Studying abroad: what are your long-term goals?

“Choose a job you love and you won’t have to work a day in your life.”

Confucius

When you’re thinking about where you want to go after high school, it’s very important to take a step back and consider one fundamental question: what are your long-term goals? After all, the decision to study at a foreign university is the first step in your adult life, so it’s vital to define your goals and see your studies as the first step towards achieving them. Even if you can always change your mind later on, choosing a path that corresponds to your long-term goals straight after your A-levels will save you a lot of time and energy later on!

Having this questioning at this stage of your life is essential. : It would be a shame to realize during your studies or professional life that you’ve chosen a path in which you don’t feel fully fulfilled. As Diderot so aptly put it, ” you have to be enthusiastic about your job to excel at it ».

So you’re probably wondering where to start when it comes to defining your long-term goals. Try to be totally honest with yourself when answering these questions, and don’t set yourself any limits. Your long-term goals may not seem realistic at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself! Make sure that your answers are entirely your own: if your dream is to become a film actor and you’re ready to put 300% into this project but everyone tells you it’s impossible, try, as far as possible, to ignore the influence of those close to you and what others might say or think!

Don’t confuse what you want to do with what others want you to do. The vast majority of families want the best for their children, and often set ambitious goals for them. However, it’s not always easy to realize that we sometimes make certain projections or have a rather clear-cut vision of success, which isn’t necessarily compatible or in phase with our long-term goals. For example, if you’ve always hoped to become a doctor, but you’ve never really liked biology lessons and can’t stand the sight of blood, it might be a good idea to have a constructive discussion with your family and friends about this.

What’s more, just because you have the ability to follow the most selective and demanding university course doesn’t necessarily mean you should always choose to do so. Having the intellectual and academic capacity to pursue engineering studies at Cambridge University is an excellent thing. However, if your long-term goal is to work in the media, is this really the most relevant degree to achieve it? The answer may be “yes”, but it’s probably worth asking yourself before you decide!

Similarly, it’s sometimes tempting to do the same thing as those closest to us. So try to be as honest as possible with yourself and always ask yourself: is my decision the result of my own will and in line with my long-term goals, or am I in some way influenced by my environment?

Here are the questions to ask yourself when choosing your course. What’s more, if you’ve already decided to go abroad but aren’t sure what to do, here’s what you need to know. 6 good reasons to go to University Open Days.