As industries around the world are trying to figure out their next moves to get back on their feet amid the COVID-19 situation, the Higher Education industry is already taking positive strides to adapt to the situation. From relaxing admission requirements to extending application deadlines, abroad universities are doing everything they can to help international students achieve their study abroad dreams and ensure that they overcome the situation positively. 

Below are a few ways how universities abroad are approaching student admissions amid the Coronavirus situation. 

Student’s Interests First

Universities and governments around the world are doing their best to make sure students do not undergo unnecessary stress during the application process in these trying times. To ensure this, universities are putting the student’s interests before anything else. 

From providing flexible options to providing accurate and timely information to reduce student’s anxiety about the future, the universities are committed to doing so, now more than before. 

Waiving Test Requirements

An increasing number of universities are relaxing their admission criteria by waiving test requirements like GRE and English language tests due to the unavailability of physical test centers amid the global lockdown. 

While a few other universities are considering other safer alternatives like the option to take tests online or using a different medium. 

Extension of Deadlines

The current situation is making universities around the world to extend their application and deposit deadlines so that students can make an informed decision. This extension will also help students around the world who are unable to apply on time due to the ongoing global lockdown that might thwart their study abroad process because they are unable to take an English Language Test or acquire their graduation certificates/transcripts. 

While most universities have pushed back their admission deadlines to June 2020 and deposit deadlines to July 2020, other universities might also follow suit in order to provide students time to make a decision and also fill their enrollment. 

More Scholarships

Given the ongoing economic drop caused by the COVID-19 lockdown in countries around the world, more and more universities are coming forward to assist students with more scholarships or part tuition waivers.

This will not only help universities in filling their enrollment gap but also provide the students with an easier option to finance their studies.

Better Chance of Admission

While it is hard to get into the top tier universities, the current situation is likely to encourage the universities in relaxing their admission criteria and requirements to ensure better chances of admission to students who have applied. 

Factors like the economic consequences and students who were unable to get into their first choice of universities will have a better chance at more affordable universities. This will also push the universities to provide admissions to more students than last year. 

Universities like the University of Southern California (USC) have already increased their acceptance rate by over 16% for the coming Fall intake, which is the highest in the past decade. That being said, the universities have taken appropriate measures to ensure fairness and equality towards all students. 

More Interaction

As most of the universities and campuses are shutdown currently, officials will be hosting more of live virtual visits for their prospective students. This will also include more interactive Q&A sessions with the university officials like faculty members, admission officers, or financial aid advisers to encourage engagement with the university community as part of the admission process. 

As these trying times call for proactive actions from the universities to ease the uncertainty of admission process and lessen the anxiety of students, these complexities are short-term as life will be back to normalcy soon. If at any point you are uncertain about anything in your study abroad journey or require help, you can always contact our Student Support Team on +91-9303-42-42-42 or write to them at contactus@ubergrad.com for free assistance.