
We are now in mid October, with early deadlines approaching for most universities, India and Abroad, now is the time to start filling out your applications. Each platform, whether it’s the Common App (used by US universities), UCAS (UK universities), or country-specific portals like OUAC (Canada) or Studielink (Netherlands), comes with its own requirements, timelines, and processes.
Before jumping into application form filling, here is a checklist of some things you should keep ready.
- Identify your target countries and universities– each country and university has specific requirements in terms of testing, documentation and essays
- Application forms- check whether the university you are applying to requires the Common Application, UCAS, OUAC, or uses it’s own specific application portal
- Documentation– when applying by a certain deadline, the university expects all your documentation to be ready therefore it is important to check and collect your transcripts from school, letters of recommendation, proof of english (via IELTS, TOEFL, Duolingo), test scores (SAT, ACT, specific UK exams for Oxbridge) and personal essays.

Common Application
An application system for more than a thousand colleges and universities, the common application is used mostly for US universities but spans across colleges in Canada, Australia, China, Japan and some European countries too. You can only apply to 20 universities at a time through the common application.
Things to keep in mind:
Activities Section– This section of the application allows you to fill up to ten activities. You should try and fill it in order of activity importance to you. Pro tip– if you have more than ten activities, it is advisable to combine two similar activities together.
Common App Essay– The trickiest bit of this application! A 650 word essay that you need to answer from one of the given prompts. Pro tip- try and make this very unique and personal to you, write your personal story and give them an insight into what makes you, YOU.
Recommenders & FERPA– You’ll be asked to submit the details of your counselor as well as two teachers for most universities. Pro tip– identify and speak to the teachers you want to approach beforehand. If your school uses a brag sheet, use the brag sheet to write specific things about you that you want your teachers to mention. If not, write an email to your teachers with those specific things you want him/her to mention. Some universities have an optional additional recommendation option so if you have interned somewhere, you can ask your mentor/ guide to write an additional one for you as well.
Testing– check if your universities require standardized testing and plan for this in advance.
And ofcourse, monitor all your deadlines very closely! Check all supplementary essays for your universities beforehand so you don’t miss anything.

UCAS
An application system for most UK universities, you can only apply to 5 universities through the UCAS application.
College List– As you are limited to five only, it is important to check all grades/ marks requirements for your courses beforehand to give you a realistic perspective on where you can get in. Pro tip- Choose 2 dream universities, 2 target universities where you are safely meeting the grade requirement and one super safety university option.
Buzz Word– Ask your school for the Buzz word and link your application to your school if your school provides this option or else apply as an individual.
Personal Essay– The UK expects a very different essay from what the US expects. The personal statement in the UCAS is basically a place to mention your achievements so far, why you want to apply to this particular course and why you would be a good fit for it. Pro tip– Try to mention all your academic and non academic engagement with the subject so far without listing things down like in a resume.
Testing– Many courses and colleges have their own admission test that needs to be registered separately from the UCAS. Check all these requirements beforehand so you do not miss out on those registration dates.
Keep in mind that most UK universities have a deadline at the end of January ( 29th Jan, 2025) however most medicine, dentistry and Oxbridge programs have earlier deadlines. It is also advisable to apply earlier to more competitive programs.

OUAC
The Ontario Universities Application Center is mainly for Canadian universities based in the region of Ontario. There is no limit to the number of OUAC universities you can apply to and unlike other applications you may apply to multiple programs at the same university.
Pro tip– While the OUAC is a simple application only requiring your basic details, each university that you apply to will send you a supplementary application in your email. Keep an eye out for the supplementary application as they have separate deadlines and tend to require a lot of documentation.

Studielink
The common application system for the Netherlands. You can apply to a maximum of four programs, with certain limits for popular courses like medicine.
Language Proficiency: Providing proof of English proficiency through tests like IELTS or TOEFL is mandatory for most programs.
Pro tip– Most Dutch universities will also send you a supplementary application with a separate deadline so do not fail to check your email and spam for this. Some universities in the Netherlands also have their own testing requirements, so do check on that beforehand.
General Tips
Draft and Revise all essays to ensure they are within the word limit. Ask for feedback from parents, mentors and friends.
Request Recommendations Early from all your teachers/ counselors/ mentors. As people take time to write these and you want to ensure you have it ready before your deadline.
Know the costs of all your applications as these tend to add up.
Send all scores officially! Whether it’s your SAT, ACT, IELTS or TOEFL- login to their website and send these scores officially to all your universities. It is not enough to self report them.
Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines! Keep a calendar or a list where you can keep track of all your deadlines so you don’t miss anything!
The writer is Founder and CEO, Inomi Learning, a Gurugram-based career and college guidance firm. info@inomi.in
The original article was first published in ‘The Hindu’ , on October 19th, 2024.
With inputs from Kritika Malhotra, Principal Counsellor at Inomi Learning.

Richa Dwivedi Saklani is a certified coach from UCLA and is an accredited MBTI trainer who has worked with over 10,000 people across career planning and as a behavioral trainer in companies. She is the CEO & Founder of Inomi Learning and author of “The Ultimate Guide to 21st Century Careers”.