THE BRAIN WRITES

Number of graduate schools you should apply to | Master's degree So you have decided to tread further on the path of education and pursue a higher degree. Great! How many graduate schools should you apply to? A question that often brain-fogs aspirants, getting it wrong can wreak havoc even for the most well-rounded grad school applicant. Stellar undergrad performance, strong extra-curricular involvements, and decent work experience/internships need to be aligned with the right educational institutions. And coming up with a well-researched list of target schools is pivotal to this alignment. I would say a list of 6–8 should suffice. It should be categorized into three: safe schools , moderate schools , and ambitious schools . Safe Schools: The admission committee doesn’t have a reason to reject your candidature. You tick all of their requirements. Moderate Schools: Selection-Rejection ratio of 60:40. Ambitious Schools: You don’t stand a good chance. More of a shot in the dark. Pr...

Social Entrepreneurship: What it is and why it exists. Image Credit: youmatter . Entrepreneurship is the talk of the town today. Individuals rooting to do something of their own are sprouting up like never before. Even governments across the globe are encouraging home-grown entrepreneurs through funding and support of all sorts. What has inspired people to tread down the path of innovation? The underpinnings of ‘pioneerdom’ are well-documented in Professor Chuanyin Xie’s paper titled “Why Do Some People Choose to Become Entrepreneurs? An Integrative Approach” . He attributes venture creation to individual and environmental factors. The former comprises characteristics related to a person’s trait (need for achievement, risk-taking ability, etc.), demographics, and cognition. The environmental approach focuses on an individual’s surroundings in three contexts: immediate (role model(s) in the family or workplace), broad (political, legal, economic, cultural, and support institutions)...

      Image credits:  Pedro Araújo Before anything else, what is writer's block? According to Oxford languages , writer's block is "the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing" . If you're even remotely associated with writing in any form, the stress and frustration of not being able to put your keyboard or pen to work shouldn't be new to you. Everyone has been a victim of writer's block at some point. Luckily, there's no dearth of articles on the internet and videos on YouTube on how to overcome writer's block. And that means umpteen number of ways to break through this creative obstruction. Some people advocate listening to music, others suggest taking a brisk walk, and so on. Different individuals, varying opinions.  Even I've my own mechanism to cope with writer's block. I seek inspiration from others' written works to come up with my creations. Scrolling through Quora, reading news editori...

So you've made up your mind to pursue a master's degree. The list of universities you'd be applying to is ready, you've either taken the required tests (GRE/TOEFL/IELTS) or are scheduling the dates for the same. And your letters of recommendation (LOR) are almost ready or done. It's time to address the elephant in the room: your statement of purpose or SOP. Table Of Contents Why have I written this post? What is an SOP? How long does it take to write an SOP? How do you prepare your SOP's first draft? The next steps once the first draft is ready. What is the ideal word limit for an SOP? Common SOP mistakes. Sample SOP format. Need my help with your SOP? Why have I written this post? I wasn't content with just a Bachelor's degree. Pursuing higher education from globally renowned institutes in the United States, Canada, Europe, etc. is alluring and rewarding. People may digress by citing eye-watering tuition co...

Image Credits: John Karel Indian news publishers are banking on a newfound recipe for delivering masala filled content—failed woke marketing campaigns by the big shots. For the audience not familiar with the woke model, it’s a strategy wherein brands leverage consumer sensitivity and opinions on current happenings for product promotion. The issue could be anything under the sky—entertainment, politics, socio-economic matters, etc. The  advertisements of Dove  are synonymous with this marketing strategy; the brand focuses on racial discrimination, a dark chapter in world history. However, viewers are split on the response with some thoroughly impressed by the bold initiative and others utterly disgusted by Dove’s gimmick. If this example has piqued your interest, then trust me, there are umpteen other stories on the internet you should read now.   Before diving in further, let me discuss woke marketing  briefly   to ensure the reader doesn’t go...