Chronology of University scouting

Towards the end of my final semester ever, I started scouting around for information on international universities, preferably those in the UK, and in Australia. However, during those period, I was restricted in terms of mobility due to academic purposes, and the fact that the nearest counselling office was in Pulau Tikus.

Luckily, one of my sisters-in-faith had the convenience to seek information on the same matter, thus she volunteered to help me seek information. By the time I returned to Subang Jaya some months later, a package was awaiting for me; a compendium of prospectuses from various Australian universities.

Alhamdulillah, my examination results enabled me to proceed with my plans. Eventhough the result was a bit on-the-edge, nevertheless I had the confident to try and apply. That's what matters.

My first phase was to identify as many universities as possible from the two countries mentioned. This includes their accreditations, academics, maximum advanced standing (credit transfer), requirements, documentations required, tuition fees, annual cost of living, accommodation, facilities and environments. But, most of all, I had to ensure that their geographical location(s) have very little external influences (eg over-socialising)

From this, the list narrows down. My next step was to enquire via each university's Islamic body/association/society. This is to identify the facilities for Muslim conveniences such as prayer facilities within campus, local mosques, Muslim students' welfare, Halal butchery and F&B conveniences, and most importantly, the Muslim students' point of view.

Surprisingly, for a foreign, non-Muslim nation, the prayer facilities are at their optimum condtion. So, no trouble with that. However, one particular Australian university has issues regarding the allocation of a Muslim prayer facility. Eventhough the campus involved is not that of the one that facilitates the Engineering School, there is still a sense of syubhah. Therefore, I decided to remove the University from my list, or to at least postpone until the matter has been resolved.

The finalised list goes as follows:

UNITED KINGDOM

1. University of Portsmouth

2. University of Plymouth

3. Manchester Metropolitan University

AUSTRALIA

1. University of Newcastle

2. Victoria University

3. University of South Australia

My second phase, was to obtain all documents required for the application process. This involved going up and down the Academic Department, and commuting to the Penang campus. This phase was the painstaking part. While some documents were obtainable immediately, others took up to a week or more, not to mention certain documents that had to be re-processed due to typing errors.

Having settled that, I now have to duplicate all documents. This process was not much of a money-squeezer, if you know where to get the best price. But, the most painstaking document duplicating, was the 112-page syllabus outline. I tried an alternative method; burning the PDF document onto a CD. But then, the file was a mere 315kB, thus making it unreadable by CD readers.

Having done all that, I need to have it certified, especially the translated documents. For this, one has to seek the Public Notary, or Justice for Peace. But, in Malaysia, we refer to them as the Commissioner for Oaths. Luckily, however, my mother is at aposition whereby she has the authority to certify such documents. So, my pockets are still jingling, thanks to that.

My third and final phase, took place throughout this week, which consists of filling out university forms and submitting them. This was being done by two methods; one being to directly mail the forms plus documents to their respected universities. The second method, was to go the the education exhibition, and submit the documents to them, after a thorough process of assessments and briefings.

Alhamdulillah, I can now relax and have myself a good time...whatever that's left of it of course. Judging by the time line, I spent a period of almost 8 months going through all three phases. Though time consuming, the outcome (information and shortlisting process) was worth the effort I went through.

I only hope that my efforts bear fruit. I pray to Allah asking Him with His blessing to grant me what I have worked for all this while.

May Allah grant me what I seek...