You know what they say, ‘fail to plan, plan to fail!” Manish, our NUI Galway and Indian Ambassador shares his tips for successful planning around getting ahead in your chosen course, scholarships and accommodation…

For those who have already decided to study abroad and on their course and university… well done! For everyone else who like me, likes to leave things till the last minute, it’s time to plan!

Disclaimer: this blog is not a fairy tale but my own personal experience, it’s true and hopefully helpful! This is my experience of moving abroad and I hope it makes your life a bit easier if you are still confused about coming to Ireland and choosing NUI Galway.

Education

As you all must have known by now thanks to Google, Ireland is a beautiful country with wonderful and friendly people etc. etc. But be aware Irish universities take their education system very seriously and they want to maintain their standards, and that’s why they put so much of effort in preparing you for the real world. So, gear up and put in that extra effort to outshine your competitors. A lot of help is available for you to tackle almost any difficulty you might face, although there’s hardly any.

My advice If you have a month or two before you travel, enroll yourself in some certification course related to your masters or undergraduates, just to make you stand apart from the crowd.

Scholarships

This is one aspect which requires serious planning, Irish Government and universities are very generous with regard to scholarships although I wasn’t able to secure one because of my poor planning. But if you start running instead of crawling and approach your chosen university, the International office will be happy to help and offer information of scholarships that may be relevant to you.. Remember the number of students coming to study in Ireland is increasing exponentially, so you need to be fast!

My advice Check on Education in Ireland websites, and university website, see what scholarships are available and don’t shy from applying in all of them if you are eligible. With NUI Galway, contact the international office and they will provide you with all the information.

Accommodation

If coming to Ireland, and specifically to Galway this aspect requires some serious effort, as if you delay than my friend you might end up staying in hostel for days, which is also good in some ways as least you meet interesting people but not in the long term. Start looking for options early and book in advance if you are willing to stay in university accommodation. For those willing to stay in private houses, there are websites like daft.ie and rent.ie in which you can find few options, and simultaneously you can post on university Facebook page or contact the universities accommodation office.

My advice Start now; it’s never early to start looking for accommodation in Galway.

Some useful links