Leaving home to attend college or graduate school is a big step—and leaving your home country can be even scarier. After you have decided to become an international student, the second challenging part comes into play: choosing your ideal location from choosing the one country you’d like to study in, to thinking about where exactly in that country you would want to spend these years of your life.
The USA has the world’s largest international student population, with more than 1,000,000 students choosing to broaden their education and life experience in the United States. Nearly 5% of all students enrolled in higher-level education in the USA are international students, and the numbers are growing.
Studying in the United States is a serious and expensive undertaking. Consider carefully how your studies in the U.S. will fit into your long-term educational and professional aspirations, as well as your personal goals. Your experience as an international student will likely be a life-changing and fulfilling one, but you need to take many internal and external factors into consideration before you start packing your bags.
- If you are applying for undergraduate study at a four-year university in the United States, you must have completed at least twelve years of school and obtained the equivalent of a U.S. high school diploma.
- Think about different academic systems
- Think about your personal and career goals
- You will want to make sure that any U.S. institution that you are considering is accredited by an agency that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Because the United States central government does not control the educational system, private, non-governmental agencies were created to review higher education institutions and their programs. If a school is accredited, you can be assured that the quality of their courses and programs, faculty, recruiting processes and admissions guidelines has met specific standards set forth by an accrediting agency.
- Quality and Other Educational Factors must also be considered. Because of the size and the variety of higher educational institutions in the United States, the quality of any given institution and its programs, even when accredited, is hard to determine. The most expensive institution is not necessarily the best, nor is every program at a highly regarded university necessarily of the same high quality.
- Some factors that can affect the quality of the education available, particularly to undergraduates, include: Class Size, Opportunities for independent research and direct work with faculty, Educational background of the student body.
Now comes the things you should not do while applying for the admission in the universities:
- Improper Research
One must do a full-fledged research on the aspired universities and this research should not be just limited to academics and curricular environment. Student must also consider the geographical location, weather conditions, crime, cost of living, and financial aids.
- Not contacting university authorities
As per various surveys, it has been found that US universities want more international students in order to make a stronger learning culture. All the universities offering admissions to international students appoints officers for the same. Some universities give email id’s or even have a different page for addressing the needs of international students. You should discuss all your queries about course, fee, living accommodation and expenses etc. and get them resolved before finalizing your admissions.
- Hasty application
Procrastination can cost you your admission if you are applying for the university or the Visa in a haste. Thus, it is always recommended to plan to apply well before deadlines.
We at USAUnivQuest can assist you with university shortlisting as well as help you prepare for competitive tests and provide help for profile building. We offer preparation for TOEFL, SAT, SAT Subjects and AP tests. So feel free to Contact USA UnivQuest for further guidance. Keep checking our blogs to stay updated with relevant topics regarding studying abroad!