The Reasons to Study at Newcastle University - Admission/Application Essay Example

Personal Case Study/ Reflection Introduction and Decision Summary The of New Castle is a higher learning andit is located in Callaghan, New Class. The word-class university employs a high level of excellence in research and innovation, which increases students’ access to quality education. It provides educational opportunities to both local and international students. It has been my dream to pursue my postgraduate degree course in a highly recognized international institution of higher learning, specifically the University Of New Castle (UNC). I am an international student of Saudi origin, pursuing a postgraduate course at Newcastle University. The primary factor that motivated me to study in this institution is the need to experience new life and culture. I also wanted to get familiar to different cultures because it was an important factor necessary to increase my competitive advantage in the finance career. I believed that many international students from different cultural backgrounds were studying at the institution, which could provide the opportunity for enhancing my cultural competence. Innovative approaches the organization uses in teaching and learning also influenced my decision to study in the institution because it would help to develop my career effectively. I did have work experience, which made it necessary to pursue the postgraduate course in an institution that focuses on career development. The essay explains the facts that influenced my decision to study at Newcastle University. It uses relevant theories to give a detailed analysis of the issues and their effects on the decision-making process. It also gives a reflection on how the theories learnt in class could have affected my initial actions. Decision Issues The urge to experience a new life and culture influenced my decision to study at the University of Newcastle. I believed that life in Newcastle was different from the one in the home country, which encouraged me to explore. I studied in Saudi institutions up to the university level where I pursued my first-degree course. I held positive attributes concerning life in developed countries such as Australia, as opposed to the conditions in Saudi Arabia. Transformation in the labor market has contributed significantly towards economic development in Australia as explained by Brown and Bellamy (2007). The concept convinced me to believe that life in Newcastle is better than in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, I applied for a postgraduate course in Newcastle in order to experience a new life in the country. Additional factor that predisposed my verdict is the need to learn and get familiar with different cultures. Szczecinski (2011) explains that Australia is a multicultural society because of the high number of immigrants in the country. He adds that the country has more than 100 languages, which shows the potential of learning different cultures. The rich language enabled me to prefer Australia to other nations such as the United States. I searched for higher learning institutions in the country that could enable me pursue my course and learn many languages. I considered Newcastle because it had a high number of international students, whom I could interact with during the period I will be in the institution. I believed that I would learn their cultures by interacting with them. During the undergraduate studies, I learned that cultural competence is a crucial factor in employability (Moran, Harris, & Moran, 2011). The majority of employers consider employees who can work in a diverse culture because it is necessary for obtaining a competitive advantage. Employees should interrelate with customers from dissimilar cultures to enhance their loyalty that that increases revenue and success (Curtis, Dreachslin, & Sinioris, 2007). The knowledge I obtained in my undergraduate course convinced me to consider studying in Newcastle. Innovative strategies in teaching and learning also motivated me to choose the University of Newcastle as the preferable institution to pursue my course. I did not want to study my postgraduate degree in Saudi Arabia because I needed an institution that could help me develop my career effectively. I wanted to acquire adequate skills that could help me succeed in my career in future. I did not want to be incompetent because it could affect my professional practice. Therefore, I had to select a University that focused on quality learning and teaching in order to benefit the students significantly. I could also obtain a similar experience from other excellent universities the in America. However, I chose UNC in specific because of the government legislation that promotes rights of all individuals without discerning them based on their ethnic backgrounds (Szczecinski, 2011). Analysis of the Issues Cognitive dissonance theory plays a significant role in the decision-making process, especially when there difficult choices. A person may have two divergent beliefs, which he has to select when seeking to satisfy their needs. In this case, he has to reduce cognitive discord by associating the belief he does not with negative values. A similar experience occurred in my case when I was making the decision to study in a foreign country (Mendenhall, Arnardottir, Oddou, and Burke, 2013). I had the opportunity of pursuing the course in my home country, but I chose to pursue it in Australia. I held positive values concerning higher learning institutions in Australia. The country respected all people from different ethnic backgrounds, which enhanced my beliefs concerning favorable environment for learning in all the institutions. The factor motivated me to prefer the universities in Australia to other developed nations such as the U.S that did not emphasize on equality for all people. I reduced the dissonance by holding negative values to other institutions outside America. It was a big challenge to select an institution in the country that could enable me to achieve the best in my studies. I believed that Newcastle University was the right choice because it emphasized on quality education. The management promoted innovative approaches in learning and teaching, which could enable the students to obtain significant outcomes. I held positive attributes on the university that helped reduce cognitive dissonance in order to ease decision-making. Attribution process refers to the practice whereby one determines whether the observed event or behavior occur due to external or internal factors. Attribution process helps people to understand their behaviors because they can consider both the internal and external attribution. They can develop perceptions that their events or behaviors occurred because of their motivation, or external factors beyond their control. Similarly, the desire to improve my career from a highly recognized institution that focuses on quality is a major factor that motivated me to consider studying in Newcastle University. According to the rational model of decision-making, people should consider choices that have optimal output. The best decision is the one that will enable them to obtain maximum benefits. The model influenced my decision to study at the University of Newcastle because I believed that it was the best one that could result in the optimal output. I had positive attributes in the organization because I would obtain a postgraduate degree and learn other languages that could enhance my employability skills. Therefore, the decision to study overseas, particularly at UNC was the best because it would result in significant benefits. The model considers utility and expected outcomes that are likely to occur by pursuing a given behavior (Hill, 2014). It explains that one should choose a decision with a high probability that an outcome would occur. Similarly, I also believed that the probability of achieving cultural competence is 90% because the county is multicultural. Behaviorist approach explains that experience can shape the behaviors and actions of a people (Alzaghoul, 2012). It explains the factors that influenced my decision to study in the University of Newcastle. The experience I had during studies in Saudi Arabia starting from primary school to the university level greatly influenced my perceptions concerning the living conditions in the country. It encouraged me to apply for a postgraduate course in Newcastle, where I could experience a better life. I believed that high level of economic growth and development in the country provided good living conditions. Conclusion Decision-making is a challenging experience, which requires people to pay attentions to the choices they pursue. The decisions taken can have significant consequences for the parties involved. I also experienced a challenge when I was selecting a range the university where I could pursue my postgraduate course. My main objective was to choose an institution that could help improve my career in order to achieve a high level of competency. I also chose the organization that had a rich culture, which could enable me increase my cultural competence. I selected the University of Newcastle because it had all the features I required. I did not have much knowledge in making decisions, and this influenced my actions. However, I know understand appropriate theories, models, and approaches that one should consider when making decisions. For instance, rational model emphasize the need to consider optimal output when making decisions concerning the alternatives to implement. Reflection Social identity theory explains that people pursue actions that relate to their groups. It influences a person’s self-esteem and consciousness (Mols & Weber, 2013). According to this theory, a social class is a critical factor that provides self-esteem and pride. People may not perform certain behaviors that do not conform to the beliefs of their group because they consider them as irrelevant. This theory could have enabled me to approach the issue differently. I could have reconsidered pursuing the postgraduate course in Saudi Arabia, rather than choosing Newcastle. I grew in a middle-income family, which shows that the theory could have influenced my perceptions concerning the group I belong. The majority of the students from the middle class family mainly pursue their education in the country because of the high expenses incurred to study abroad. Similarly, the theory could have influenced me to believe studying abroad is for the wealthy class only. I could have reconsidered pursuing the course in my home country where fellow students from the middle-income families learn. However, this stereotype could have affected the outcome of my decisions. Stereotyping can influence the perceptual process, thus affecting the decisions that people pursue (Read & Miller, 2014). Consequently, it is vital to remain conscious of such stereotypes because they can affect people’s understanding concerning their environment. Attribution theory explains people’s interpretation concerning various events and the influence it has on their behaviors (Graham & Folkes, 2014). Prior knowledge in this concept could have influenced me to reconsider the decision I pursued. I could have understood the motivating factors to study specifically at the University of Newcastle. I believed that the institution value quality education, which encourage them to implement innovative approaches to learning. The students benefited significantly from their programs that were quality-driven. Therefore, I could have applied for other institutions such as Harvard University, which emphasize quality education. A good understanding of the factors that influenced my choice of the institution could have helped to select other institutions with the features. For instance, the University of Newcastle admits many international students, thus showing that diverse cultures exist in the institution. My main interest was an institution that could enrich my cultural competence in order to increase the employability skills (Kirmayer, 2012). Similarly, I could have chosen a different university that has a high number of international students. The behavioral theory explains that people should consider other factors other than optimization when making decisions concerning the alternatives they should choose (Gavetti, Greve, Levinthal, & Ocasio, 2012). The concept could have influenced my approach in addressing the issues I experienced when I was making the decision to study abroad. The primary factors were to achieve quality education and improve my cultural competence. I could have considered the effects that will occur by pursuing my course in a different country. For instance, living in the country for about five years might enable me adopts new cultures and forget the ones back at home. The idea could have encouraged me to pursue my course at the Saudi higher learning institutions. References Alzaghoul, A. F. (2012). The Implication of the learning theories on implementing e-learning courses. The Research Bulletin of Jordan ACM , 11 (11), 27-30. Brown, A. J., & Bellamy, J. A. (2007). Federalism and Regionalism in Australia: New Approaches, New Institutions? Canberra: ANU Press. Curtis, E. F., Dreachslin, J. L., & Sinioris, M. (2007). Diversity and cultural competence training in health care organizations: Hallmarks of success. he health care manager , 26 (3), 255-262. Gavetti, G., Greve, H. R., Levinthal, D. A., & Ocasio, W. (2012). The Behavioral Theory of the Firm: Assessment and Prospects. Academy Of Management Annals, 6(1), 1-40. doi:10.1080/19416520.2012.656841 Graham, S., & Folkes, V. S. (Eds.). (2014). Attribution theory: Applications to achievement, mental health, and interpersonal conflict. United Kingdom: Psychology Press. Hill, M. (2014). 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