Global Education Fair in Pune, Coimbatore & Vijayawada on 16th June Register Now
The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) hosts the most number of international students in the world. QUALITY EDUCATION, UNIQUE CURRICULUM, MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT, AND ABUNDANT OPPORTUNITIES are just some of the reasons why many students want to study in the USA. U.S Degrees have an excellent international reputation. While studying here, you will get the opportunity of advanced technology and research. The USA has more than 5,000 Universities and colleges and houses some of the world’s best educational institutions that are listed high in the QS world rankings. The Universities offer a wide range of higher education degrees, promoting research opportunities to transfer every industry. The American Universities are funded by top organizations globally, which has helped revolutionize the country’s education system. The Excellent academic standards and ever evolving curriculum attract students and help them find exceptional career opportunities wherever they go.
Daytime highs range from 80 to 90 °F (27 to 32 °C) in summer to 35 to 50 °F (2 to 10 °C) in winter. Lows range from the 60 °F (16 °C)s in summer to 25 to 35 °F (−4 to 2 °C) in winter.
USA has won 403 Nobel prizes. Theodore Roosevelt, President of the USA, received the Peace Prize for having negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-5. He also resolved a dispute with Mexico by resorting to arbitration as recommended by the peace movement.
The Midwest- The Great Lakes and much of the Mississippi River are found in the Midwest. Illinois, Indiana, lowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin are all midwestern states.
Architecturally stunning Chicago is the region’s largest city, followed by Indianapolis, Columbus, and Detroit. In virtually every city there are clubs and bars where you can hear jazz, blues, or rock. States such as Illinois and Indiana are well known for their residents’ love of high school basketball. The Midwest has been called the “nation’s breadbasket,” as its fertile earth makes it the country’s agricultural powerhouse. However, the region offers a diverse range of landscapes, from big open skies and grasslands, to tree-lined mountains and Mount Rushmore – the world-famous mountainside sculpture featuring the carved likenesses of four US presidents.
Ihe Southwest Home to prairies and deserts, the Southwest is culturally diverse, rich in history, and artistic. It is made up of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, although other states are sometimes considered part of this region as well. The Southwest is home to some of the world’s most incredible natural wonders, such as the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns.
Parts of the region have large Native American and Hispanic populations, and both groups have influenced the development of southwestern food, art, history, and culture. Houston, Texas is the region’s largest city and the most racially and ethnically diverse city in America. The Southwest has a history of attracting eclectic people – artists, hippies, and stargazers – as well as tourists who are drawn to its quirky galleries, peaceful retreats, Native American fairs, and general sense of mystery.
The West The era of the “Wild West” is a huge part of American folklore. Today, however, visitors are more likely to encounter a snowboarder than a cowboy in America’s West. This diverse region includes Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It features pristine wilderness, desert stretches, snowy mountains, and beautiful beaches, and is a popular sports destination. From year-round skiing in Oregon to surfing in Hawaii, there’s something for everyone. Food-lovers will adore California, well known for its fusion cuisine and award-winning wines. The most populous city in the region, Los Angeles, boasts the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico, and the Chinese community in San Francisco is the biggest in North America. The West’s three fastest growing urban areas are Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Portland.
New England: Situated in the northeastern corner of the United States, the states of New England include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. New England is an intellectual, cultural, and economic hub in the US. It is home to four of the eight Ivy League Universities – Harvard, Yale, Darmouth, and Brown – as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The region is known for its seaside villages, lighthouses, and colorful fall foliage, as well as the bustling city of Boston. Its seafood is also justifiably famous!
The mid-Atlantic: This region includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. It is home to the US centers of government and finance, as well as the bright lights of Broadway, world-renowned cultural institutions, and historic monuments. Today, some of the region’s largest cities are New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, but the mid-Atlantic is more than just skyscrapers and steel. It also offers dense forests, soothing parklands, and gorgeous scenery – from the peaks of the Adirondacks to the beautiful views along the Delaware River.
The South: This region is renowned for its friendly culture, giving rise to the term “Southern hospitality.” Southern states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The South is the birthplace of blues and rock and roll, and home to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Southerners also have a musical way of speaking, and their cuisine – from barbecue to bourbon – is legendary. The region has a complicated history, marked by slavery in its early centuries and segregation in the 20th century. In more recent decades a “new South” has emerged, attracting many to its warm climate and laid-back lifestyle. The South is now America’s fastest growing region with just over 14% of the nation’s population.
While many international students and their families want to know about an HE’s overall placement on world rankings, there are other factors that can be equally important to their experience:
A vibrant campus is often one with a large international student population; check out this U.S.
News article for American colleges with the most international students in 2020/21.
Location is also important. The US is made up of a variety of regions and climates, each with their own culture. Some students may want a big city experience, while others may prefer the relative quiet of a smaller town.
A major priority for international students is their career after graduation. There are ways of checking out whether a particular institution is known for strong career services, internships, and good post-graduation employability rates. For example, here are Best Colleges rankings of the best college career services, based on graduation and career placement rates reported to the U.S.
Department Scorecard. QS also has a resource showing how employers rank US universities on the basis of “most employable graduates.
Affordability: There are excellent affordable post-secondary options in the US that deliver value for money. Some of these offer great cost-of-living advantages because they are in smaller towns.
Check out this StudyPortals article for examples of affordable institutions.
Five important Facts About the Post-Secondary System In the US:
There are both public and private colleges universities in the US. Most of these are operated by the states and territories.
As noted earlier in this section, “college” and “university” are often used interchangeably, but they sometimes do mean different things to different people. For example, a university can sometimes indicate a more research-oriented orientation than a college, and sometimes universities are broken down into different “colleges,” whereby “college indicates a unit or sub-section of the university. Still, it is important that agents research a college/university thoroughly to understand its educational approach and range of programs, as the word “college or “university” in a name does not always mean the same thing.
Top-notch higher education institutions in the US come in all shapes, sizes, and types. Successful alumni graduate from community colleges, liberal arts colleges, research-oriented universities, public and private institutions – not just the most elite, Ivy- League schools. Excellent programs can be found across the country.
Quality assurance and accreditation for institutions and programs in the US is carried out by private, nongovernmental organizations. The US Department of Education provides oversight of these accrediting organizations. There are 19 recognized organizations that provide regional or national accreditation for institutions, and 60 that provide accreditation for individual programs. To obtain an F-1 visa, students must enrol in an accredited institution. Agents must make sure that an institution and program is accredited before recommending it to students for the purposes of quality control. For more on why this is, and for The Council of Education (CHA) database providing information about over 8,200 institutions and over 44,000 programs in the us, please click here. I https://www.chea.org/about-accreditation]
Each HEI will have different admissions practices. Generally, shorter degree programs and certificates have lower admission standards: some even offer “open admissions” in an effort to be as inclusive to every type of student as possible. However, as the need for professional and technical skills grows in economies across the world, there are increasingly more competitive admissions policies for in-demand fields such as engineering, nursing, and other healthcare fields.
Higher education institutions divide the academic year either by a semester or a quarterly system. A semester- based calendar is far more common about 90% of universities are organized this way). Individual institutions will have different start and end dates, so it is important to get a detailed calendar from the schools under consideration.
Semester: This approach considers the year to fall under two semesters (15-16 weeks in fall. which begins in mid-August or September, and 15-16 weeks in spring, which begins in January, with a short winter break and a longer summer vacation. Students usually take four to six classes per semester.
Quarter: Here, the academic year is divided into four quarters (fall, winter, spring, and summer), and the start date is usually late-September. Many students do not take courses in the summer quarter. Each quarter is ten weeks long, and because it’s shorter, students’ coursework can feel more intense than it would in a semester system because they have less time to complete their work. Students generally take three to four courses per quarter. Quarterly systems are less common at the four-year college level than at the community (two-year) level for associate degrees.
In each system, there is an optional summer session in which students can choose to study, either to progress more quickly in their degree or to take a course again if the student is unsatisfied with their mark. Some schools will insist that new students begin studying at the start of the first academic block (semester or quarter) while some will allow students in at a later time (again, it is important to check on such details).
In many cases, international students will need additional preparation – especially in English proficiency – before beginning to study in the degree program for which they have received “conditional acceptance.” Administrators for the degree program will indicate a pathway program (also known as bridge program) that students can enroll in. These programs must be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education and must lead into an SEVP-certified degree program.
Additionally, the US government notes: “All pathway programs must contain credit-bearing coursework that is transferrable to the curricular requirements of a certified degree program at the school.” Internationalstudent.com provides this clear definition of a pathway program:
“A pathway program allows international students who want to study in the US to take English as a second language (ESL) courses while also taking courses that will count as credits toward their degree. These programs last about a year and generally offer “conditional acceptance” to the college or university they are affiliated with. This means that students who finish the program with acceptable English-language skills and a high enough GPA are automatically accepted into the affiliate school.
Pathway programs are especially useful for international students who want to study in the US, but don’t yet have the English language skills they need to score well on the English language standardized tests that are required for US colleges and universities.
The US government adds: “The purpose of bridge programs is to help students who do not meet entrance requirements for a degree program of study. Bridge programs may contain course work covering the lacked requirements as well as academic course work required for meeting the graduation requirements of a separate degree program.
These programs are available to students wishing to gain entry into undergraduate or graduate programs.
These are some typical needs of international students who enter bridge programs
They need to improve their English-language skills;
They need to bring up their GPAs;
They do not have SAT or ACT test scores, or in the case of graduate programs, they do not have GMAT or GRE test scores;
They want additional academic, language, and cultural support.
Housing is a very important matter for international students considering an intensive English program – especially for those with very limited English proficiency. For such students, it is even more challenging to adjust to US culture without a basic command of English, so they may require a more supportive environment (such as a homestay) than an off-campus housing arrangement to feel comfortable. Agents should be absolutely certain to know all the details of housing options and circumstances when they are explaining various possibilities to students.
Homestays: A homestay (also called host family) experience gives students the opportunity to live with an American family. In terms of living arrangements, a student may have a private bedroom, share a bedroom with a family member, or share a bedroom with another student. Meals are included and students can sometimes choose between breakfast only, breakfast and dinner (half board) or breakfast, lunch, and dinner (full board) at the family’s home.
Student residences: Programs on college campuses often offer student residences. In residence living, two students often share a bedroom, and meals are offered in a dining hall.
Hotels or apartments: Some programs provide information about local hotels or apartments for students who want to live independently.
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE is required by almost all graduate schools. Some programs may also require scores from other standardized tests such as the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject Tests. Most schools prefer to see no more than two or three scores on a student’s score report, so students should study hard and well to try to get good scores as soon as possible. There are many practice tests available online for students’ study purposes. Some, but not all of these standardized exams are offered in major cities and countries around the world. Many are now available online. Applicants must determine the requirements for each institution or graduate program.
Unless students have already earned an undergraduate degree from an American college or university, they will most likely have to take the TOEFL or another specified English-language test. Graduate admissions departments are rightfully very interested in seeing that international candidates are proficient in English, as the more advanced study requirements of graduate school requires such proficiency. Again, there are many TOEFL practice tests available online. Please see Section 4 on bridging programs for those cases where students might benefit from a preliminary bridging course to increase their chances of getting into an American graduate school.
Some of the types of master’s degrees available in the US:
This is designed for those who hold a bachelor’s degree and who want to obtain a more advanced degree.
This is designed for those who hold a bachelor’s degree with a significant research component and or have several publications. It is for those wishing to pursue higher research.
This is a master’s degree designed especially for executive professionals. Admission, graduation requirements, and structure of executive master’s degrees differ from that of the regular full-time program.
This is an undergraduate degree combined with an extra master’s year. The first 3 years of study are often the same as a bachelor’s degree, followed by an additional year of study at a master’s degree level. The degree is only conferred at the end of study as a full master’s; an intermediate bachelor’s degree is not awarded. Integrated master’s are most common in scientific disciplines.
To be able to cope with rigorous course work, international students at US institutions need to be competent at English. This means American colleges and universities will want to see evidence that incoming students can:
Understand lectures delivered in the generally fast-paced American speaking style;
Comfortably respond to questions and engage in discussions in English;
Conduct research, which means extensive and complex reading, in English;
Write original academic papers in English.
Evidence is often obtained in the form of standardized English proficiency test scores. In general, higher proficiency levels are required at the graduate level. The most common English proficiency tests used by US institutions of higher education are the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS, but there are others as well. For details on all these tests, please visit this MastersPortal.com link n addition, many institutions will use other ways to determine English proficiency, for example: •An SAT score or completion of one full academic year of study in a US high school or an equivalent international school where teaching is in English) or college/university;
The highest level of English study provided by an IP (Intensive English Provider affiliated with or provided by the school. Agents must be aware of whether or not there is an IEP affiliated with (or offered by) the US college or university for cases where students need to upgrade their English-language proficiency to be accepted. If there is, students can often be offered a Conditional Letter of Admission (CLA) subject to successful completion of the IP.
Based on the program of study, international students may need to have test scores from a range of standardized tests. Agents will need to know what tests are required and what minimum scores (if any) are required for the application to be considered.
Important: Most American institutions will not specify any exact score that will guarantee admission. Beyond English-proficiency examinations, commonly required standardized tests include:
The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test): standard, and recently reformed.
The ACT: American College Testing: Also commonly used; most widely used at institutions located in the American Midwest and South. Many universities and colleges will accept either SAT or ACT. Some standardized exams are offered in major cities and countries around the world, and many are offered in computerized or online versions. In addition, many schools also use other measures to decide whether a student will be admitted. Check with the institution to see what is required.
More than 140 medical schools in the US train students in allopathic (ie., traditional, conventional, Western) medicine and award the MD to graduates. There are also some osteopathic schools teaching a more holistic form of medicine and these award a degree known as the DO. Medical school takes 4 years to complete, after which students take an exam and then spend up to 7 seven years as a resident gaining the experience needed to become a doctor. It’s important to note that it is quite difficult for international students to be admitted into medical (MD) schools in the US. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reports that in 2019, about 17% of international applicants to MD programs in the US were accepted.” The AAMC provides a very useful web resource for international students applying to US medical schools. There are other types of graduate degrees, such as Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, and Journalism.
USA 
UK 
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Latvia 
Bulgeria 
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Poland 
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