10 Important Questions about Higher Education in the USA

In May 2017, a Russian from Voronezh, Nadezhda Stryuk received a bachelor's degree from Yale University, where she entered on her own right after school. She now works at an architecture firm in New York and in his Instagram advises applicants on admission to an American university. In my blog on LiveJournal She answered the most important questions about higher education in the United States.

Фото: Depositphotos

1) How much is the training? Can I study at Yale for free?

As of 2017, a year at Yale costs $ 51,400 per year. Accommodation in a hostel and meals cost an extra $ 15,500. Mandatory medical insurance will cost about $ 3000. All together, it’s about $ 70.000 per year. Each incoming student can count on financial aid (financial aid) from the university up to $ 70.000. The amount depends solely on the income of the student's family. If family income is below $ 65.000, then you will not need to pay for tuition, nor for accommodation, nor for food. Consequently, study at Yale is free.

2) What does the Yale scholarship cover?

Financial aid covers the cost of tuition, food, accommodation, health insurance, and sometimes even a plane ticket home and back twice a year. For textbooks and personal expenses (clothing, entertainment, restaurants) will need to earn their own. About ten hours of extra work per week would be quite enough.

3) Can I study at all US universities for free?

No, not at all. Financial assistance, which will fully cover the cost of education and living, guarantees to all incoming and needy students only 6 universities:

• Amherst College
• Harvard College
• MIT
• Minerva Schools at KGI
• Princeton University
• Yale University

It is not surprising that it is very difficult to enter these universities. But there are at least 30-50 universities, where promising foreign students can receive full and almost complete funding depending on their grades, exam results and other achievements.

4) What exams do I need to pass in order to enter a US university?

As a rule, you will need to pass the SAT or ACT, SAT Subject Tests (2 different subjects), TOEFL or IELTS. But, pay attention to the fact that, in addition to examinations, there are still quite a few other requirements for admission, which play an important role in the decision of the admissions committee. A list of all the necessary documents you can find on the website of each university. In general, the requirements in all universities are quite similar, but sometimes there are significant differences. Be sure to advance (6-12 months before the deadline) to find out and make a list of all the requirements of each institution where you are going to send the application.

Фото: Depositphotos

5) Do you really need all the fives in school? I have two fours in the 10 class - do I still have a chance to go to Yale (Harvard, Princeton, Brown)?

Of course, the better your grades at school, the higher the chance to enroll. But, if you have passed all exams perfectly and you have outstanding achievements in sports, music or other extracurricular activities, then the 2-3 fours in the certificate should not adversely affect your chances. In general, the more fours you have in your certificate, the more outstanding the other components of your set of documents should be.

6) Is it true that besides exams, extracurricular activities, volunteering, and Olympiads are also needed?

Yes. Yale, like other top universities, accepts only 5-6% of all applicants. For international students this percentage is even lower. Admissions officers review each applicant very carefully, their goal is to select the most promising students who will be able to take full advantage of all the resources and opportunities that Yale provides. To do this, the admissions committee takes into account achievements not only academically, but also outside of school.

Yayla needs future leaders who are not afraid to take the initiative and take responsibility, who are constantly striving for self-development and the discovery of something new. Such students are necessarily interested in something outside of textbooks and homework.

All my friends from Yale attended 3-5 circles or after-school sports. Someone was engaged in swimming or tennis, someone was engaged in tutoring in English with children from migrant families or helping veterans, many were presidents of the school council or editors of a school newspaper.

7) What extracurricular activities would I do?

It is not so important what exactly you do, how much seriousness with which you devote yourself to this occupation. Enough to enroll in five circles in the 10 class. The selection committee will immediately realize that you did this only to fill up your resume.

Ideally, you have already been doing something for several years in a row, for example, you have been studying music school and now you are taking private lessons and performing at school concerts, or you finish art school, or you have been in some kind of sports for several years and have a degree. In addition to such serious, time-consuming activities, you can start helping some charitable organization and actively participate in the life of the school. If you don’t have enough circles in school, don’t be afraid to take the initiative and create new ones!

Photo: russian-eli.livejournal

8) Will sporting achievements help in admission?

If you have serious sporting achievements at the level of city or national competitions, then you have a great chance of entering an American university and receiving a sports scholarship - provided that you compete in competitions from this university. In the United States, much more attention is paid to student sports and matches between rival teams from different universities. For example, an American football match between the Yale and Harvard teams attracts more than 10 thousand spectators, and its results are necessarily discussed in the press. Of course, you should do some of the sports that are popular in America.

I think there are hardly any professional players in baseball or American football among my readers, but if you play hockey, regular football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, do fencing, gymnastics, water polo, swimming, rowing or athletics, You have a good chance to study for free in the United States on a sports scholarship. For example, at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, three-quarters of the entire fencing team are foreign students from Europe and Latin America. All of them study for free, but in return they are obliged to spend 4-5 hours a day in training.

9) What scores do you need for exams?

According to TOEFL for most universities, you need to score at least 100 points from 120, although some accept it from 90.

There is no minimum score for the SAT exam, but on the website of each institution you can find statistics showing what scores the majority of enrolled students had. Usually indicate 25 and 75 percent. For example, for Yale it is 1420 – 1590, for Harvard - 1470 – 1580, for the University of Pennsylvania - 1400 – 1590. These numbers indicate that half of the students entering Yale scored from 1420 to 1590, a quarter scored below 1420 and a quarter above 1590. In respected but less famous institutions of higher learning, such as Connentikut College or Fordem University, they mostly accept points between 1250 and 1450. For foreign students, the bar is a little lower, because for them English is not their first language. I recommend focusing on 1400 – 1460 points. You can take the SAT seven times a year, so you can retake it if you don’t type 1400 the first time.

10) Will I have time to prepare if I study in the 9 (10, 11) class?

It depends on how well you know English. If you have an Intermediate - Upper Intermediate level, it will take about 1,5 – 2 of the year for self-training. That is, it is best to start studying in the 9 class, and then you will be ready to submit documents at the beginning of the 11 class. If you are already in the 10 or 11 class or you have a poor English, I advise you to take the gap year (that is, not to go after school and submit documents in the fall after graduation). Of course, everyone wants to enroll right after school, but it’s better to miss a year or two after school, get well prepared, and then enroll at a prestigious American university than throw away your aspirations and enroll at a local university.

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