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Global UGRAD Pakistan

By Rabia Nusrat- A Global UGrad Program Alum.

I believe every time you plan to apply for Global UGRAD Pakistan you always hear from people “It’s a life-changing experience must apply for it”.That’s true, it is an amazing experience which changes your perspective towards life. Many questions pop up when you decide to apply. Global UGRAD Pakistan is a very competitive cultural and academic exchange program based on your academic performance, extra-curricular activities and your willingness to bring change for the betterment of society. Every year thousands of students from Pakistan apply and a few hundred students get selected for an interview and then a few can make it to the US. This program is totally funded by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan. During the program, you get enough money that covers all the cost of your program. You do not need to take money from your family
Students in their 2nd and 3rd year from any field of study can apply for this program. Your statement of purpose(SOP) has a good percentage in the selection criteria. In the application, the requirements of your SOP are given in bullet points at the top of the space where SOP should be written. But the question arises which traits make your SOP stand out? Your personal statement must have a story in it. You have to describe every requirement in limited and true words and must make an impact. A lot of people think that students from small cities and towns usually get selected but as far as I have seen that there are a lot of students from NUST, PIEAS and UET have got selected. The notion behind preferring students from small areas is how they made it so far and what USEFP can do to help them more. If you are from Lahore or Islamabad and your SOP is making sense and you are competitive enough to compete with everyone, you can make it! Most of the students say that GPA doesn’t matter but personally, I think that academic excellence has its own weightage. Scan of your original documents or attested copies should be uploaded in the application form. Also, do not forget to upload your certificates in the section where it is asked. Fill the form very carefully and read each instruction. Those spaces which you are not eligible for can be left nil.
Once your application is successful you are called for an interview. Before your interview, a topic is given on which you have to write your essay. In the interview, you need to be very genuine. You should be confident and very clear about the personal statement or SOP. Overconfidence and lack of confidence both can be very bad for your interview success. After the interview, the email is generally received in February regarding your application status. Principal, alternative candidates are those who are confirmed and those who are not, respectively. Alternate candidates are given a chance to go if any of the principal candidates cannot make it to the US or maybe if their visa is rejected.
If you are successful you need to follow their instructions regarding Toefl test and Visa processes. Remember, your TOEFL scores and your letter of recommendations matter the most. Nobody guided me about this but later after research, I figured out that it matters a lot but most of the students call it a formality. Once you are placed in your host university, you will receive an email and you will have to select the courses of your choices. I will say choose your subjects wisely and on time. See the website and once you are given access to your university login information, go and see the available courses and decide as early as possible. Remember that you need to learn and implement that knowledge in your country for the betterment of society. After going there, you need to give a country presentation, complete at least 20 hours of community services and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0. Remember as you are a cultural ambassador of Pakistan you should get 4.0 and it is possible.
For more information, you can email me at syedarabianusrat@gmail.com