About Us

For international students, the US education system offers world-renowned educational opportunities of all shapes and sizes. Students can choose from a variety of excellent education institutions and courses in cities and towns across the country. The education system in the US is divided into three levels: elementary/primary education, secondary education, and postsecondary/higher education (college or university).

USA offers endless study options but, following are the major degrees categorized in the higher education:

IEPs Program

These programs are known as Intensive English Programs (IEPs) and they are designed to support students with limited English proficiency in improving their English in a short period of time which usually take as little as four weeks (short-term) to 10-15 weeks.

Associate Degree

Associate degrees are usually obtained at a community college or Junior college. An associate degree requires earning roughly 60 credits, which is typically a two-year commitment for a full-time student.

Undergraduate Degree

An undergraduate degree or Bachelor’s degree usually takes four years to complete. Students can choose from the wide range of undergraduate courses offered at the universities in the USA. A full degree requirement is usually stated as being 120 credits (about 4O courses) for institutions operating on a semester system, and 180 credits for a quarterly calendar. An undergraduate student in the first year is called freshman, sophomore in the second, junior in the third and senior in the last and the fourth year. Courses in the first two years are referred to as “lower division” courses and the last two years are referred to as “upper division” courses.

Graduate Degree

A graduate degree or Master’s degree is comparatively shorter in length that is pursued after the completion of an undergraduate degree.The M.A., M.S., M.B.A. and other professional Master degrees require a minimum of one academic year. More often, a graduate degree requires 18 months or two years of study time. A master degree will usually require a minimum of about 30 credits up to a maximum of 60 credits, and an average grade of “B.”

PHD/ Doctoral/ Research Degree

The Doctorate Degree covers many fields of specialization and requires a minimum of three to four years of study. Most graduate schools do not require that a student fulfill the specific requirements for the Master’s degree before becoming a candidate for the Doctor’s degree, although many students find it desirable to do so. Doctorates in Education, Science and Law are sometimes labeled as Ed.D. Sc.D., Jur.D. But most doctorates are known as Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degrees.

Colleges and universities can be divided into two-year institutions and four-year institutions. Four-year institutions include public and private colleges and universities as well as liberal arts colleges. Two-year institutions include community colleges.

Public (state) universities

Public universities in the US, also often called state universities, receive some level of public-sector funding, via the state government. State universities are often (but not always) part of a state university system. This is a collection of public universities which operate separately, in different locations of the state, but with some shared management and administration.

Community colleges

Community colleges are also known as junior colleges and are also supported by state funding. They typically offer the chance to complete an associate’s degree, an undergraduate-level qualification which usually takes two years to complete. Community colleges are also often called “two-year colleges”. Community colleges tend to be on the smaller side, and their tuition fees are typically much lower than those at other types of university in the US.

Private Universities

Majority of students in the US attend public universities/ colleges and private universities account for a significant proportion of enrolments – and many of the country’s most elite and globally famed institutions. Private universities include top ranked institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Caltech, Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and many more.

Overall, fees at private universities tend to be higher than those at public universities and colleges

Liberal arts colleges

This type of university which is especially prevalent and popular in the US, focus on teaching undergraduate-level courses in the liberal arts and sciences (although some also offer graduate-level programs and more vocational subjects such as medicine, business administration or law).

American degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, are earned on the basis of the number of courses successfully taken. Each course earns “credits” or “units”, which are known as credit hours, semester hours (for schools on the semester system), quarter hours (for schools on the quarter system) or merely hours or credits.

International students need basic steps to complete in order to study at a U.S. university. The first step is to decide which universities to apply and which course to study because selecting the right university and course from the wide range of options available can still be a hard decision.

There are over 4,000 accredited colleges and universities in the US, ranging from large research universities to small private colleges, state universities, community colleges, and specialized and technical institutions.American universities and colleges offer a myriad of courses and programs to choose from. You have the freedom to not only select the course content, but also the structure. At the undergraduate level, you have the liberty to pursue different courses before they you declare your major at the end of the second year. Similarly, for your graduate studies, you can choose your preference when you progress for your dissertation where you can focus on the ideas you want to emphasize.

The admission procedures, entry requirements, tuition fees and scholarship help you make your decision as these are the major factors to consider when choosing you course and university.

Once you have decided which university and course you would like to apply, then the next step to start is the application process. There is no limit on the number of universities and colleges a student may apply to in the US and it is suggested that students check the university’s website on how they can commence their application process which is usually by applying online.

Most institutions have an online application process available on their websites. Some institutions will only accept online applications while others will accept online or paper applications. After filling the online application form, you have to pay the application fee to submit the application. You can also request for the application fee waiver. It is very important to submit your application before the deadline mentioned. Universities are very serious about their deadlines, so you must meet them in order to be considered for admissions.

You can also apply through Common Application. With this application you can apply up to 20 universities. You must upload the required documents as suggested in the university website or send all the required documents to international admission email. You can check your eligibility criteria and apply for scholarships if you meet the requirements.

When you submit your complete application package, the university will contact you with an admission offer. You can simply confirm your acceptance to get an admission to the university. You can also email or contact the university’s Office of Admissions and ask for the detailed information on the application process.

The tuition fees vary depending upon your course and university however you’ll find two bands of fees listed: a lower rate for “resident” or “in-state” students (students from within the same state), and a higher rate for “non-resident” or “out-of-state” applicants. International students either pay the same fees as out-of-state students, or a separate international rate.On average, the tuition fees for an international undergraduate student is $20000 to $40000 per year and the tuition fees for a post graduate degree is $20000 to $ 30000 per year.

There are plenty of scholarship opportunities for international students. Here is an overview of the types of scholarships available for international students so that you can start looking for them.

Merit Scholarships

Merit scholarships are given based on the student’s excellence. There are many types of merit scholarships, including:

• Academic Scholarships: These scholarships can be funded by the college or university, or by private organizations. They go to students who have excellent grades and/or SAT or ACT scores.
• Average Academic Performance Scholarships: These types of scholarships factor in more than just your grades and standardized test scores. They look at your overall performance as a student, such as whether you participated in extracurricular activities or contributed to any community service.
• Sports Scholarships: They are fiercely competitive and there are many rules about how the students receive sports scholarships. However, this is one of the best options for international student athletes who want to study in the United States.

Need-Based Scholarships

These scholarships are given to students based on their financial need. Unfortunately, many needs-based scholarships are only available to US residents. However, some universities and colleges do give out needs-based scholarships to international students.

Privately-Funded Scholarships

Sometimes private organizations or donors fund scholarships for international students. Most importantly, you should start early! The earlier you start searching for a scholarship, the more time you will have to apply and ensure you meet all eligibility requirements.

The application deadline for different universities might differ but generally, universities in the USA offer 4 types of application deadline options. Under each type of application deadline, a student can apply for fall, spring or summer semester. Most of the deadlines for fall and summer semester are same whereas spring semester deadlines are mostly not available in the early decision option.

Regular Decision Application Deadlines

Regular decision Application is the most preferred application deadline among the students. These deadlines usually fall in the beginning of January. The most common Regular decision deadline is January 1 and January 15.

Early Action Deadlines

Early action deadlines push the application timeline early by a few months. The most common early action deadlines offered by universities and colleges are November 1 and November 15. Under early action application, a student is either accepted, rejected or deferred.

Early Decision Application Deadlines

A major difference between early action and early decision application is that early decision applications are binding. When a student applies for early decision application, he/she is expected to sign a contract with the school that they would take admission in the school if selected.

Early decision application deadlines are of 2 types- ED I and ED II. ED I deadlines usually coincide with early action deadlines whereas ED II deadlines fall in January. Results are notified in February for both ED I and ED II.

Rolling Admission

Rolling admission and regular admission look a lot alike with one key difference. Colleges with rolling admissions evaluate applications as they are received versus waiting to evaluate all applications after a hard deadline. Schools will continue to evaluate applications until they’ve filled all the slots for their incoming class.

Different levels of education in the USA have different entry requirements for admission depending on what program you choose.

• Completed application form proof of secondary school completion (usually 12 years of schooling) /transcript of your previous educational qualification.
• Application fee (If required paid online).
• Standardized tests certificate copies (IELTS, TOEFL, SAT1, GRE, GMAT etc.)
• Recommendation letters (Usually required for higher level courses).
• Affidavit(s).
• Statement of Purpose.
• V (Required for graduate admission)
• Evidence of financial support (required for the I-20 form)
• Scan Copies of first and last pages of your passport.

In order to gain entry into either Bachelors or Master’s degree, you will require a minimum of 2.5 out of 4.0 GPA, 60% or equivalent in your previous qualification. Again, the requirements could vary depending on the choice of your course and university and it is always better to check the entry requirements of the particular course and university.

A common entry requirement is your English language Proficiency Test which most commonly includes TOEFL or IELTS. International applicants are also required to obtain a Standardized test certificate: the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) for Bachelor’s Degree and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) for Master’s Degree.

The minimum IELTS score requirement in the US ranges between 6.5 and 9.0 depending upon the course and university one is applying to. TOEFL scores required can vary from 65 to 85 on the internet-based test. However, to get admission to Ph.D. in USA, you must present higher scores.

“The I-20 is a multi-purpose document issued by a government approved, U.S. educational institution certifying that (1) a student has been admitted to a full-time study program and (2) that the student has demonstrated sufficient financial resources to stay in the U.S.”