How I got into Lund University in Sweden
The Perspective of a Prospective Psychology student
Lund University currently ranks as one of the top 100 global universities and the number one choice for international students studying in Sweden, drawing in 1/3 of all applicants. While some programs are more competitive than others, I applied for the two-year Master of Science program in Psychology. According to The Swedish Council for Higher Education, in recent years, Lund University attracts between 3216 to 4134 applicants for the Psychology program alone. Historically, for this particular program, Lund University accepts 48 applicants for the first round and an equal number of applicants in the second round. That’s a 2.4% acceptance rate! So how did I get in?
Putting all my Eggs in one Basket
Swedish universities require you to rank your program(s)/universities in order of preference. For the Master’s program, you can rank up to four choices with the top university as number one, second choice as number two, and so on and so forth. You will be considered for your highest ranked program first, if admitted the lower ranked programs will be deleted. If not accepted, you will be considered for your second highest ranked program, or third, or possibly forth.
I only applied to the Psychology program at Lund. My guess would be that this gave me an edge in my application.
Lund University has a Long-standing Exchange Program with University of California
The UC-system and Lund University are heavily research-based universities. It is no surprise that they have an exchange program dating back to the 1960s. Not only is it the first and longest running exchange program, it is also the program that receives the most applicants. The program allows current Lund undergraduate students to apply to study abroad at any of the nine UC campuses.
I received my BA in Psychology from UC Riverside. Though I had no idea the two universities were linked, I am almost certain Lund took this into consideration when I applied.
A Strong Statement of Purpose
No letters of recommendation or GRE scores were considered in my application for this program. I had a meager undergraduate GPA of 3.2. This one might seem obvious, but I think my Statement of Purpose really boosted my application.
The Statement of Purpose consists of three prompts where you have the chance to showcase who you are and how well your undergraduate experience has prepared you for the next step in your academic career.
- The first prompt asks you to list all the courses where Methods and Statistics were taught AND all courses where you have to write a research report. As I mentioned before, graduating from UCR and it boasting the research university reputation, I was able to completely fill the space provided by explaining each and every course in my undergraduate career that met both of these components.
- The second prompt wants to know why you are applying to the program and what you would benefit from it. Here I delved into my work as a research assistant, social worker, and my interest in current research conducted by renowned faculty in this department. I also mentioned my interest in moving back to Sweden, after having reluctantly moved away as a child. I clearly stated my desire to return to my hometown as an adult, by choice, to continue my studies.
- The third and final prompt requires you to draft a research proposal. I drew from my current work and the current state of affairs by tying the stress levels of adults with children with Autism and COVID-19. From there I discussed the theoretical and methodological approach of how I would go about this research, as if it were to be my Master’s thesis.
What about COVID-19?
Did the pandemic have an affect on my application? Perhaps. But according to The Swedish Council for Higher Education, this year had only three fewer applicants than the semester of Fall 2020 for the Psychology program. The year before that had 709 fewer applicants and that was before COVID-19 started. However, it is still very possible that admissions took other aspects into consideration and admitted a higher number of applicants this year for whatever reason.
So there you have it. While many of these factors are not applicable to everyone, in my case, it gave me an idea of what international universities could consider beyond grades, scores, and letters of recommendation. If you’re interested in studying abroad, have an urge to travel, or seeking to pursue higher education, don’t hesitate to apply because you might just get in.
