Two Years in the Making: How Bharath Kumar Finally Landed His Spot at University College Cork

Bharath Kumar's journey from a medicine and health graduate in Bangalore to preparing for an MSc in Public Health at University College Cork took two years, an earlier setback, and more than one attempt to get there. After wanting to study abroad for two years, he was unable to do so on his first attempt, so he completed a master's degree in Bangalore before revisiting his plans. When it was time to apply again, he faced another hurdle after failing the Duolingo English Test twice. A focused seven-day preparation course helped him clear it on his third attempt. He then had to figure out which course would best fit his academic background, eventually choosing Public Health after finding that his first-choice program in Clinical Research wasn't available at most Irish universities. With just five days left before the application deadline, Bharath secured his place at University College Cork, with support from his Leap Scholar counsellor.

For Bharath, getting to Ireland was less about having a straightforward plan and more about continuing to work through each obstacle that came his way. From an earlier study-abroad attempt falling through to finding the right course and clearing his English proficiency test on his third try, each step brought him closer to finally making his long-planned move abroad.

Bharath's Journey at a Glance

• From: Bangalore, India
• Background: Medicine and health graduate; completed a master's in Bangalore
• Course: MSc in Public Health, University College Cork
• Journey: Pursued his study abroad plans for 2 years after an earlier attempt fell through
• Challenge: Cleared the Duolingo English Test on his third attempt after a targeted 7-day preparation course
• Decision: Chose Public Health after Clinical Research wasn't widely available in Ireland
• Application: Secured his place with just 5 days left before the deadline
• Now: Preparing to begin his MSc at University College Cork, Ireland

Here's Bharath, in his own words.

Q. How did your study abroad journey actually begin?

I'd been thinking about going abroad for close to two years before it actually happened. I'd even contacted Leap Scholar back then, and they'd sent me a shortlist of universities, but for various reasons, it didn't work out at that time. In the meantime, I went ahead and completed my master's degree in Bangalore. It was only much later, with five days left before an application deadline, that my family gave me the go-ahead to pursue it again.

Q. What happened once you got that approval?

I reached back out to Leap Scholar immediately, and my counsellor, Kavya ma'am, moved incredibly quickly; she had a shortlist of universities ready for me right away. She helped me settle on University College Cork, since it offered the course I was ultimately looking for, and the entire application, including payment, went through smoothly and fast, despite how little time we had.

Q. How did you land on Public Health as your course, especially given the time pressure?

I come from a medicine and health background, so my first instinct was to pursue clinical research. The problem was that the program just wasn't available at most Irish universities. I had a shortlist of options and genuinely felt stuck trying to figure out which direction to take. That's when Kavya ma'am looked closely at my academic background and suggested I consider Public Health at Cork instead. I'd also been aiming for the January 2027 intake, but she pointed out that very few universities accept students into certain courses at that time of year and recommended I plan around a later intake instead. Once I looked into Cork's reputation and heard positive feedback from past students about the teaching and academics there, I was confident it was the right choice. Since I was committed to staying within the medicine field rather than pivoting into business or engineering, Public Health ended up being one of the best decisions I made.

Q. What was the toughest part of your application process?

Without question, the Duolingo English Test. In my practice tests I was consistently scoring between 130 and 145, so I genuinely underestimated it. When I actually sat the exam, I only scored around 110 to 115, and that happened twice. It wasn't until I took a seven-day preparation course through Leap Scholar, which walked me through how to approach each section of the exam properly, that I was finally able to clear it. That was, hands down, the biggest challenge of this entire journey.

Q. How was your experience working with your counsellor day to day?

Kavya ma'am was calm and composed throughout, even when I was a little behind on gathering some documents. She always made sure everything got completed on time regardless, which made the whole process far less stressful for me.

Q. Did you look into any scholarships?

Unfortunately, University College Cork isn't currently offering scholarships for medicine and health-related courses, even though I understand they used to in the past.

Q. Would you recommend Leap Scholar to others?

Absolutely. I've already passed on the contact details for Teertha sir in the visa department and Kavya ma'am to a friend of mine who's flying to Cork in September 2027. They've already reached out to her and told her to start her own application process early, so she isn't rushed the way I was. I'd recommend Leap Scholar over any other agency, without hesitation.