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Going abroad and pursuing higher education is the dream of many students. However, the challenging path to getting the final call from the desired university is not easy for scholars. In that case, getting guidance from experts who know the process can be valuable for such aspirants. It can benefit them to ease the journey and get admission to the desired college. In this case, it can be helpful for scholars to know some real-life stories, which can be more than adequate.
In order to discover a real-life experience, the page will be helpful to understand the study abroad journey of "Syed Mohd Raza Taqvi". It can be valuable for the aspirants to know how difficult or easier the life of overseas learning is. To learn more, reading the below section can be fruitful for desired students.
I was born and completed pre-schooling in Mumbai. After that, I moved to Doha in the year 2009. However, I returned to Lucknow to pursue a Bachelor's Degree. For that, I take admission to BBD University in Mechanical Engineering (2017- 2021).
When I was in class 10, one of my seniors was selected by the University of California Berkeley. From here, I got interested and motivated to study at the top-ranked institutes. However, I was aware of the UPES global path programme after that. Then, I got to know that Berkeley University is collaborated with the UPES for the abroad semester agenda. Ultimately, this was an excellent opportunity to study Business Administration and Management at Berkeley. Also, this school has come into the top 5 business schools around the globe.
All of these are going smoothly, but the step where most students face challenges in admission and scholarship. Know Syed Mohd Raza Taqvi's story of this process from the below section.
University of California Berkeley is a highly competitive institute. It is pretty challenging to get admission to this college. It has students who have driven their brilliance in their fields. However, the college has complex eligibility criteria. They only give admission to 100 students globally for every semester. So, I decided to give it a chance with preparation.
Berkeley requires a unique and compelling SOP; students must have better academic records with no backlogs and have a minimum IELTS Band score of 7 ( TOEFL- 90) with a grade point of minimum 3. However, I have completed my graduation with 96.7 % and achieved 91% in the first semester of my MBA at UPES. So, I was pretty confident and sure to get the opportunity in my hands. Apart from this, I have worked around 25 days to make my SOP stand out over others.
One challenge I faced was that my second semester overlapped with the application form for the programme. During this duration, I am juggling between the demands of the MBA, including the academic submissions and preparing for the exams of the 12 subjects. With all of these things happening together, I was also devoting time and effort to the study abroad application. Also, I have ensured that I have prepared everything in one place into personalized documents.
After the application submission, there was a gap between the results. After that, it was around 2 a.m. when I got the admission successful mail from the University of California Berkeley. I get emotional and surprised at the same time. Although California is the 2nd most expensive state in the US after New York. So, it was challenging for me to figure out the ways to afford to live in Silicon Valley. Thus, I decided to prepare a scholarship letter. However, I did not get the desired results. So, from here, the real challenge was started. I have to arrange my living expenses and academic fees within 50 days. I am lucky to have my father's support during this and pursue the opportunity.
I went to Berkeley in August 2022, and I was too excited to pursue the MBA degree and live this journey. After reaching there, all the students were warmly invited by the Cal Band, and There was a welcome ceremony planned for everyone. Here, I connected with other classmates and was amazed that they were from 7 different nations. Although, initially, I faced some challenges, including not offered accommodation by the Institute for International Students. Thus, finding a suitable one is a challenging task. Searching for better living arrangements near the campus took me five days.
So, I suggest the future students come here and consider the I-house for accommodation. It is not only a good option but also allows to connect with the people of different countries. However, Berkeley is an incredibly diverse city in culture. As I already have experience in shifting to another nation, adapting to the local cuisine is not that much challenging for me. Apart from this, I used to purchase needy groceries from Costco. It is because they offer good quality products at low prices.
My experience is quite daunting at first. However, I have quickly adapted to the new backdrop by realising that my prior goal is to learn new things and gain better opportunities at the end. Thus, Berkeley’s cost of living is higher when compared to the other areas of the USA. The university provides the details of the cost of living, which varies from 10,000 to 15,000 $ per semester. Talking about myself, I have managed to keep my monthly living cost around 2,000$. I took a shared apartment, which was a five-minute walk away from the university campus.
In the starting days, I relied on my father for financial support for the first two months. However, when I secured an on-campus job, it was easier for me to get rid of the financial burden. However, getting an on-campus job is quite challenging at Berkeley University. I even got the job of library supervisor assistant after visiting the library for 35 days. In this role, I was paid $17 per hour, and I was allowed to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week.
Studying abroad at the University of California Berkeley has made a vital impact on my life. It significantly changed my viewpoints towards my career goals. My future plan is to pursue a PhD in Sustainability Business. I made up my mind for this while studying at Berkeley. Here, I engaged with professors and gained valuable insights for the future. Apart from this, I was offered a job role as a Business Analyst at Wipro through UPES campus placement. Also, I got multiple opportunities just after completing my course. During the degree, I have developed different skills in management, leadership and event planning.
Apart from all of these, my key takeaway from studying abroad is to adapt to a new environment with expanding horizons to explore different cultures while pursuing a course. My tip for the aspirants is to be open-minded, confident and optimistic. These aspects are necessary to open the doors of success.
It is crucial for international students to first clarify their goals and align them with their future prospects. It may seem obvious to them, but mostly, they overlook such things. So, having knowledge of all of these can be critical to get the desired career options. Also, such aspirants can learn to transform their future journey.
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