For International Students - Looking for U.S. Universities

Now is the time to do a “self-assessment” for applying to U.S. universities. A few key questions suffice:

1. Have you taken the TOEFL (if English is not your first language)? Have you taken the SATs?

2. Have you identified your academic interest? The geographic region of appeal? The location – urban, suburban, rural, small town? The cost for attending?

3. Have you looked at the web sites of U.S. universities? Have you completed the “inquiry” forms of the admission section of the web sites in order to receive information by post and email?

4. Most importantly – are your grades and scores consistent with the academic and admission requirements of the universities on your preliminary list? In short, what are your prospects for acceptance?

If your tentative list is short – perhaps very short – then now is the time to act. International students often focus on just one or two universities in the States. That often is a mistake.

International students should follow the lead of American students who apply to four or six or eight universities on average.

Take action!

1. If your list is short now is the time to think about consulting with a U.S.-based university advisor. Identify possible choices by looking at the professional web site for the Higher Education Consultants of America – www.hecaonline.org. For a modest cost a consultant will help you to develop an appropriate list of universities.

2. Look for an answer to the last question: is your academic record consistent with the profile of students your chosen universities usually accept? Look on the admission section of the colleges’ web sites and heed the requirements and the entering class profile (most universities list both).

If you judge your qualifications to be in the range with recently enrolled students, then plan to apply! If your qualifications do not appear to be reflective of your universities’ expectations, your self-assessment should result in developing a different and more appropriate list.

Will Dunfey
University Advisors
Member – Higher Education Consultants Association