How to get into US colleges (or just one specific one)?

I think it depends on the college. Harvard, MIT, Yale, Washington University - those are the more prestigious colleges and they require much more. A lot of state schools - public schools, run by the state, sort of - aren't as difficult to get into. I go to a private university that lets basically everyone in, but costs a fortune, so you either have to be rich or relatively good with academics.

A lot of colleges like good grades, good SAT or ACT, and a lot of extracurricular activities, to show that you're well-rounded. Usually, colleges have statistics on their incoming students' average GPAs and test scores.

Since you're an international student, you could have an advantage. A lot of schools love diversity. I was the only person from my state, still in the US, as far as I'm aware, to go to my university, and I think that they have me more money because of that. My sister went to a public school that had instate tuition for everyone, which is unusual, in order to increase diversity.

I'd recommend applying to a lot of places, prestigious and not-so-prestigious, and see what you get. I don't known if money is an issue for you, but keep in mind that US colleges are usually unreasonably expensive, so see what they give you. Public schools are usually cheaper than private, but they usually don't offer as big scholarships.

If you have questions about specific universities, admissions offices are usually very friendly and helpful.

Good luck!

 

Money. No, seriously, money. That will make you stand out. Don't go for private. Shoot for public. Specifically land grant state. It's a long story but I'll summarize.

When the US was young and very big, and spread out, we had this problem with agriculture. Some states were not doing so well. So around 1850 the federal government started the land grant university system with the idea that we could teach some of our dumber states how to grow crops. Every state got a land grant university. Exactly one. And they are huge. And very expensive to keep up.

Zoom ahead 100 years. America fights this war. It was the war to end all wars, or so everyone thought at the time. Some very smart people in congress though it would be a great idea to prop up the public university system and support the vets at the same time, and the GI bill was formed. It allowed people who fought in WWII, which was just about everyone, to get a free college education. This helped save the public university system at the time.

Zoom ahead to today. The university system is in the tank again, financially speaking. This seems to be an existential problem or theirs. Fortunately for them, there are plenty of people like you around who are desperate to attend them.

So the question is, how do we get your butt in one of the seats of these very expensive and mostly vacant lecture halls of our public universities? Well, if your major is finance the problem might already be turning on some lightbulbs in your head. Think leverage.

I won't go into politics but suffice it say a serious road block for you is that a substantial number of Americans do not cotton to the idea of paying taxes so that a foreigner like you can get an education at the expense of the tax payer. Just saying.

BUT the university system is SUFFERING and in need of some serious money, and good old fashioned capitalism is at stake here!!! So, as they say, ... wait for it... LET'S MAKE A DEAL!!!

If your grades are good and you are willing to pay off book (out of state) prices $$$ then the public universities in the US are not only happy to take you in, they are actually LOOKING for you. All you have to do is let them know you exist!

I know, I know, state schools don't have the same pop as private but trust me, it doesn't matter in the end. Trust me -- it does not matter. Private is a total, total, waste of money for someone like you. And you can't get in anyway - not very easily. Private only works for people who were born to go there - if you know what I mean.

So, to answer your question about what you should do, I say contact ALL 50 US land grant universities and let them know you are interested. Don't get discouraged in this process, most of them will ignore you. It's a government thing, don't take it personally. Contact them again. And again and again and again. Do NOT assume they are not interested in you or that maybe they have it in for you for some reason. I can assure you that is not the case. There is an old saying in the government system in the US - don't attribute to conspiracy what can be explained by incompetence. These universities do WANT your application, they just aren't very good at processing things. So try, try, again!

Good luck to you, seriously, I really hope you get in. And let me just say, I am very honored as an American that you want to come here for your education. I am proud of our country and what we have to offer and I hope we can meet your expectations of getting an excellent education with us. Persistence is the key to success here, it really is.

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS and never give up!

 

I'd disagree. Private schools can be available to all different kinds of people, depending on the school. Some public school are ridiculously expensive. When I looked at colleges, I applied to three - two private and one public. One of the private schools was the most expensive of the three with how much they gave me. The public school was the second most expensive - they only gave me about half tuition. The private school I ended up going to was the cheapest. But that was just my experience.

Private schools generally offer smaller classes and a closer knit community, in my opinion.

Admissions offices are great resources. If you can't find something out on the website, because a lot of college websites are labyrinths, admissions will be more than willing to provide the information, and more. Sometimes it's nice to be told everything instead of going looking for it. They can also connect you to the finicial aid office, and they can help you with how paying tuition works with that university - scholarships, grants, loans, etc. Admissions can also connect you with professors, or even current students. I liked talking to professors to get the gist of what the school was like, and current students have great insights on how the university works.

One thing to also keep in mind is that tuition can increase, sometimes drastically, which is a question for finicial aid. Sometimes your scholarship will not increase with the increase of tuition - and that really sucks.

 

I come from a circle of relatives/family where atleast one kid has gone forward to do their Masters in USA. My sister went and now it's my turn. Well it's been my turn for a few years now, I've just been slow kinda getting there.

From my experience (so to say), I'm academically low there in terms of GPA when it comes to College Scores. But I scored above average in The Academic Tests like GRE and Awesomely in English Proficiency Tests like IELTS. I consider those two to be major plus points.

Alternately I'm getting to the Data Science field. Since I'm a fresher (No work experience) it's hard, but not impossible for me to get into some good (not insanely awesome) colleges out there. I just have to work hard. I have to look about research projects and do a couple of them, Try to write some White Papers and make sure I'm comfortable, if not badass at stuff like Algebra, Statistics, Probability, Calculus, Analytics, Analysis and Programming. It's a long way for me. I just started doing all of that and I'm very certain it's going to take me till May 2017 till I can be sure I can produce all those results. But I'm ok with that.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I would suggest looking into what you want to do. Are you planning on getting to Bachelors (Undergrad) or Masters (Post-Grad) Programs in the US? Cause both of them have their own requirements, pre-requisites and stuff, some similar and some totally different. .

 

I didn't go to MIT, but I did go to Harvard so I knew a lot of people who were going to MIT. The main thing with any of the top tier schools is to stand out. The academics and scores are a baseline. Without them you won't get in but they won't get you in. Almost everyone I went to school with was valedictorian of their high school class and they pretty much all had amazing scores. It really is the other stuff that gets you in--the competitions, the teams, the internships etc. The admissions systems for the top tier schools really do have the luxury of taking the absolute best. Most of the top tier schools have about 1500 people per class (some like Princeton less). A school like Harvard gets about 35000 apps per year. If you're the 1501st most interesting person you're out.

They also use the admissions process as a pedagogical technique. They try to build a student body which is most conducive to the educational experience. They want a little bit of everything, the much vaunted diversity. The good news is that being international will give you a leg up in that department.

In short, the whole application process is about standing out. Somebody has to be able to read a stack of applications where yours is number 23 and then after reading through a hundred of them say "hmmm I liked the 23rd one." It's doable. Lots of people do it every year. Good luck!

 

Brytaleith, I can give you some of my insights as an international student. Unfortunately I am going down the ms/phd path so many things are different.

1. There is no sure way that you definitely get into your dream school(s). You might have a very high chance if you are a 'star student', i.e. someone who have won in a national math competition or demonstrated some extraordinary intelligence etc. But sadly most people are not. I am not either. That's probably why most international students I know applied to 10-20 schools. There are insane ones who did 50-100 but I don't recommend that.

2. There are minimum thresholds though in terms of standardized test scores. It depends on how high/low the admission rate is. Do some research yourself on this matter.

3. Almost all international students pay out of their own pockets initially. Later on if you have good grades, you might be able to get department fellowships. You can also apply for campus jobs (libraries etc). Of course this all happens after you are admitted.

4. Think about why you want to get a degree here and aim accordingly. Check school ranking as well as major ranking. Most importantly check for admission rate. You don't want to only aim for those that are notoriously hard to get into.

5. Extracurricular activities are nice but generally not helpful if they are just generic stuff and (or) not relevant to what you say you want to do (my personal opinion and I am sure some people have different experience).

 

Look at their admissions website and see what they say - many should have requirements of what's needed.

Then, focus on what makes you unique. I hate to word it like this, but here in the US you will have a much better chance if you are of a minority/have something going for you that's very different than the others. I am in nursing school, and I can almost bet that I got into my program a little easier because I'm a guy.