Stay Motivated - A Poem

This is my all time favourite poem learnt during my mid school years, which I pinned near my daughter's table to keep her morale high during the 12th Board Exam. Well, one amongst many beautiful poems and quotes.

Written by Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan, I find it to be very simplistically stated yet very powerful in content.

It's all about opening your mind to try. Believe in yourself and keep trying to the best of your abilities and you shall succeed. People who try never ever fail.

The poem is in Hindi. For my international audience, I've tried to bring out the essence of the poem in English.

Lehron se darkar nauka paar nahi hoti.
Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahi hoti.

(A boat that's scared of the waves can never cross the sea,
The people who try never fail).

Nanhi chinti jab daana lekar chalti hai. Chadti deewaron par sau baar fhisalti hai.

Mann ka vishwaas ragon mein sahas bharta hai. Chadkar girna girkar chadna naa akharta hai.

Mehnat uski bekar har baar nahi hoti.

Koshish karne waalon ki Kabhie haar nahi hoti.

(The tiny ant carries a small grain in its mouth. Climbs up on the wall, slips and falls a hundred times. The self belief in the mind fills the body with courage. So the climbing up and falling down does discourage the ant. Ultimately its efforts do not go waste. 

People who try never fail).

Dubkiyan samundar mein gotakhor lagata hai. Ja ja kar khali haath laut kar aata hai.
Milte nahi sehaj hi moti gehre paani mein. Badhta dugna vishwaas isee hairani mein.
Muthi uski khaali har baar nahi hoti.
Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahi hoti.

(The diver dives into the sea. He returns empty handed innumerable times. It's not easy to find  pearls in the deep waters, But this in turn doubles his enthusiasm, He does not return empty handed every time. 
People who try never fail.)

Asafalta ek chunauti hai sweekaar karo.  Kya kami reh gayi dekho or sudhar karo.
Jab tak na safal ho neend chain ko tyago tum. Sangharshon ka maidan chhor na bhago tum.
Kuch kiya bina hi jai jai kaar nahi hoti.
Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahi hoti.

(Failure is a challenge, accept it, Recognize your shortcomings and rectify them. Till you achieve your dreams and succeed, shun rest and sleep. Never run away from the battlefield of struggle. Without genuinely deserving it, no one is ever praised.
People who try never fail.)

Finally, a conditional offer!

The not so patient waiting finally bore fruit. Not a sweet one but a ripe fruit nevertheless.

The second University to reply was Bournemouth. Though they made an offer, the conditional percentage seemed very high to achieve (at that point of time). Their website states a general entry requirement of less than 60% of the 12th class board exams for Indian students. However, and I assume because of the very high class media and journalism programmes and so the obvious competition, they asked for a score of above 85% for my daughter.

And so I strongly advise that one must email and ask the uni beforehand for specific subject entry requirements. The general entry requirements may be vastly different from subject specific requirements.

Consequently Bournemouth University's BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism, a beautifully designed programme that was supposed to be a smart back up, the 'insurance', wasn't one anymore. You can't place a seemingly difficult to achieve conditional offer as your insurance.

This left my daughter roughly in the same square as she'd begun. Hoping desperately for the University of her topmost choice (now only one) to make an achievable offer. While still concertrating on the final exam at hand. Not an easy task, a child's life these days, honestly!

Fortunately the 3rd and 4th offer came close on the heels of this offer, right about this time and date, exactly a year ago!

Best Female On Screen!

My daughter has been nominated for 'Best Female On Screen' for NaSTA awards 2013!!

Here's her short video compilation.

Kudos to LSTV (Leeds Student TV) for their marvelous performance every week and for providing an extremely encouraging environment for each and everyone to learn and grow! I'm absolutely amazed and highly appreciative, having seen (as a student's mom) the insides and their working, nomination or not.
LSTV, may your tribe increase!!

This was a special post for this very update. I had to shout it out!

First offer...Rejection!

The first Uni to reply was Sheffield. This was amongst my daughter's top 2 choices. Unfortunately I logged into track that morning to find some 'changes' made.

It was a plain 'unsuccessful application'. And there it was, staring back at me, without any change, however long I looked at it. I even tried to log in again hoping there was some kind of error! Well there wasn't. The reply was too quick after months of hard work. Her predicted grades were higher than the asking for that course. And so we tried to get a feedback on the reason for the unsuccessful application. They asked for my daughter's 10th class grades, we sent, but we were still not given a reason.

If the first offer to come is unsuccessful, the idea takes longer to seep in and it may lead to thoughts like 'what if' imaginary rejections! And you start working on the back up plan/s in earnest. 'Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best', an excellent thought to keep in mind.

My daughter was however very 'cool' about the whole thing. There were 4 other offers to wait for and she needed to concentrate on her upcoming final exams, which she (thankfully) duly did. And very rarely logged into track. But I almost hyperactively did!!

Thou shalt wait...patiently

Thou shalt wait patiently...for UCAS to show changes in your application.

Oh the wait..the agonizing wait!
After a whole year and more of researching, planning, choosing, writing, editing and finally hitting the 'send' button, you realize it's no more in your hands. It's been SENT!

Now all you've got to do is wait. Well that's for us parents. The student concerned has to wait, yes, but has to study too. And study really hard without any distractions, if that's possible!

How does one do that when all you can think of is to log in to 'track' and check for any changes. Or may be check in the mail. Here came all my experience as a motivational speaker handy. I used my favourite quotes, pinned a particular poem near her study table (much to her annoyance, then!) and advised her to change her focus for the time being and zoom in to the 12th class exam which was closer at hand.

Easier said than done. If she got into her Universities of choice, Sheffield or Leeds, she'd be on cloud 9 and beyond. If she got into her next choice, Bournemouth, she'd be on cloud, well, 7 or 8. If she got into the others in her order of preference, she'd still be satisfied. But, WHAT IF...? What if she didn't make it to the any of them! There was a back up plan. she had applied to a couple of universities/colleges in India too. Some not so high ranking ones.

However, a 'life altering decision like studying in UK' and 'continuing with your life decision' of studying in India cannot be compared. So though there was a back up plan, it was as good as having no plan!

Yet she needed to concentrate on the exam at hand. Which I think she managed to do very effectively. We, as parents, went about our jobs routinely, keeping a stress free atmosphere at home. In fact we went a step ahead. We watched movies, celebrated birthdays that came during the exams, went for picnics, used up our 'free stay' hotel coupons, come to think of it, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves throughout my daughter's 12th board exams!

Which by the way, lasted for a whole month and half for 5 subjects.

Personal Statement - a clear and shiny reflection of you!

Now this is the tricky part. A lot of what goes into distinguishing and filtering the large number of applications. A good personal statement can easily make it or break it for you.

Having read all this and more, my daughter became jittery and avoided sitting down to actually writing it!

It can be intimidating, yet I think it's a wonderful idea to put 'yourself in words'. Who you are, what you think and why this course, rather than just a name with a set of grades and numbers sent to the admissions office. Especially for international students who won't be facing the actual interview face to face. The personal statement is the personality of the person writing it. I sincerely wish we have something of this sort for admissions here in India too.

Most universities actually mention on their websites what it is that they expect of the students. It becomes fairly easy if you go through and keep those particular points in mind while writing.

Any standard written piece can be dealt with by following CODER. Something I found useful in CBSE books, while teaching English to senior classes.

C - Collect your ideas. (Keep scribbling down ideas that come to you over a period of time).
O - Order of the ideas. (Follow a logical sequence).
D - Draft your ideas cohesively. (Learn and use linking words and phrases).
E - Edit what you have written.
R - Revise (keep revising and editing till it's perfect!).

Another useful way for helping you kickstart your personal statement writing is this UCAS worksheet .  Complete this worksheet and you have something to start working on. Other than this read up as much as you can on other websites too. Just google 'personal statement' and immerse yourself in the gazillion sites. Then DO get down to writing.

Have a captivating opening moving onto a detailed yet crisp middle and a smart closing. I know easier said than done. But try doing it and it will become easier!

 'The student room' has some examples of actual personal statements, by subject, with reviews and constructive comments from experts which really helped a lot.

After my daughter had written the first draft, she and the rest of us in the family read, re-read and re-read for a month before she finalized it. Very satisfied that it was over. However, realizing just as soon that she had used much more than the character limit on the actual form. Resizing after an almost perfect PS proved to be even more difficult. She went back to reading what is expected and chose carefully the more important parts and with a heavy heart, cut out the rest!

So it takes patience. And commitment. Besides language skills. A few qualities even the admissions tutors are looking for in suitable candidates. A personal statement, after all, does speak about you!

Please feel free to leave your email in the comments to ask for more details of what went into my daughter's personal statement.

UCAS - Application Time

With the 'research' done and the 5 unis chosen, now came the time for the actual application.

UCAS, United Colleges and Asmissions Service, or the organisation through which you apply to the higher education courses in the UK. A centralized application system for the entire nation. Now that is something worth writing about.

It's unimaginable how this organization is actually so well organized! We have unequivocally been raving about this entire application procedure to our family and friends. Physically we didn't have to move more than just a few fingers - for typing, that is. And that's actually it!

Each and everything is given in detail, not just for reading but youtube videos demonstrating, directing, holding your hand and taking you through the entire procedure.  Hats off to you guys!

Do please keep the following few things in mind before applying:

1. The application dates and deadlines. All clearly stated on the website. The registrations are now open for  admissions in September, 2013. That means the students of class 12th and final year undergraduates should now be neck deep into the procedure.

2. Ask your teachers to write down 12th finals predicted marks for you on a school letterhead, subject-wise with each teacher's signature. This is not normally done in Indian schools, so you will have to explain exactly what you want. Also you will require a letter of reference (LOR) from either your present class teacher or a subject teacher. Find someone who really likes you! These letters should be signed by your principal with the school seal at the end. (Please feel free to ask me for more details, in the comments box.)

3. When registering for UCAS note down the password and username clearly in the same diary you were maintaining for tables and notes (as suggested in my previous post). You can register and save. Come back when you have all you material ready for application. You needn't do everything in one go.

4. Go to the chosen university websites and note down the university code as well as the subject code. Double check. Even if you're taking someone's help for applying, you must ensure these are filled in correctly. We took the help of an authorized consultancy here in Delhi. Back then we weren't too sure it could all have been done ourselves.

5. Prepare to write the most important aspect, if you haven't already -
your PERSONAL STATEMENT.

Questions to UCAS can be asked here

Some international student FAQs can be found here

You can always get in touch with them by calling - 0044 871 468 0 468 (for international calls). Timings - Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 6:00 pm UK time.  We spoke to them a couple of times during the application procedure and were always met with genuine help.


NEXT - ADVICE ON WRITING PERSONAL STATEMENT