If you’ve read my last two blogs and have been following this process of getting to your dream college then by now you have two lists in front of you:

List A One list with all the colleges across the world with courses you could possibly do.

List B The second list with courses and colleges that fit not just your interests but also future goals and are in countries where you can see yourself living.

What not to do and why?

The process of narrowing down from list A to list B can be complicated. Often, students tend to look at requirements of colleges rather than their interests to narrow down list A.

My advice- Don’t do that.

Looking at requirements is one of the last steps of this process. I understand that if the college says you need 4 A*s and you know the maximum you can get is 2A*s then it’s a waste of energy and time to spend time on that college. However, when you analyse a course and a college and realise that this is what you want to do, you can always find courses similar to that, which are more achievable for you.

For example-

While looking for courses for List A, I was interested in the course – MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture at the University of Oxford. I was also aware that Oxford is one of the most prestigious universities in the world to study at, but still decided to keep the course on my list.

Now when I was selecting courses for List B, I kept the course at Oxford because-

1. If I don’t dream and try then I can’t possibly land at a good university
2. The course seemed like exactly the right fit for me
3. Universities nowadays don’t only look at your grades. They look at your extra-curricular activities, your Statement of Purpose, your CV as a whole and try to understand who you are. Sometimes, your extra-curriculars can catch their eye and make them want to select you. What a waste if that student could have been you but you didn’t think you were good enough, right?

Lastly, now when I make my List B, I will also look for more courses like the one at Oxford. Perhaps there is a course similar to what I want but at a university I feel more confident about?

So, here is what you have at the end (for example):

List A	List B
Oxford University – MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture	Oxford University – MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture
	University College London– MA History of Art
	Maastricht University – MA Art, Literature and Society
	King’s College London– MA Critical Theory

Hence, while List A has only 1 option of a Dream university, List B has 4 options with colleges from both Dream, Reach and Safe universities. Additionally, both lists have colleges that are the best in the world for their education and facilities.

Now, do this for all the universities in your list. Is this a course that interests you? Are there more courses like this in the same region or country? Develop your list and like I said in my earlier blogs, start this process as soon as possible so you have enough time to make decisions and think about your future properly.