The first step in the process of studying in the United States: choosing a school
To study in the United States, the first thing is to choose a school. There are about 4000 universities in America. Huide's American study consultant said that if you want to choose the right school from so many schools, you must first establish the major you want to apply for There are differences in major selection between senior high school students applying for undergraduate courses and undergraduates applying for postgraduate degrees or above.
High school students pay more attention to their love for their major and their plans for the next few years. However, if students are not clear about their current direction and plan to continue studying in the United States in the future, they can choose to apply for some basic subjects. Because the competitive pressure of basic disciplines is relatively small, and undergraduate courses are basic disciplines, the choice of majors will be more abundant when applying for postgraduate or above education in the future.
Undergraduate students are more directional than senior high school students when choosing majors. Because graduate education or above is a more detailed direction in a certain field, we do not recommend students to change their majors when applying, at least not across fields. Because American university professors look at students' research ability in a certain field, students' knowledge and skills, their cognition of a certain field and whether what students have mastered is consistent with their own research direction. Only when these conditions are basically met will the school send you the corresponding admission notice. This is especially true when applying for scholarships. If your knowledge and skills don't match the projects and topics that the professor is studying now, the chances of applying for scholarships are basically zero.
In addition, schools must choose what suits them, and don't aim too high, because the process of applying for American schools is also a big expense, and the application fee and mailing fee often exceed 10,000 yuan. Therefore, Huide suggested that when choosing schools, we should comprehensively consider our own background, the geographical location of professional schools and the economic affordability of families, and work out a reasonable school selection list at different levels and with different difficulties in order to get satisfactory results.
The school with the best major is of course the school with the highest ranking. However, applying to an American university also depends on personal background. Just like students in China fill in their volunteers after the college entrance examination. Everyone knows that Tsinghua Peking University is the best school in China, but not everyone goes to such a school. Moreover, many students think that they should go to the top 50 universities in the United States, and those after 50 are not good schools. However, in the ranking of world famous universities, more than 50 universities in the United States rank in the top 100, while Tsinghua Peking University ranks only in the top 200. From this perspective, the top 150 universities are actually excellent in choosing American institutions. So don't understand the ranking of schools unilaterally, which will affect the results of schools.
The second step of studying in the United States: applying for admission online
After determining the major and school, the next step is to apply for online admission. Online application is a convenient and efficient way to apply in American universities. Schools admitted in autumn basically provide online applications, while some colleges and universities do not provide online applications in spring or winter. You can only apply by filling out the school application form and sending relevant materials (paper application for short). When applying online, the online application of most colleges and universities includes the following parts: personal information, education, extracurricular activities, work experience and award-winning experience. Upload application materials, including personal statements and letters of recommendation, and some colleges or majors require uploading application essays. After all the above information is filled in, pay the school application fee. This requires a credit card that can be swiped with two currencies to complete the payment. After the payment information is sent successfully, the online application is completed. Online application generally begins in September, and the deadline for online application of top30 institutions (TOP30) is165438+1mid-October; The deadline for online application of institutions ranked 31-60 (top 31-60-60) is from early February to mid-February. The deadline for online application of institutions ranked 6 1- 100 is from the end of February to the beginning of 10. Schools ranked after 100 have a late deadline. Therefore, the timing should be treated differently according to the different grades of the applicant institutions.
The third step of studying in the United States: prepare application materials.
In the process of studying abroad, the only thing the school can see is the applicant's application materials, which are evaluated by the school on behalf of each applicant. Therefore, the quality of the application materials and the effectiveness of the content will greatly affect whether the applicant can get a satisfactory admission or even a scholarship. Then how to complete a qualified and effective application material has become an urgent problem for every applicant. Application documents are an important part of application materials. Generally speaking, the application documents include a resume, three letters of recommendation and a personal statement. Some majors also require applicants to provide papers or works. Moreover, the content needs careful preparation, and it is impossible to simply list personal background. Among them, the choice of personal experience, the choice of referees, the arrangement of the contents of letters of recommendation, and the ability embodied in personal statements all need an overall plan. These are all based on whether the applicant can dig out his own effective information and reflect it in the document writing.
In addition to the application documents, other important materials need to be prepared, such as a copy of language transcripts, proof of funds, proof of studying or academic qualifications, graduation certificates and so on. These materials should be adjusted according to different background needs. Effectively organizing the application materials will enable students to gain an advantage in the application and eventually win the admission.
The fourth step of studying in the United States: sending materials
Sending materials is the last step of application, and this link cannot be ignored. Before sending, make sure the location of the materials is accurate. Many schools require students to send materials to multiple campuses or addresses. If there are mistakes in this process, all previous efforts will be wasted, which will directly affect the admission results. In addition, it is recommended to use international express delivery, such as FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc., so as to check the delivery process of materials at any time. The delivery of materials also includes the delivery of language scores. Send the scores to the school as early as possible so as not to delay the application.
Step 5 of the study abroad process in the United States: apply for a visa
The last step in the process of studying in the United States is to apply for a visa. Although the visa pass rate in the United States is constantly improving, many students have relaxed their vigilance against visas. However, in recent years, the number of students studying abroad has reached 60,000-70,000, which means that the number of people who refuse visas every year is1-20,000. Therefore, the number of people who were refused visas has not decreased, but has increased. American visas are face-to-face visas, so it is very important to show an ideal state in the face of visa officers' problems. It is best to take the initiative to show your purpose of going abroad, economic preparation, reasons for returning home, etc. Although it only takes 3-5 minutes, it needs careful preparation.