Looking at the admissions process of American graduate schools: How to choose an American university

1. If you focus on academics

If you just want to do academics well, then it is very simple, whether you come to study for a PhD or do a Master first and then study In this case, the school’s geographical location, professional ranking, academic atmosphere, and professor’s qualifications all need to be considered.

What should be noted here is that the top scholars are also considered a small circle. Those who can get projects, get money, or can influence the ranking of the school may be these dull-witted old academics who seem to you in front of you. Old geek. So in this case, you should focus more on the industry leaders in the major you want to study. One sentence from them may determine how much money you will have to spend in the next few years, so you must always pay attention to where they are going. .

If your goal is to study for a Ph.D. at Harvard or MIT, but you are just about to live or die now, then you can consider other schools that are close to famous schools. This way you will have more opportunities to communicate directly with teachers, and you can transfer to this school in the future. There are also many opportunities at prestigious schools. Many doctoral students at Harvard MIT transfer from other schools in their second year. Because many schools in the United States are close to each other and there are no walls around them, everyone can choose courses from each other at will. For those of you who want to do research but are less competitive and want to enter a prestigious school, you will benefit a lot from being close to the water and choosing a place with a lot of schools.

Typical school selection destinations include the Greater Boston area, San Francisco, and the Research Triangle area of ??North Carolina, etc. If you are very competitive and apply directly for a doctoral degree, you should consider many aspects such as professional ranking, research direction, professor's strength, scholarship amount, etc. If you want to get the full scholarship but also want to change your major, you can choose the curved path to save the country. For example, if you graduate from the physics department of a prestigious domestic university and change your major in the United States, you will definitely win an award. At this time, you can first apply for a scholarship based on your own advantages when applying. After arriving in the United States, take some courses that require you to change your major, get a good GPA, and preferably get a letter of recommendation from the teacher, so that you can change your major. It will have the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort.

2. If work is your first priority

If your goal is to get a master's degree in the United States and then find a job in the United States, then geographical location must be your first choice.

For those who want to learn computers, big cities such as California, New York, and Boston are the first choice. In terms of future employment for biostatistics majors, the situation in the Boston area is obviously better than that in Los Angeles. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey are areas where pharmaceutical companies and large insurance companies gather, and large companies recruit people from local schools.

3. If you just want to go abroad to be gold-plated and then return to China

If your purpose of studying abroad is to get a degree and then return to China, then in addition to academic factors, the famous school must be the best. choice. In addition, studying abroad should also be considered based on economic factors. Tuition fees at Ivy League schools and private schools in some big cities have skyrocketed.

The tuition fees of some public universities in central China are relatively low, and the living expenses are also much less than those in big cities. For academic reasons alone, some public universities in central China are also good choices.

There are many universities in the United States, but each university has its own advantages. Some paid internships provide a shortcut for you to find a job. Some superior geographical locations give you more job opportunities. Some small schools also have their own characteristics, and a good business network provides you with many opportunities. Therefore, when choosing a school, you must choose a school that suits your actual situation. In fact, generally speaking, even if you do not consider immigrating to the United States after graduation, it is best to have one to two years of work experience in the United States before returning to China for development. It is often easier to find an ideal job after returning to your country if you have foreign work experience than if you return directly to your country, and there is definitely a gap between the two in terms of salary and position.

Therefore, when applying for schools, you should consider some factors that affect employment during the school selection process. In fact, the top 200 universities in the United States are all good schools. Some schools differ by a few or even dozens of places in the rankings. In fact, there is no huge difference in teaching quality. Many lower-ranked schools have much higher graduate employment rates in some majors than higher-ranked schools. Although many schools are highly ranked, their locations are relatively remote and there are few local employment opportunities. You often have to travel a long way to find internship and job opportunities, which brings great difficulties to interviews and creates unfavorable factors for employment.

Many universities will provide graduates’ employment information in the relevant major introduction section, including what kind of units the graduates went to, average starting salary, etc. Students may wish to refer to it when choosing a school. If you major in a school and you go to a good employer after graduation and the salary situation is also very good, it is a school with high cost performance. In addition, you should also consider the school’s fees when choosing a school. Tuition fees vary greatly among American universities. A low-cost school can cover tuition and living expenses at around 200,000 yuan a year, but a high-cost school may require 400,000 to 500,000 yuan a year or even more.

In the end, when choosing a school, you must choose a high-end school. Many students blindly choose high schools when choosing schools, and in the end they settle on a good school. (This broad-based school selection method is suitable for those who would not go to a non-prestigious school, or who would give up studying abroad if they could not apply for Dream School. But more people still choose to study abroad first. Then I started choosing schools.

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School selection is a very complex subject. Before finalizing a school, a huge amount of information must be collected and studied, and many factors must be considered comprehensively. It is far from as simple as drawing a circle on a ranking list. Everyone must make rational choices based on their own conditions.

4. How to choose a school and a major

Some people think that the way students acquire knowledge has changed. University should no longer be a place where knowledge is completely imparted, but rather a place for value shaping and ability cultivation. main place. Therefore, choosing a university is essentially choosing a value, a culture, and a spirit. The choice of major may not be that important unless the student is determined to devote himself to a certain academic field or subject direction. But if future development is considered, this view may not hold true.

"The Economist" conducted a survey on college choice and returns in the United States. Big data shows that from the perspective of future income level, "what major to study" is more important than "which school to study at".

Engineering, computer, mathematics and other related majors: the average return on investment of students from good schools and students from relatively poor schools is basically parallel to the same line.

Liberal arts-related majors: There will be a certain gap in the average return on investment between good schools and poor schools.

So, if you consider salary, what matters is not whether you go to a prestigious university, but what kind of major you study. Going to a good college is certainly worth the investment, but the value will expire. The professional knowledge you learn is more important than where you learn it.

Choosing a major is difficult, but also exciting. Choosing a suitable major is something every student who wants to study in the United States needs to consider. So in the process of choosing the school you are applying to, how should you choose the right major when faced with so many majors?

1) Research the courses you are interested in

Learn about as many courses as possible in American universities. This is the best way to understand your potential major, and sometimes even your own major. If you are not interested in a major, you will have a new perspective by understanding it.

You may already know what you want to do in the future, but don’t be limited to this idea. Until you actually make a decision, you can pursue other possibilities until you really find the one that suits you. professionalism. Many people may be very sure at the beginning that they will pursue a field of economics in the future, but maybe they end up going to the mathematics department. You cannot lack the opportunity to learn about other fields.

2) Don’t forget to study the map of the United States

Of course it’s best if you have a plan for future development. Some students may think that urban location is only more important when choosing a school. , Actually otherwise, when you choose a major, you should also combine it with the city you want to live in in the future. You need to figure out which city needs talents in your subject more after you graduate, a big city or a city. Small villages and towns.

In fact, the reason why international students choose to study abroad is for a high-paying job and good development prospects, but these jobs and opportunities often exist in big cities.

Choosing a major is also an opportunity for rebirth in life. I hope that everyone can make appropriate preparations in advance for such a major life event, consider everything when choosing a major, seriously consider your ideal future life, and do If you have a good future career plan and know what you want, you will be more likely to choose your ideal job.