| Choosing a university from thousands of miles away presents serious difficulties. Once you start the process of researching possible programs, you will be overwhelmed with choice as there are over 3,500 US universities. You need to narrow that choice by compiling a list of factors important to you. The following information is meant to provide you with criteria you might want to consider. Not all factors are equally important to all students, so work out your own priorities. ACADEMIC CONSIDERATIONS Area of Concentration: It is not essential to declare the area of concentration you plan to undertake when you enter a university. If you have a definite degree objective, you need to identify universities offering that field. A great many subjects are taught in every university, so choice of fields does not necessarily eliminate many institutions! In some fields, however, you may want to check out possible specialization. For example, many universities offer business studies but only a few offer marketing or many offer education but only a few offer physical education or special education. Academic Emphasis: You will want to get an idea of how the university emphasizes its curriculum. Is it pre-professionally orientated or liberal arts? Do the undergraduates dominate the campus or do the postgraduates? Many liberal arts colleges emphasize teaching and professor/student interaction, so the teacher to student ratio is quite low. Some research-centered campuses are postgraduate-dominated and undergraduates are secondary; however, facilities are often state-of-the-art and professors are world-renowned. Courses: Study the course catalog and course descriptions. Many international students choose the US system because of the flexibility it offers through the liberal arts framework. Some degrees, however, are highly structured and universities dictate exact coursework. Prescribed coursework does not allow for student athletes who want to take a lighter load "in season" or double major options for the motivated student. Accreditation: You should check that any university you are considering is regionally accredited. You can obtain more information on accreditation from the university itself or by consulting its web site. COST Cost is another important consideration. You should study the fee structure printed in most university prospectuses carefully and incorporate into your calculations the cost of room, food, tuition, fees, travel and other expenses for the full four years. Private v. State-Supported: US universities are either private or state-supported. In general the tuition fees at state-supported universities are less expensive than private universities. International students, however, are considered non-state residents and are charged "out-of-state" tuition rates, which are higher than in-state rates. Some state universities are limited in the percentage of out-of-state students they enroll. Tuition: Students should be concerned with the cost of tuition and fees and be aware that tuition costs may rise each year. Meal Plan: The cost and options of the meal plan are also important cost considerations. Some universities mandate that first year students must purchase the meal plan, while other universities offer various options within the meal plan including the number of meals per week or the meal halls used. Financial Aid: Some US universities offer financial aid for international students. It is helpful to check the amount of the average award, the percentage of financial aid awarded and the nature of the awards, whether they are need-based or academically based. It is possible that a university will allow an international student to be on a payment plan so that they can pay the tuition in installments. Graduate students will be interested in the Teaching Assistant opportunities and research grants at a particular university. ADMISSION DIFFICULTY Because the US university system is so extensive, admissions requirements vary greatly. This means that private universities and liberal arts colleges at the top of the selectivity indices receive enormous numbers of applications and accept only a small percentage, while other colleges can accept all applicants who meet their admission standards. Most directories will give information such as the average score for the previous year's accepted students. In addition, directories and many college prospectuses will list the number of applicants and the number of students accepted the previous year. Selectivity assessments using this type of data, however, tend to put weight on test admission scores, which are only one part of an application and not necessarily the most important part. No uniform procedure exists for graduate admissions in the United States. The graduate admissions office almost always shares the responsibility for admissions with the academic departments, and most commonly there is a graduate admissions committee for each department made up of faculty members and graduate admissions office staff. However, the roles and the relative authority of the graduate admissions office and the academic departments, as well as the relationship between them, vary markedly from institution to institution. To make your admissions experience more positive, it is a good idea from the beginning of the process to network with both the graduate admissions office and your specific department of interest. Develop a clear understanding of the institution’s general admission requirements and the department’s academic and research objectives to see if they match your personal and professional goals. In addition to the match between the strength of your application and the admissions standard of a school or department, two other factors may influence your chances of admission. First, graduate student research may be highly specialized and dependent on the availability of a faculty member who shares a student’s interest, and on resources available in the department. A department may suggest that you be admitted because your research interests match well with those of a particular faculty member, or may advise against admission because faculty members and resources for your research are lacking. Secondly, since faculty members review applications to decide who should receive any available research or teaching assistantships, departments often look for applicants who can teach or do research in particular areas.
Types of Admission The student's application will be forwarded to the admission committee as soon as the university receives all necessary documents. This process enables candidates to receive an admission decision within a reasonable amount of time after submitting an application. The decision typically arrives about two months after the application process is complete. Receiving a quick decision allows the student to plan his or visa interview well in advance. If the university does not have rolling admission, they usually have a specific deadline, and no applications are evaluated before this deadline, no matter how early they receive the application documents. All admission decision letters are then mailed to candidates on the same day, which is generally in late March or early April. Usually the deadline dates will be earlier than the universities who have rolling admission. Admission Criteria
Application evaluation and admission decisions are made based on several factors. Each university follows their own set of rules for considering the applications. In general, a student's academic performance and test scores play major roles in the admission decisions. A history of good academic performance is more important than very high-test scores, just as individual section scores are more important total test scores. Many universities expect a minimum score in each section of the students test results. Excellent undergraduate performance - especially in the Major courses - is necessary for admission into a Master's degree program. For example, if a student is applying for an engineering program, he or she should have high grades in the areas of math and science. If there are too many applications with a similar set of scores, then the university considers all other aspects of an individual's application, such as extra-curricular activities, or published papers. Admission records are very confidential and can be obtained only by the student or student-authorized person. The student must provide written consent for any third party, other than University staff, to access his or her educational record. SIZE AND LOCATION Size: Many international students do not realize that US universities enrolment size can range from 200-50,000. Some universities resemble small cities with their own post offices, grocery stores and shopping centers. Size ranges offer different opportunities and climates for the undergraduate. Some large campuses are located in very small rural towns where the students and the universities dominate the local economy. Other schools may be in large, densely populated urban areas with a very small enrolment. Location: The climate in the US varies considerably from one region to another. Some regions offer both urban and rural settings. Some areas present more security concerns than others. You should be informed about security risks and precautions. Some students have relatives living in the US and this may be a major influence on the choice of universities. |