaboration with Visu
Academy on May 26 at Keyes High School. The global education
experts said that there is no need for students with average TOEFL
and GRE scores to lose heart.
“Even if your TOEFL and GRE scores are less, your fundamentals
might be very strong. You might have pursued your education in a well
known institution and have a very good academic profile. You might
have done some research and written scientific papers and got
published in peer review journals. In such situations, an excellent
letter of recommendation will pave the way for admission,” Mr Arul
said to the students.
Such aspects of the aspirants, other than academic performance, if
highlighted properly will go a long way in enhancing the overall profile
of the students. “Academic percentage, GRE and TOEFL scores are
basics of a profile. The LoR and SOPs are the tools that give the
student an edge over others. I would suggest students to take these
two very seriously while applying for admissions to universities
abroad,” he suggested.
So what role exactly does the LoR play?
Indian students, who have applied for a particular programme, will
not be present physically in front of the university admission
committee during the interview. The committee members will not
know anything about the student unless they showcase themselves.
Apart from academic skills, the committee will look for other qualities
like leadership skills. Since the student is not present in person, the
committee will thoroughly go through the LoR of the assistant
professor, dean or principal under whom the student has studied.
Senior academicians such as professors are respected a lot abroad and
their views are held in high regard. Students must speak and request
their professors to given them a LoR.
There are two types LoR that include online and offline. In online
LoR, students provide the email ID and designation of the professor in
their application to the university.
The university officials, on their part, will send the details of the
student directly to the professor who has to fill-in details of the
student in a format and send it back to the University. The students
have the option of tracking their online LoR.
Offline LoR are paper based in which the university provides a format
and the professors will have to answer the questions in their
letterheads with signature and seal of the college. The format in LoR
usually talks about the student’s leadership skills, whether they are
attentive in the class, takes part actively in project works, the
professor’s impression of student, extra curricular activities,
participation in seminars, project works, NGO activity, social service,
which will give a boost to the student’s overall profile.
Importance of SOPs
SOPs have the potential to make or break the student’s application.
There are instances when engineering students have very good marks
in three years and suddenly their performance dipped for just one-
year. There could be genuine reasons for the dip such as accident,
illness or bereavement in the family. SOP will help the student to
justify the backlogs.
“In the applications of foreign universities, they have a column that
asks is your academics your real strength? In this column, you have to
justify your backlog in just 200 to 300 words that the marks do not
reflect my actual intellectual capability and I can do better than this,”
Mr. Arul said. In the SOP, the students can talk about how focused
they are, discuss their short-term and long-term goals. You have to
write about your goals, objectives, benefits and desires in life.
Students should talk about how they are going to contribute and how
they are going to benefit by studying in that university. Basically, SOPs
are the place where students can pin down their thoughts about their
academic educational struggles.
They can talk about how they overcame the challenges and are looking
forward to pursue MS degree in US.
These things may look trivial but they add value to the profile and are
meticulously seen by the admission committee during granting
admissions.
Printable version | Sep 7, 2014 6:06:48 PM |
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-
educationplus/lor-sops-give-students-an-edge-over-
others/article4776514.ece
© The Hindu