When choosing a school, you must first evaluate yourself accurately and objectively. It is not advisable to blindly pursue a famous university regardless of your own conditions, especially for postgraduate applications. Let’s take a look at how to choose the school that is right for you.
Generally, when choosing a school, you need to consider the following aspects:
1) Academic factors
Determine the major you are interested in, know which colleges offer the major you want to study, and choose the school that suits you based on the level of teaching and research in the major;
2) Non-academic factors
location, scale, tuition, living expenses, transportation, entertainment, etc. of the institution are also referenced factors for choosing a school.
3) Major Ranking > Institution Ranking
On the surface, the comprehensive ranking involves many aspects such as teaching quality, research level, and hardware facilities of schools, but not every indicator is related to international students, and it is too macroscopic. In contrast, the professional ranking reflects the school’s teaching and research strength in a certain professional field, the employment rate of graduates, and its local influence, which is more practical.
4) Combine your own situation
Some students have relatively weak self-management ability, so when choosing a university, try to choose some universities that focus on teaching. In general, such universities have better student communication and more detailed management. Research universities pay more attention to the ability of students themselves, and the learning pressure will be greater.
In addition to the above issues that we should pay attention to when choosing a school, there are also things we should think clearly about before starting the application, why do you choose to study in the United States, and what is the purpose?
Why do you want to study in the US?
There are generally the following reasons:
The United States has the best education system.
I want an American diploma.
Everyone I know is applying to study abroad, so I am going too.
My parents want me to go to America.
But these are general reasons, try asking yourself:
How will I grow my career in the next five years?
What kind of life do I need?
How much do I know about America?
What are my chances of studying in the United States given my background and the different strategies I will use?
If you have a solid understanding of the United States, including the country’s education system, work environment, and your awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how to achieve your American dream.
What are your plans in the US?
Thinking about your plans in the United States in advance will have a significant impact on your study abroad application and your study, life, and career in the United States.
For example, if you want to teach at an American university, you’d better have a Ph.D. from a prestigious university. Then, if you can only go to the United States with a general school scholarship, you’d better be prepared to transfer as soon as possible.
How do you cover your education expenses?
Most of the domestic students who apply to study in the United States come from their parents. So you should consider whether to apply for a scholarship?
How to get a scholarship?
Applying for an American scholarship is not as good as doing an exam machine in China to get a high score. The assessment of applicants by American universities includes GPA, language scores, professional background, comprehensive strength, and other aspects. If you are applying for a business class Professional, we must pay attention to improving your leadership skills.
Also, if you plan to get sponsorship, how are you going to get a reasonably credible sponsorship? How do convince the visa officer? If you plan to pay out of pocket, is there a better way to earn their trust than just showing a bank statement to the visa officer? If you plan to work part-time to save money to pay for tuition and living expenses, how would you choose an American city where you can easily find a job?
What is your application strategy?
How would you apply if test scores were no longer a critical factor? How are you going to impress admissions officers that you’re a student they shouldn’t miss? Based on your background and expectations, what self-image would you present to the school? Who will write letters of recommendation for you, thereby strengthening your image rather than obscuring it?
It is difficult to apply for studying in the United States. In addition to hard study and work, more should be thinking. Reflect on yourself and plan for the future. Only in this way can you solve the problems you have encountered or are about to encounter.
After understanding the above information, I believe that the students have more confidence in the application, and I hope that the students will go smoothly on the road of application!