Learn to plan yourself when studying abroad

The benefits of studying abroad are not only academic but also broadening your horizons and improving your overall education. Everything is done in advance. For overseas students, how can you plan well to meet the opportunities and challenges during your study abroad?

Set study goals

The first step many students take when starting their study abroad career is to make a good plan for their study plan and the goals they want to achieve.

Peng Wu, a master's from the University of Leeds in the UK, majored in social work in her undergraduate degree and studied international corporate law overseas. If she wants to study law in the UK at the postgraduate level, she must have an LLB degree and some courses in her undergraduate transcripts are law-related, and some institutions even directly require an undergraduate degree in law. Considering her situation and intention to study abroad, Peng Wu took many law courses in her undergraduate studies to meet the basic requirements of her application.

After arriving in the UK, for the postgraduate course schedule, Wu Peng made a detailed action plan schedule covering both academic theory and practice, to cut and use the time well to achieve academic ability progression.

"There was another hiccup in this. I memorized a lot of professional reference books from China, but when the class started, I realized that a class often has more than 50 pages of textbook reading and more than ten papers to read before the class, and the daily course was so full that it was good enough to finish the required reading assigned by the teacher, so I had no time to read the books I brought." Wu Peng said helplessly.

The classroom is the scene of learning, and so are museums and exhibition halls. Many destination cities are rich in culture and art, and they are also rich mines for overseas students to improve their soft power.

Size Li, who studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK, has made a detailed "museum-going" schedule for himself, which includes all the major museums and famous collections in London. The schedule was followed by a bibliography of books that Lee wanted to read, which helped him gain insight into the history behind the collections.

"London is home to many of the world's most famous and outstanding museums, and looking out of these bright windows reveals moments when human civilization shone and dimmed, leaving the viewer stunned again and again." Li Size said.

Enriching extracurricular life

For most international students, studying abroad is a precious but short period of time, and while completing your studies is the most important part of studying abroad, it is not the whole thing. Broadening your horizons, developing cross-cultural communication skills, and understanding the manifestations and core of different cultures are also the meaning and values of studying abroad. From this perspective, it is especially important to plan and use your time outside of the classroom well.

After arriving in the UK, Peng Wu had the intention of integrating into the local community to gain a deeper understanding of British culture. From Monday to Friday, he would often attend local events during dinner time, such as international student salons, church events, and workplace socials. On weekends, he would meet local friends and his fellow international students for short trips, and over the past 1 year, he has made many friends with similar interests.

To make new friends, you need to have common topics and hobbies. Many international students mentioned the importance of developing hobbies while living abroad.

"When you suddenly come to a strange environment, you will go through a long or short adaptation period, during which the loneliness in another country is particularly strong. Yu SiGe, who studied in Ireland, said. When she first arrived in Ireland, she joined a local Shakespeare discussion group out of her love for Shakespeare's works, which helped her find like-minded friends and improve her language skills.

Self-affirmation, on the other hand, is a great tool to get through the initial anxiety period of studying abroad. It is often easier to do well in an area that you are relatively familiar with and good at, thus creating a sense of accomplishment and boosting your self-confidence.

Guo Pingan, who went to Brazil on an exchange program, chose to travel to grow and enrich his life. The tropical rainforests of Brazil have always fascinated her. Pingan Guo and her classmates planned a route around Brazil: the Amazon rainforest as the first stop, passing through Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, the important city of Sao Paulo, and finally arriving in Rio de Janeiro, the most charming city. It was a great way to see the beautiful scenery, taste the food, and enjoy the warm culture of the "Kingdom of Soccer". Guo Pingan said, "Around Brazil, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina are the famous 'Four Countries of South America', and I also planned a travel route to the four countries, but because of the epidemic, I could not go, unfortunately!

Clear career planning

An important part of one's future development plan is one's career orientation. For example, if you plan to stay in your major for a long time, you should improve your professional knowledge and seek internship opportunities; if you plan to stay overseas after graduation, you should make sure your language skills meet the requirements of your career and interpersonal communication, and at the same time, you should consciously improve your ability to deal with difficult and unexpected situations in your daily life independently.

Before career planning, it is crucial to choose a major at the beginning of the study abroad. Overseas students need to have a long-term vision and not to follow the trend blindly. "It is important to decide on a major before it is too late, as there are different thresholds for application, so you can prepare your application with a clearer goal in mind if you decide early. The so-called 'hot majors' and 'highly ranked majors' recommended by agents are not necessarily suitable for you. Everyone's situation is different, so they will have different choices." Wu Peng said.

Poorly thought-out career planning can sometimes cause problems for future employment. For example, some traditional "strong professionals" attract a large number of students, but back home to find a surplus of talent, job competition is relatively fierce. Some seemingly "cold" majors, however, have more job opportunities because the development of related fields in China is still in the early stage.

His interest in museums gave him the idea to enter this field in the future, which intersected with his current major in sociology, but also redefined his career goals. He began to "look at the museum" from a different perspective, previously looking at the history and collections, but now he also looks at the operation and development, according to his words: "The more I look at it, the more I have a knack for it."