How to enroll in American universities: 5 important steps

Every student dreams of studying at Harvard, Yale University, Princeton, or MIT. Are these the only universities in America that offer high-level education? Of course not. In addition to the prestigious Ivy League universities, there are 4,726 higher educational institutions in the United States. Regardless of the university students choose, they often need essay help for successful academic performance.

American universities offer prestigious higher education based on the best campuses in the world. Students can study and receive higher education in the United States at the Bachelor's and Master's levels. You can start studying at US universities in January and September. It is necessary to submit documents for enrollment at least 6 months before the start of the academic year.

The most difficult task for those students who have already decided on the country of study is to choose a good university from hundreds of worthy options. Therefore, before proceeding to the question of how to enrol in a US university, we will tell you how to choose a suitable educational institution.

How to choose the right university in the USA

1 Choose a course and a future profession.

Before choosing to study at a US university and the university itself, you need to decide on a course. The speciality affects the choice of a university. Each educational institution is strong in a certain area. For example, at the University of South Carolina, it is best to study International Business - this program and the university are in first place in the national ranking of American universities in the United States.

Pay attention to the ranking of US universities by course. The US News Report website will help you with this issue.

Good news for those students who have not yet decided on the course: American universities provide an opportunity to decide on the direction of training during the first two years of study.

The speciality chosen correctly is 70% of your success in studying at a university abroad and further professional development.

2 Make a list of the most prestigious universities in your chosen course

After you have decided on an educational institution, make a list of those universities that are considered the best in training specialists in this field. A variety of ratings will help you make this list. But if we are talking about studying in the United States, namely higher education, we recommend using national ratings. The National Ranking of US Universities includes only American universities. We advise you to take into account the ratings that are compiled for specific courses. This way, you will be able to identify those universities that are best suited for you.

Make a list of educational institutions of interest in the United States in your speciality and request additional information from the universities. Study the university's website, talk to students of the educational institution on social media. This will help you narrow down the list of universities to 5-6, to which you will apply.

3 Study the program of the chosen course at each university

Students very rarely study the program of study in a particular speciality. This information is very important because you need to be ready for the training itself. It is necessary to understand whether it suits you, or not.

For example, a student dreams of becoming an architect and has chosen an architectural speciality. But in the student's understanding, architecture is an art, and he thinks that all that is needed is to be able to draw. But in fact, the architecture program requires good knowledge in the field of mathematics, physics.

We often come across the fact that students often do not understand what they will study. Therefore, study in detail the program of study at a particular university. If you do not understand the structure of the program or the content itself, you can always ask the university staff to forward additional information.

4 Evaluate your budget

The budget is an important component of your study in the USA. Higher education in the United States is paid for all students without exception. Yes, you can get certain discounts on training, or financial assistance, but this does not mean that it is unnecessary to pay for education at all.

Discounts and financial assistance make it possible to cover the costs of only part of the training, but not 100 %.

Based on this, calculate:

- How much does 1 year of study at a US university for a bachelor's or master's degree program cost

- How much do you need to spend on textbooks, university administrative fees, insurance

- This is how much it costs for 1 year of residence (student dormitory in the USA)

Based on this, find out what kind of scholarship can be offered by the American university where you plan to enrol, whether you can work during your studies, what other types of assistance exist.

5 Study the requirements of the university and make an enrollment plan

After you have decided on an educational institution, study the requirements for applicants. US universities do not have a single list of requirements for all universities, so you will need to seek help from a consultant who will explain to you the specifics of each educational institution and the admissions committee.

Based on the requirements of educational institutions, the consultant makes the necessary list of documents and the sequence of work on the preparation of documents and enrollment.

How to enrol in a US university

Although there is no universal scheme for admission to US universities, we have compiled the most complete plan, which is followed by those who want to enrol in US universities

Preparation

Choose the specialty you are interested in and check the entrance requirements.

Pass the entrance exams

To enter a university in the United States, you will need to take standardized tests: English proficiency and the SAT/ACT (GRE/GMAT). Depending on the path of admission, you may be exempt from these exams.

Prepare documents for admission

Make a resume and write a motivational letter or an essay on a given topic.

Create a portfolio of your works

For creative specialities, for example in such areas as cinema, design, or music, the university may need your work properly designed

Issue documents on the level of education and apply to the university

Depending on the time of admission, the list of documents from the school or university will differ.

But it is better to apply to the university as early as possible - this way you will have more chances not only to get a place but also to qualify for more discounts (if, of course, they are provided).

Wait for a letter about conditional enrollment

The time of consideration of your application from the university can be different from 2 weeks to 3-4 months. Of course, you can get an application through an agent much faster, since separate communication channels are set up between the university and the partner.

Pay a deposit

After receiving the cherished letter of enrollment, you will need to confirm your place in the program. To do this, depending on the conditions of the university, you need to pay part of the fee, the so-called deposit, which can be about 2 thousand dollars. In this way, you let the university know that you plan to study there.

Confirm your solvency

Since training in the United States is paid for everyone, you must show that you or your sponsors have money for your training. To do this, you will need to provide the university with a certificate from your bank with a fixed amount of the university.

Get an official letter of admission to the university

After completing all the requirements of the university, you will receive a final letter of admission and further instructions.

Get documents for a visa from the university

Although the admission process itself is quite complex, an important part of the admission process is obtaining a visa. Therefore, after receiving all the necessary documents, you will need to fill out several forms on the website of the US Embassy and go there for an interview. After you receive a positive response on the visa, you are officially a student of an American university.

(Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)