How to write csc's review of studying abroad?

Going abroad is a hard job, and it will take half a year before and after. If you add the time before preparing for the English exam, it will be even longer. This application summary is a review of my application process. On the one hand, I hope to take this opportunity to reflect on the problems existing in my application, and on the other hand, I hope to provide reference for other students. In the application process, I got a lot of help from teachers and classmates, and also got a lot of information from the forum, hoping to give back to the forum.

1. Personal background

Undergraduate course: an ordinary 985 university; Master: A famous liberal arts university in Beijing. Major: Agricultural Economic Management

Maybe everyone should know which of my two universities is.

English: IELTS (listening 7.5, speaking 6.5, reading 9.0, writing 7.5, total score 7.5)

GRE: 159+ 166+4.0

GPA: 3.76/4.00 for undergraduate and 3.84/4.00 for master.

I have several papers in Chinese core journals, participated in social science projects taught by teachers, and also participated in writing international conference papers, but there are no English papers. The letters of recommendation are all written by domestic teachers.

2. Application for schools and admission

The specific project names may be slightly different, but the difference will not be too big. I applied for a wide range of schools, with a big gap, all of which are doctoral programs. The following is some information about related projects. Part of the information comes from the introduction of brothers and sisters, and it is also my own opinion. There may be inaccuracies, which are for reference only and also for attracting jade. I hope everyone can express their opinions.

UIUC (Geography) Quotation

The department is divided into three directions: human geography, geographic information system and physical geography. There are many human geography teachers, both qualitative and quantitative, covering a wide range of fields. The geography department of UIUC ranks fourth in the national NRC ranking, and it is a good geography department. In terms of human geography, environmental policy has been done well.

University of Toronto (Forestry) Quotation

There are only two teachers in the Forestry Department who are majoring in social sciences, one is forestry economy, and the other is forestry governance (partial sociology and political science). There are few students enrolled, so you need to ask the teachers whether to enroll students before applying.

University of Michigan (natural resources management) refused

One of the four colleges of resources and environment in North America. This department is very miscellaneous and does everything, but the competition for enrollment is fierce. On 20 14, 96 people signed up and 6 people were admitted, all of which won full prizes. Doctoral degree, the social science direction only recruits about 2 people, and the competition is fierce. It is recommended to apply for the following. I talked to the professor of the college, and the professor said that if there is financial support, it will increase the probability of admission, and admission still attaches great importance to GRE\TOEFL\GPA scores. Of course, the combination of research directions is the most important.

University of Florida (Agricultural Economics; Interdisciplinary ecology)

The agricultural economics project requires that you have taken intermediate macro and micro econometrics courses, but in fact, your requirements for this card are not too strict. I didn't study advanced macro and micro during my master's degree, but I was admitted. According to a senior, the employment situation of doctoral students in agricultural economics in North America is grim now, and the employment situation of doctoral students in agricultural economics in Florida 20 14 is not good either. It is said that his family's qualification examination is not particularly strict and the pass rate is relatively high.

University of California, Davis (Agriculture and Resource Economics) refused.

The old school is mainly based on agricultural classics, but it seems that in recent years, the old people have retired and the new people are on the horse, which is in a period of change and renewal. The competition was fierce, more than 200 people applied, and the last 30 offer, more than 20 people went. Finally, some people may be brushed off in the qualification examination. Davis's admission is also strange. One month after the end of the application, a batch of rejection letters were sent out, and the rejection was about 100 yuan, and then the offer was started. Finally, rejection letters were sent to others in April.

University of Georgia (Housing and Consumer Economics)

This project is purely an experiment, and I'm not too worried. I applied for a similar project as an undergraduate. Later, I learned that this project is still good. This project in Georgia used to be in a business school, but later it became independent. It has good financial and real estate consumption and employment prospects. Not many people know, and the competition is not fierce. The results came out in early March, and the main problem was that there was no money. This year, this program enrolled more than a dozen masters and doctors, all without scholarships. The school is in Atlanta, and the annual tuition and living expenses are 200,000-300,000. If money is not a problem, you can think about it.

Master's degree program of University of Connecticut (Agriculture and Resource Economics)

The department of agriculture and economics in Connecticut is small and sophisticated, with good resources and environment, but it also faces the alternation of old and new personnel. I applied for a doctor's degree, but I transferred to a master's degree, probably because the courses were not enough (I didn't study intermediate macroeconomics). It is said that the discovery of this project is not particularly sufficient.

University of Texas A & ampm (Agricultural Economics) refused.

After I was rejected by this project, I wrote to ask why. The person in charge told me that because I chose "scholarship is necessary", if I can come without money, it will send me an admission notice. Therefore, it seems that the option of "Do you need a scholarship" still has an impact on admission and needs to be carefully selected. However, some people on the forum have already won the award, and they are not sure about the scholarship allocation mechanism. Texas schools use a single admission system, which is very complicated to operate. If you apply to a school in Texas, you must apply in advance and find out the rules of the system.

University of Kentucky (Agricultural Economics) Admission Notice

The deadline for admission is very late, and the result is very late. His family's agricultural economy is also ok, and it can be used as a guaranteed school.

University of Guelph (Agriculture and Resource Economics) refused.

The school ranks generally, but it is said that this program is the best doctoral program in agricultural economics in Canada. It is said that there are few doctoral students, so the competition is fierce. Their family has a master's program and scholarships, so they can consider applying for a master's degree as a springboard for applying for a doctorate. I have seen a child admitted to his master's degree on the forum before. In addition, Guelph has a cooperation agreement with the Beijing Municipal Committee on public projects, so it will be much easier if you take public projects.

3. Choose the school to choose the project

Choosing a school is really important. I think we should spend more time on choosing schools. Many posts provide good suggestions on choosing schools. There is no doubt that collocation is the most important. If you can find a project that seems to be tailor-made for yourself, then the possibility of admission is great. In addition, the application of economics is really fierce now. Don't set your goals too high for students whose own conditions are not particularly good. We should try to avoid the projects that everyone is eager for. In fact, there are many good projects abroad, but when people choose a school, they often follow the crowd, and I choose whatever others choose, which leads to a cluster of people in China. You can look at the list of all the projects in your favorite school. If there is a project with teachers with similar research directions, you can consider applying. After that, you can search the name of this project online. If you find that others apply less, then there may be opportunities in it. Finally, in fact, there are many projects in economic management that can be applied for. For example, my master's major is forestry economics, and I can report not only agricultural economics projects, but also resources and environmental ecology projects, as well as forestry academy projects, environmental sociology and so on. I don't think it's necessary to confine my eyes to the School of Economics. Although the training of economics in the School of Economics is definitely far better than that in other schools, the application of the School of Economics is too fierce. If other colleges have good tutors, they can also consider it.

Of course, the projects that others don't apply for may be good things that everyone doesn't know about, or they are not particularly good, so everyone doesn't apply. Therefore, it is necessary to spend more time and take a good look at the curriculum, ranking, teachers, school reputation and so on, so that it is not difficult to find cost-effective projects.

4. Material preparation

There are many posts about material preparation on the Internet, so I won't go into details. I just want to mention that it's easier said than done, but it's another matter. Be sure to start writing materials as soon as possible! ! For example, PS, write early, once you have inspiration, record it first. You can look at the documents of seniors and sisters, draw a gourd ladle first, and then change it bit by bit. After you change it, you will find that it has been completely changed. Paperwork is definitely not done overnight, so you must start as soon as possible!

On the issue of document modification, I personally think that document modification is still necessary. But as long as the language is changed, it is really difficult for the document organization to make useful suggestions on structure and content. The key to writing documents is to write with your heart and keep improving. In addition, you don't have to find a professional company to modify the documents. Brothers, sisters and classmates who apply together can also provide many good suggestions.

5. a little feeling

What is the most important thing?

I have been thinking, what is the most important in the application? Now think about it, it is a connection! My suggestion is that no matter what the project is, before applying, it is best to find the teachers in the project and ask whether to enroll students in a certain direction and what the selection criteria are. In fact, the purpose of magnetization is also to achieve this goal. But frankly speaking, general magnetizing is really expensive and the success rate is very low. In contrast, it is easier to find a relationship directly. So, how do you find the connection?

First of all, it is very useful to attend more academic conferences and have face-to-face communication with Daniel. Daniel is approachable. Once you get it right, there may be unexpected opportunities. The second is to dig deep into the resources of people around you, such as where have all the seniors and sisters gone? Which schools have the college's instructors been to as visiting scholars, or have obtained degrees, or have academic cooperation with foreign schools? From my experience, teachers are very caring and willing to help students who are willing to go abroad for doctoral studies. They can help ask the tutor of the foreign department if they will recruit students or introduce you.

Secondly, it is the personal level. Needless to say, the importance of one's own ability, but in fact, many times people don't pay enough attention to it. I think GRE, TOEFL/IELTS and GPA are definitely higher, the more articles, the better, and the higher the course, the higher the score. The conditions are not good, even if the tutor strongly recommends it, the other party does not have to.

Finally, the course. I suffered a lot in this process. My lesson is that I really need to study math and economics. My college doesn't even offer advanced macro and micro measurement for master's degree, let alone mathematics course, which is fatal when applying. If the college doesn't open, you have to take a course and meet the requirements of the other college in the course. Otherwise, it's easy for the other party to think that you don't have a perfect knowledge system and research ability. I applied for Connecticut, and the reason why I changed from a doctor to a master's degree was mainly because there were no courses.

6. About CSC (National Public School)

I also want to mention public schools, which everyone attaches great importance to now. I still have some experience in this field and I want to share it with you.

Joining CSC requires two steps. First, apply for foreign schools according to normal procedures (that is, you must meet the application requirements of foreign schools and take the TOEFL IELTS GRE test. ). After you are admitted to a foreign school (usually free of tuition or free of tuition for half a prize), you can apply to CSC for a public scholarship (that is, living expenses). What is clear here is that if it is a public school, the state only provides living expenses, that is, the other school must agree to provide tuition fees or waive tuition fees. The scholarship Committee only provides tuition fees to a very small number of applicants. In fact, public schools also provide tuition fees to a very small number of people every year, but this requires a separate interview, and the admission rate is much lower than that of those who do not report tuition fees. Don't try it easily. For details, please refer to the website of Scholarship Committee. The rules are still very complicated. Public schools, in principle, require to return to China to serve and want to emigrate, which may not be suitable for public schools.

Judging from the situation in recent years, with the admission of American schools, the proportion of public schools is the highest, mainly because there are many American schools and many good schools. But there is a problem here, which is easily overlooked: tuition fees in North American schools are generally high, and living expenses are far lower than tuition fees; In Europe, the cost of living is relatively high and the tuition is not so high; In the public sector, the state provides living expenses. Therefore, from the perspective of schools, European schools prefer China students who want to be sent to American schools by the government. Public schools have limited appeal to American schools because they can't save him much money. Therefore, don't think that many people apply for public schools offer by American schools, just think that it is easier to apply for public schools than in Europe.

If you really want to go to a public school, one way is not to tell the other person that you want to go to a public school when you apply. If the other party is admitted and given a scholarship free of tuition or covering tuition, but does not provide tuition, then apply for a public school by yourself. The second way is to directly tell the other party that they want to go to public schools when applying, and the state can provide living expenses, so that the other party may think that they only need to provide tuition fees, so they are more willing to admit you (only possible).

If you apply to a European school, you only need to ask the other tutor to specify the admission notice according to the study abroad fund. As far as I know, many schools in Europe have a big boss who is in charge of all the doctors below. The doctor is actually not an ordinary student, but an employer, and the admission notice is also sent by the big boss, so just get rid of the big boss. However, American schools are more troublesome. The admission of doctors in American schools is very standardized, and it needs the approval of the Committee and the graduate school, not just the tutor, especially the liberal arts and social sciences majors. This creates a problem. American schools may not issue admission notices in full accordance with the requirements of overseas scholarship committees, and it is difficult for them to compromise. For example, the admission notice issued by the school may be written like this:

"If you can be admitted openly, we may/usually waive the tuition."

However, this does not actually meet the requirements of the Overseas Scholarship Committee. Words like "may/usually" can easily give people a feeling that even if students are admitted to public schools, the schools may not be responsible for tuition fees.

So, why did the school send such an invitation letter? My understanding is that this can reduce the legal responsibility that the school may have to bear in case it cannot provide tuition fees for some special reason. Plus "maybe/usually", even if the school can't provide you with tuition in the future because of lack of funds, it won't bear legal responsibility, because it has left room for itself in the admission notice. However, this actually passed the risk on to the overseas study fund Committee and students. On the woodworm, I have seen students complain that American schools only exempt doctoral students from tuition fees for the first year and are not responsible for tuition fees for the second year. As a result, students don't know what to do.

My suggestion is that when applying for an American school, there is no need to tell others in advance that you want to go public. When playing games with the teacher, you can look at the teacher's attitude first. If the teacher wants you, he may give you a full bonus. If he wants you, but the funds are not enough, then he will usually tell you the reason directly. Then you can tell him that you can apply for a public school, and the school doesn't have to bear the living expenses.

Finally, I think, in fact, public schools will not bring you many advantages in applying for prestigious schools in North America. Because prestigious schools pay attention to the quality of students, they will not admit an inappropriate student just because CSC provides living expenses. Moreover, for prestigious schools in North America, tuition fees are much higher than living expenses, and CSC is not attractive. However, for applying for European schools, public schools can still make each other more interested. In addition, some schools have cooperative projects with CSC, such as UCLA, USC, UT, UBC and other famous schools. Taking a cooperative project may increase the chances of successful application, but to be admitted, you still have to meet the requirements of the other school, and these requirements are not low.

Finally, if you want to know about the public school, please go to the small wooden bug forum, where the public school study abroad section is the base camp for public school applicants. In addition, it is more difficult to apply for public schools every year, and the process of applying for public schools is quite complicated. There are also many places to pay attention to in the middle, so everyone should be mentally prepared. After all, the country's money is not so easy to get.

7. About IELTS and TOEFL

As for IELTS and TOEFL, as we all know, the difference in applicability between them is very small now, that is, most North American schools recognize IELTS, while most European and Australian schools also recognize TOEFL. However, I sincerely tell you that if you really decide to focus on North America, you should firmly take the TOEFL instead of IELTS.

The discrimination against IETLS in North America is very obvious. For example, Cornell's agricultural economics does not recognize IELTS at all, no matter how high it is. There are also some schools, such as Ohio State, where the TOEFL for many items is only 100, while IELTS requires 8, which almost tells you to take the TOEFL even if you die. There is also the University of Toronto, Canada, with a total IELTS score of 7 and a single subject of 6.5 but a TOEFL score of 93. Obviously, taking the TOEFL test is also beneficial. Therefore, if you go to North America, you should resolutely take the TOEFL.

Finally, it is not easy to apply. Everyone should be mentally prepared. I hope everyone can stick to it. In fact, my conditions are not very good, and I have encountered many blows in the middle, sometimes preparing for World War II. Some of my classmates who applied together were excellent, but for various reasons, their grades were not very good. However, life is a marathon, and the twists and turns in the middle are nothing in retrospect. I hope everyone has confidence and can persist. The classmate who applied with me is going to continue to apply this year. I wish her success and good luck to everyone!