08/09/2026
Five mistakes that we come across almost every week; none of them have anything to do with intelligence, they are due to the fact that the student was not given the relevant information in time.
1. Trusting one source of advice.
There is one agent, one relative in Australia, and one friend's older brother. Since all sources offer only a limited perspective and some of them have a commission linked to them, pose the same question to three different people and note at what point the answers differ. It is at that point that you should carry out your own investigation.
2. Choosing the country before the course.
"Going to Canada" is a destination rather than a plan. Begin by considering the degree that you actually want and the career it will lead to, then determine in which countries this subject is well taught and among those which you can afford. Students who choose the country first end up in the programme that still has spaces.
3. Never checking accreditation.
Before making any payment you should check two points: whether the university is recognised by that country's education authority and whether the degree will be accepted back in Sri Lanka if you go back. Since UGC recognition is important if you want to work in the government sector or take up a postgraduate course later on, you should verify this at the beginning, not after you have graduated.
4. Budgeting only for tuition.
Tuition generally amounts to between 55 and 70 per cent of the actual cost of the first year, the remainder consisting of accommodation, living expenses, health insurance, visa fees, flights, and the initial setup in a new country. We will break down the full list in a later post in this series.
5. Starting the paperwork too late.
Transcripts, police clearances, medical reports, bank statements showing the necessary maturity period, and any apostilles have processing times which cannot be reduced by paying extra, and students miss their intakes because the documents they thought would take only a week are not completed in that time.
Which of the five of them surprised you? Let us know in the comments and keep this page saved for when you begin your own list.
This is post 1 of a 5-part series. Follow along for the rest.
