DON'T LOSE YOUR MIND

As depressing as it may be to see your dreams slip off your fingertips, you have to get things together and make some of the most crucial decisions that you have ever made. Even if you think you have fallen off the bandwagon, it might really not be the case, because, you're not the only one, and there are people who have gone through the same thing as you. After processing the reason for which you were not able to go abroad, whether there was something wrong in the documentation or a blunder in the interview that led to your visa being disapproved, start considering your choices. 

REAPPLYING

Visas can be applied for at any time of the year. This makes it easier for one to reapply, with revised documentation, given that you have the time to present the documents and develop your confidence. Two friends, currently students of University of Manitoba in Canada, had applied for a temporary resident visa for which they were not approved the first time. However, reapplying for the second time, with the corrected applications, they are now in their second semester. 

TAKING A GAP YEAR AND UTILISING IT

Taking a gap year means that for an entire year, the perpetual study pressure on you will be lifted. This can be a chance to get enough time for getting on with what you planned to do, but never got around to do it. Undertaking a gap year, Tahamid Siam, who had gotten into the University of Dallas, now plans to get on with coding, travel through the country, and then reapply after a year once he has utilised his break. He also plans on learning a third language in order to be applicable for another country as a back-up.  Another student, Fayek Uthsho, has planned to shift his session from fall to spring and reapply then. He is also thinking of interning at an alumni organisation for some time, and broadening his choice of countries to apply to, keeping all his options open. 

APPLYING AT HOME

Recently, many courses that were not being offered have surfaced. If you consider staying in the country, there are universities – both private and public – to cater to your academic needs. Although if you decide to sit for a public university admission test, you might have to toil a bit more to get in. "The aftermath of getting into a public university would be worth it," stated Toaha Hasnain, who would be  trying out for IBA this session. 

Lastly, whatever choice you make, remember that one professor had famously said: "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Zarin Rezwana is just a weird potato trying to be a French fry. Send help or send ketchup to riditah4@gmail.com