The most important thing when applying for graduate study in the United States is to prepare complete application materials in advance. So, what materials do you need to prepare to study as a graduate student in the United States?

1. Transcript

This is a very important material in American graduate application materials. It represents a summary of a student’s undergraduate courses. If you apply during your senior year, you need to provide transcripts from the previous three years; if you apply after graduation, you need to provide transcripts from four years. Of course, when preparing your transcript, it is best to calculate your GPA (Grade Point Average) based on your own grades so that you can have a reference when applying to schools.

GPA is an important reference that determines whether you can successfully apply. Many schools have specific GPA requirements. The full GPA score in the United States is 4 points. Prestigious schools generally require a GPA of above 3.0. Therefore, children who plan to study abroad must not mess around during college. College grades are still very important to the conditions for studying abroad.

Don’t be discouraged if your GPA is not too high. You can highlight your strengths in several other preparation materials. For example: try to get higher GRE and TOEFL scores, and prepare more software background, which can make up for your GPA disadvantage.

2. Certificate of Enrollment/Graduation Certificate, Degree Certificate

Proof of Enrollment is an official letter issued by the school for current students who have not yet obtained a degree certificate. It is used to prove that a student is a student of the school. Current students in a certain major; and a graduation certificate refers to a certificate issued to students by the school and recognized by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Education to confirm the degree they have obtained. It reflects the certificate and holder of the degree. Comprehensive quality and professional knowledge are equivalent. Generally, the school's admissions instructions clearly require applicants to provide original Chinese and English copies of their enrollment certificate/degree certificate, which are regarded as official and legally binding documents. It means that the applicant is a current student or has successfully completed the required studies. Only with this certificate can you be eligible to apply. The certificate of enrollment/degree must have the official seal of the Academic Affairs Office, the envelope must be sealed by the Academic Affairs Office, and the seal must be stamped, and it must be the original copy in Chinese and English.

Notice: Many American schools now only accept scores certified by WES/ECE when applying. Only after receiving the certified scores sent by WES/ECE, the admission committee will start to review the application. Application materials for American graduate students. Therefore, before applying, be sure to find out whether the school you are applying to requires students to have their transcripts certified, so as not to affect the application result due to inaccurate information.

3. Language scores

Language scores are also one of the most important materials in the application process. Especially for students who are eager to study abroad, having a certain language foundation is a must. essential antecedents. In the application process for graduate students in the United States, GRE (some majors also require GRE's SUB scores) and TOEFL scores are almost required, and the school has made it clear that it only accepts official scores from ETS. Therefore, applicants must “send points” when applying. GRE scores are sent by ETS, while TOEFL scores are sent by NEEA, ETS's agency in China. During the application process, you must plan the test time in advance and send the scores as early as possible, because the low work efficiency of ETS has left many applicants speechless.

Some schools also require GMAT and other professional test scores, which are often stumbling blocks that prevent applicants from entering prestigious American schools (note, this refers only to prestigious schools). Simply put, high scores cannot completely prove that the applicant is excellent, but low scores can prove that the applicant is not good enough. This is because applicants who apply for MBA from the seven major business schools in the United States basically have a GMAT score of above 750, while applicants who apply for JD from the 14 major law schools in the United States basically have an LSAT score of above 165. If there is not much difference in other aspects In some cases, low scores in this area will often be the reason for rejection.

4. Resume

This refers to the personal resume (Resume/Curriculum Vitae), which is different from the work resume. The American Graduate School Admissions Committee will use the personal information in the resume, educational background, honors, important experiences, books and patents, participation in organizations and other abilities and hobbies to understand the applicant and give the applicant an impression score. It is recommended that the resume should not exceed two pages. If it reaches the third page, the professor will almost not be in the mood to read it.

5. Recommendation letter

It is best to have the university’s department chair and professional tutor as the recommender, and the recommender should preferably have a senior academic title. American universities generally require three letters of recommendation. It is recommended that one letter focuses on overall performance and two letters focus on professional level. Recommendation letters should generally describe the recommender's basic information, academic papers, scientific research results, awards received, abilities, etc. If the recommender has an overseas study background, this is undoubtedly a good condition.

6. Personal Statement

The Personal Statement (Statement of Purpose or Personal Statement, SP for short) is one of the important materials that affects admissions in American graduate application materials. Students can use a personal statement to fully reflect their abilities to the schools they are applying to. The content should include: why you chose this major, what achievements you have made in this area in the past, what you think now, what plans you have for the future after obtaining a degree in this major, etc. Although both resumes and personal statements describe personal situations, they have different perspectives. One is a summary of objective facts, and the other is an expression of subjective intentions.

7. Proof of deposit

There are two stages where proof of deposit is required, one is the school application stage, and the other is the visa stage. The funds required to prove your savings during the application process must be sufficient to study in the United States for one year. When applying for a visa, it is recommended to prepare a certificate of deposit of 600,000-1 million.

8. Credit card

It can only be Master or Visa, and it can be paid in US dollars. Apply for a dual-currency credit card. You will use a credit card for online application payment and GRE score distribution. Prepare in advance and consult major banks for details.

9. Other materials

Some majors need to submit Writing Sample, Research Proposal, and literature review.

Some majors require Essay instead of SP, so write according to the requirements of Essay.

If your results rank higher (preferably among the top three), you can issue a ranking certificate from the department.

If you have published a paper, you can copy the abstract of the paper and attach it to the application materials.

If you have won an award in an international competition, you can attach a copy of the award certificate to your US graduate application materials.