Stage 2 of 8 · 7 lessons · ~2 weeks

Your 12 to 18 month plan

Work backwards from your intake to a dated plan, and use the months before you apply to strengthen the parts of your profile that committees and scholarship panels weigh most.

Start: Intakes and application cycles

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Pick your target intake and find the application and scholarship cycles for your destination on official pages.
Write a dated backwards plan from your earliest deadline, with slack for a test retake.
Build an application budget covering tests, fees, score sending, evaluation and attestation.
Audit your profile and choose one weakness to fix in the next three months.
Start or deepen one research or project piece you can show.
Check your passport validity and start transcript and attestation requests now.
Set up one tracker with a row for every programme and scholarship.

Start with

GuideFree
EducationUSA
US Department of State
Its five steps to US study lay out the timeline from research to departure

Practise

Google Scholar
Read recent papers in your area to shape a small research question before you apply

Keep handy

Mastersportal
Programme pages list deadlines and requirements; confirm every date on the university site

Before moving on: A dated plan from today to your intake, and a tracker with every target programme and scholarship, their official links, deadlines with time zones, fees and required documents.

Tauseef's advice

Twelve months is comfortable, eighteen is better if you need a scholarship. The students who panic are the ones who start in October for a December deadline and discover their transcripts need attestation and their passport expires next year. Start the slow paperwork first.