Hello from someone who has spent 28 years in the field of graduate admissions, financial aid and student affairs. It has been my privilege to work with thousands of prospective students, applicants, and enrolled students while serving at Columbia University, The University of Chicago and Northwestern University. My travels have taken me to 61 countries on every continent, largely for the purpose of speaking with students/advisors about the graduate educational process in the United States.
Here are some tips about pursuing graduate study in the United States. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Rather, it contains the input most often provided by me in working with international students over the years. For more information, and to learn about my book, Road Map for Graduate Study: feel free to visit my website: http://www.gradschoolroadmap.com/.
Tip 1: Allow a few years to adequately prepare – take your time
This is very important. You will be faced with many different activities – preparing for the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc., researching various educational institutions and programs, preparing your applications, determining how you will fund your studies and much more. All of this takes time.
Tip 2: The importance of learning to speak/write in English
Obviously, your ability to communicate in English, both verbally and in writing, is crucial. As with any skill, learning English takes time. In addition, some individuals have a greater level of ease in learning other languages. Take the time you need to learn the language. If you find that you are struggling, and application deadlines are approaching, wait a year.
Tip 3: Look beyond the top ten
In my experience, one the biggest mistakes prospective students (in the USA and abroad) make is determining, before doing any substantive research, where they want to apply/attend. Often these decisions are based on the ranking/prestige of an institution, and the student’s or his/her family’s belief that the most important thing is “getting in to the top school.” This is truly a myth. For one thing, rankings fluctuate. Secondly, no two rankings are the same. Thirdly, there are hundreds – yes, hundreds – of outstanding graduate programs in the USA that are overlooked every year because they are not in the “top ten.” In the end your success is not dependant on where you attended, but on who you are and the skill set you bring to your employer.
Tip 4: How you are treated as a inquirer/applicant is extremely telling
This is huge! If you are welcomed, thanked, appreciated and helped as an inquirer or applicant, it speaks volumes about how you will be treated as a student. And conversely, if you are ignored, demeaned, belittled and confused by those with whom you communicate, believe me, nothing will change once you are enrolled. Having a successful graduate school experience is about FIT – you and the institution you are attending complimenting each other.
Tip 5: Follow directions in the application process
Please do this! Resist the temptation to prepare essays that are longer than requested, to include more recommendation letters than asked, to leave a question unanswered, to apply a few days after the deadline, or send information that is for one admissions committee to another one. Any one of these does not provide a good first impression and in cases where the application process is very selective, can result in what might have been an admission decision ending up as a letter of denial.
Tip 6: Do not obsess about academic performance before or after enrolling
In the end, your success in life is not correlated to your grades. While doing well academically is certainly something for which every graduate student should strive, obsessing about having a perfect record can greatly lessen your chances of having a rewarding, fulfilling and fruitful graduate school experience. Do your very best, but if you get a few B’s, it is not the end of the world.
Tip 7: Do not take your standardized test over and over again
Many graduate school applicants are not the best test takers. This can be disconcerting, due to the misguided perception that one’s test score and make or break an application. There are a few institutions where this is the case, but most admit applicants with varying test scores. As Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business I often admitted applicants with GMAT scores below 600, sometimes even below 500. And by all means I was not alone. Many admissions committees realize that test scores are by no means the only predictor of academic success – they are just one part of the application. . .If you take your respective standardized test and do not do as well as you hoped, by all means take it a second time, maybe a third. But do not keep taking the test! It looks worse for you as an applicant.
Tip 8: While there are financial resources available to you, they are not limitless
During my years working with financial aid, it seemed that many international students had a perception that institutions in the United States are extremely wealthy, and have unlimited financial resources to help students fund their education. This is not true. Yes, there are scholarships, fellowships and assistantships available, but there are most always not nearly enough of them to help every student. In nearly every instance graduate students will need to have quite a bit of their own funding available. This is why planning well ahead is so important.
Tip 9: If at all possible, relocate to your new institution/home early
Moving to a new home is a chore even if you are doing so in the same city, county, province or country. Moving to a new country is a major undertaking. There will be huge adjustments. Added to the responsibilities of a graduate program, the adjustments are compounded. If you are able to relocate even one month before your studies begin (two to three months is ideal), you give yourself time to gradually settle in and be more relaxed.
Tip 10: YOU CAN DO THIS!!
Yes, you can do this. Many have done it before you, and you will pave the way for others who follow you. There will be ups and downs, but with your ability to focus on the end result – completion of your degree program and the doors it will open for you – and practice Persistence and Determination, there is virtually unlimited opportunity for you. Your dreams and goals are out there, waiting for you to grab hold of and achieve them. The possibilities are endless. And you will be successful, one day at a time.
