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EducationUSA

Su

pp

orted

byth

eU.S

.DepartmentofS

tate

WhyconsideruniversitystudyintheUS?Studyingabroadprovidestheopportunityforyoutonotonlyfurtheryoureducation,butalsofind

outmoreabouttheworldyoulivein,experiencenewculturesandideas,andfindoutalittlemore

aboutyourselfintheprocess.Theanswerstothesefrequentlyaskedquestionscanhelpyou

decideifstudyingintheUSistherightoptionforyou.

WhyshouldIstudyintheUS?Quality,choiceandflexibilityarethemostcommonlystatedreasonsforchoosingtostudyin

theUS.UScollegesareknownworldwideforthequalityoftheirfacilities,resources,andfaculty

andthereareaccreditationsystemsinplacetoensurethatinstitutionscontinuetomaintainthese

standards.The

US

education

system

features

many

types

of

institutions,

academic

and

social

environments,entryrequirements,degreeprograms,andsubjectsinwhichyoucanspecialize.US

universitiesandcollegesofferflexibilityinchoiceofcourses,butmoreimportantlythereisalso

theoptionforstudentstomovefromoneinstitutiontoanother.Completingthefirsttwoyearsof

adegreeatoneinstitution,usuallyacommunitycollege,andthenmovingtoanother,isvery

common.

HowdoIchoosetheuniversitythatisbestforme?Importantconsiderationsinchoosingauniversityaretuitioncosts,fieldsofstudyavailable,size

andeducationalphilosophyoftheuniversity,opportunitiesforfinancialaidandpersonal

considerations

(for

example,

would

you

prefer

a

large

university

with

the

nightlife

of

New

York

or

asmallliberalartscollegeinamorerurallocation?).

Atfirst,theprocessofselectinganinstitutioncanseemoverwhelming.Whiletheinternetcanbe

useful,itisalsoeasytogetswampedbytheinformationthatisavailable.However,therearea

numberofwebsitesthatcanhelptosimplifytheselectionprocess.Thefollowingwebsitesoffer

searchenginesthatcanhelpyounarrowyoursearchandorderyourthoughtsbyproducingalist

ofuniversitiesthatmatchyourneedsandinterests:www.petersons.com,www.collegeboard.com

andwww.collegeview.com.

IsitexpensivetostudyintheUS?Yes,itcanbe.However,awiderangeoftuitionfeesandlivingcosts,plussomefinancialaidfrom

colleges,makestudyintheUnitedStatesaffordableforhundredsofthousandsofinternational

studentseachyear.Tuitioncostsalone(notincludinglivingexpenses)canrangefromUS$2,000

peryearatsomecommunitycollegesrightthroughtooverUS$40,000forprestigiousprivate

universities.Recentdataindicatesthat74%ofinternationalstudentsfundtheirownstudies,

however,manyuniversitieshavesomefundingavailableforinternationalstudents.Whenyou

requestanapplicationpackyoushouldalsorequestafinancialaidpack.Whenfillinginyour

applications,pleasebeawarethatfinancialaiddeadlinesareoftenearlierthanadmission

deadlines.

Areinternationalstudentseligibleforsportsscholarships?Yes.AnumberofUSuniversitiesofferfullorpartialscholarshipsfortalentedathletes.Youwill

havetoregisterwiththeNationalCollegiateAthleticsAssociations(NCAA)EligibilityCenterbefore

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youmayreceiveascholarship.TheNCAAwebsitewww.ncaa.orgprovidesalinktothe

EligibilityCenter,liststhoseschoolsthatspecializeinparticularsportsandwilltakeyouthrough

theprocessofhowtoapplyforanathleticscholarshipintheUS.

HowmanyuniversitiesshouldIapplyto?ItisexpensivetoapplytoUSuniversities;someuniversitieschargeuptoUS$200.00per

application(though

some

institutions

waive

their

application

fee

in

cases

of

financial

need).

It

is

besttoapplytoaboutfiveuniversities(orschools):(twodreamorreachschools,two

50/50schoolsandasafetyorbackupschool).Thisdoesnotmeanthatyoursafetyschoolis

abadschool.Itsimplymeansthatadmissionisnotascompetitiveasitisforotherverypopular

andcompetitiveinstitutions.

WillIhavetositatestforadmission?Youwillmostlikelyhavetositoneormoreofthefollowingexaminationsaspartofthe

applicationprocess.Checktheadmissionrequirementsofeachuniversityyouareplanningto

applytoinordertoseewhichtest(s)isrequired/preferred.

SATReasoningTest:ThisexaminationisusuallysatbyYear13studentsforentryintoaUS

university.TheSATmeasuresthecriticalreading,writingandmathematicalabilitiesyou'llneedfor

academicsuccessintheUS.

SATSubjectTests:SomeuniversitiesmayrequireyoutotakeoneormoreSATsubjecttests,in

additiontotheSATReasoningTest.Thesubjecttestsareaseriesofonehourmultiplechoicetests

inavarietyofsubjects.

ACT:ThisexaminationisoftenconsideredasanalternativetoSAT.TheACTexaminationis

generallypreferredbystudentswithatechnicalbackground,asitcontainsasciencesectionin

additiontocriticalreading,writingandmathematics.

TOEFL:Students

whose

first

language

is

not

English

must

also

take

the

TOEFL

examination

as

part

oftheapplicationprocess.(Thisrequirementisoftenwaivedwhenastudenthasstudiedfora

numberofyearsinanacademicsystemwherethelanguageofinstructionisEnglish).

FurtherinformationaboutthesetestsislistedontheEducationalServicespageofFulbrightNew

Zealandswebsite.

WhenshouldIapplytoaUSuniversity?Youshouldbegintheprocessearly.Ideally,studentsshouldbeginresearchinginstitutionsagood

1218monthsbeforetheywanttostudyintheUS.Thefollowingisagoodbasictimelinetofollow:

April

June

Research

and

request

information

from

universities

JulyAugust Registerforstandardisedtests

SeptemberDecember Completeapplicationsforfinancialaidandforadmission

MarchMay Admissionsdecisionsmailedoutbyuniversities

JuneAugust Obtainastudentvisa

AugustSeptember USacademicyearbegins

WherecanIgetmoreinformation?Formoreinformationonalloftheabove,pleasevisittheEducationalServicesandStudyintheUS

sectionsofFulbrightNewZealandswebsitewww.fulbright.org.nzorcontactoneoftheEducationUSAadvisers:

WellingtonKaraWood,(04)4941504,educate@fulbright.org.nz

AucklandDrewDumas,(09)3032724,aucklandeducation@state.gov