Applying for Higher Studies in the US

Choosing a Course and Destination

For students planning to go for higher education, the first step is to decide where they would like to complete their education. The most popular countries that candidates choose when they have international options are the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia. While all these places are great for education and living, the admission criteria, education cost, and the student visa acceptance rate can vary significantly. To choose the course that one wants to do, there are also counseling options for higher education that can help students who are especially graduating from their high school and dreams big.

This also applies to the different courses in various parts of the world. Most candidates also choose colleges based on money or ranking according to what they find more important in completing their education. Candidates wishing to travel abroad for their higher education often look at all these factors before deciding their destination, only to find the different hurdles in completing each process.

Acceptance Rate in Universities

The acceptance rate for international students may seem considerably lower to candidates due to the fewer seats available to them, especially at Ivy League Universities. This increases the competition that they face amongst each other for admission in coveted courses. The acceptance rate in the US for the year 2023 for international students was around 40%. This percentage was calculated by considering 120 universities in all and a total of 500 international applications they received in the year.

While the acceptance rate may be considerably low when considering the average, if candidates are to look at the acceptance rates from institution to institution, they will know that some institutions have a far higher acceptance rate than others. This is why it is advisable to search Universities according to the courses they provide and then look at the acceptance rate of each of them.

Cost of Education

The cost of education for different courses varies from country to country, institution to institution, and the duration the candidate opts for. The cost of attendance and the living expenses of the localities where the college or university is located also affect the overall expenses the candidate might incur, subject to variation. Candidates can also search for the most affordable universities along with the courses offered by these universities in the countries they want to study in.

There are other forms of funding one’s education in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans that candidates can take. These methods of funding education require a lot of deliberation and research before candidates can apply for them and eventually receive them.

Applying to Colleges/ Universities

Once candidates have confirmed their study destination and field of study, they must choose the colleges or universities they would like to apply to and the eligibility requirements for each course. Some colleges or universities will provide the option of Pre-Application, where candidates will be able to fill out the academic achievements and their details to be reviewed by the admission office. At this phase, candidates must also choose the semester they want to apply for. Universities offer both spring and fall semesters, which the candidate can choose according to the time they will require to process all the materials required for admission.

At this stage, candidates will also have to look for the procedures regarding transferring credits from their old courses if they have any. This does not apply to candidates from a lot of countries. Still, the candidates should enquire about the same along with the policies regarding transfer credit that the colleges they apply to will have.

Documents Required for Application

As is common for college applications worldwide, applying for colleges in the US requires a few documents. There are different ways in which each document has to be formatted and compiled. For international students, most document submissions will be online, and there will be separate requirements for obtaining their visa and immigration clearance. Preparing the admission application requires collecting the following documents and following the procedures listed by the university before applying along with the documents. The main documents that every university or college requires are-

Transcripts

Transcripts/ Marksheets are documents comprising the details of the courses the candidate has completed to date. This will include the duration of their study, the courses they attended, the subjects they took under each course, and the grades they received in each of the subjects.

It is necessary that candidates evaluate their transcripts by providing them to accredited agencies who will be able to confirm the authenticity of the report submitted and provide a report based on the same for the college/ university the candidate has applied to. Some colleges and universities also have the option of evaluating the transcripts themselves, but this is not the same for the majority of the universities in the US.

Letters of Recommendation

The letters of recommendation must be obtained from teachers or mentors the candidate has worked closely with or taught a core subject. Most universities require a minimum of 3 recommendation letters, which have to be in the specific format provided by the university they are applying to. The format for the letter of recommendation will be available on the college's official website. It is important that the letter provided is not informal and has the college/ school header and seal along with the signature of the teacher/ professor/ mentor who is writing the same.

A minimum GPA

The GPA requirements of colleges and universities differ from place to place, according to the course the candidate has applied to. This also depends on the school's ranking and the kind of students the admission officers are looking for. Suppose the candidate is applying to Ivy League universities. In that case, the GPA is expected to be 3.5 or above out of 4, along with proof of how the candidate excels in every other field necessary. But at the same time, some colleges take candidates with a GPA of 2.5 and above for their courses.

Generally, the GPA will be the highest for the professional and competitive courses. Candidates opting for diploma courses or other courses of a shorter duration will be more flexible. Candidates must convert their GPA using a GPA Calculator into the scale used in the US, as will be mentioned by their university during the application process. This ensures that the candidates who have applied will have fair competition in the application process.

It is also true that the general cut-off for undergraduate courses is lower than for graduate programs due to the fewer seats available and the field-specific comparison opted for by the admission officers in most colleges. Candidates who have already completed their undergraduate course in their native country are also found to be comparing whether they should do another undergraduate course or a graduate course when moving abroad.

Statement of Purpose

Writing a statement of purpose is a task the candidate must undertake themselves. Writing a statement of purpose is to speak beyond one’s grades and achievements that can be found on documents and explain to the admission officers why the candidate is apt for the course. Communicating this message can be tricky and requires a decent level of knowledge in English. The readers will also take the statement of purpose as an opportunity to gauge the proficiency of language the candidate has apart from the scores that exams like TOEFL and IELTS might depict.

The format for the statement of purpose can be found on samples that can be found online and differs from course to course and degree to degree. A few tips that candidates can find suitable for their respective fields have been listed below-

• Statement of Purpose- Psychology
• Statement of Purpose- MSc
• Statement of Purpose- MS Management
• Statement of Purpose- Health Physics
• Statement of Purpose- Statistics

Resume

Candidates are often required to submit their resumes if they apply for graduate or PhD programs. The resume is quite unlike a statement of purpose and should be written in a particular format. It is supposed to be a summary of the candidate's experiences and achievements, including the information relating to the projects they have done. Though this is submitted mainly for internships and jobs, it is necessary for US candidates applying for courses like postgraduate and above to submit the same. The pointers to write a resume depends upon the field the candidate is applying for. Most business schools and PhD admissions in scientific fields require resumes compulsorily.

TOEFL/ IELTS Scores

TOEFL or IELTS scores are mandatory for non-native English speakers who wish to come to English-speaking countries as part of their job or education. The proficiency level of the candidate's language plays a huge factor in receiving the admission they require irrespective of their performance in other factors in the admission application. There are different forms in which candidates can take the test.

TOEFL provides a paper-based test called the TOEFL PBT and a computer-based test called the TOEFL iBT of which the TOEFL iBT even has a home edition allowing students to take the test within their homes. IELTS also provides a computer-based and paper-based test, which depends on the location the candidate wishes to take the examination. The grades required for the proficiency test depend upon the college and will be listed as part of their requirements.

SAT/ACT

SAT or ACT scores are required mostly by undergraduate programs and colleges will often have a specific score range which will be provided by them or can be calculated according to their cut off from the previous year. The average SAT score and the average GRE score required varies according to the institution. Still, it is always better to have a higher score since the competition between these two examinations is high.