Although there are many countries to study in, most people still have the United States as their main goal. The following is a list of information aboutList of application materials for graduate students studying in the United StatesDocuments required for studying in the United States, ,Documents for studying in the United States, ,US study visa interview materials, ,Review time for US study materialsThe problem.

Study Abroad in the U.S. Graduate Application Materials Checklist

Study Abroad in the U.S. Graduate Application Materials Checklist

1. University transcript

This is a very important document in the application materials for graduate school in the United States. It represents the academic background accumulated by a student in his four years of undergraduate study. When applying for graduate school in the fourth year of college, you only need to prepare the transcripts of the previous three years and calculate your GPA (full name is Grade Point Average) based on your grades. The full score of GPA in the United States is 4 points, that is, A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1.

The accuracy of GPA can often reach 1 to 2 decimal places, such as: 3.0, 3.45, etc. GPA is also an important reference for whether you can successfully apply. Many schools have specific GPA requirements. Be sure to pay attention when choosing a school. The better the school, the higher the GPA requirement. Therefore, students who plan to study abroad must not waste their time during college. College grades are very important for your application for American graduate school.

If your GPA is not too high, don't be discouraged, you can highlight your strengths in other preparation materials. For example, GRE (especially for science and engineering students, you can take GRE SUB to make up for it) and TOEFL scores as high as possible can also make up for the lack of GPA.

2. iBT\GRE\GMAT\LSAT scores

iBT is required to prove to American graduate schools that students have qualified English language application skills so that they can study and live smoothly in the United States. Among the American graduate entrance examinations such as GRE, GMAT, and LSAT, GRE should be popular among applicants, because except for social science majors such as journalism or education, GRE will basically not be a shortcoming in applications. Most majors only require the mathematics part (this is especially obvious in science and engineering majors. It is said that American universities believe that the Q part can reflect the applicant's IQ). This is not a problem for the vast majority of Chinese applicants.

In contrast to GRE, scores of professional exams such as GMAT are often a stumbling block for applicants to enter the United States (note that this refers only to the score of the applicant). Simply put, high scores cannot fully prove that the applicant is excellent, but low scores can prove that the applicant is not excellent enough. This is because applicants applying for MBAs at the seven major business schools in the United States basically have GMAT scores of more than 750, and applicants applying for JDs at the 14 major law schools in the United States basically have LSAT scores of more than 165. If the gap in other aspects is not large, a low score in this area will often become a reason for rejection.

3. Resume/Curriculum Vitae

Here we refer to personal resumes. The admission committee of American graduate schools will understand applicants through their personal information, educational background, honors, major personal events, publications, organizations they have participated in, and other abilities and hobbies in their resumes, and give them an impression score. It is recommended that the resume should not exceed two pages. If it reaches the third page, the professor will almost lose interest in reading it. Although both resumes and personal statements describe personal situations, they have different perspectives. One is a summary of objective facts, and the other is a statement with subjective intentions.

4. Personal Statement (PS)

The personal statement is one of the most important materials in the application materials for American graduate schools, especially for whether or not to receive a scholarship. Students can use the personal statement to fully reflect their abilities to the schools they apply to. The content should include: why you choose this major, what achievements you have made in this area in the past, what you think now, and what plans you have for the future after obtaining a degree in this major, etc.

5. Reference Letter (RL)

The department head or professional tutor of the university shall be the recommender, and the recommender shall have a senior academic title. The specific number of recommendation letters required depends on the specific requirements of the school you are applying to. The recommendation letter generally needs to explain the basic situation of the recommendee, academic papers, scientific research achievements, awards, abilities, etc. In general, the school you apply to requires three recommendation letters. It is recommended that one letter focus on comprehensive performance and two letters focus on professional level.

6. Writing Sample (WS for short, this is required for applying for liberal arts majors, and is generally not required for other majors)

The primary purpose of WS is to test the applicant's language ability, and also reflect the applicant's understanding of the major and possible future research directions. At the same time, it also includes requirements for professional qualities such as analytical ability and logic. WS is the top priority in the documents of liberal arts students, and directly reflects the applicant's ability to write papers. In terms of professional distinction, most liberal arts majors, such as sociology, philosophy, etc., absolutely require WS. For science and engineering applicants, it also plays an important role in explaining theories or conducting analysis.

7. Proof of Financial Guarantee

Proof of financial guarantee mainly includes personal/family savings, applied scholarships, grants, etc. During the application process, some schools require proof of deposit, and the funds must be enough to cover the cost of studying in the United States for one year. When applying for a visa, it is recommended to prepare a deposit certificate of 600,000 to 1 million.

8. Credit Cards

To apply for a dual-currency credit card, you will need to apply online and send your GRE and TOEFL scores. Prepare in advance and go to major banks for consultation and processing.

Further reading: Safety issues to pay attention to when studying in the United States

1. Safety Index

This is an important indicator for everyone to examine safety. In fact, no matter which country or city, there will be safe places and unsafe places. The US government will release an urban safety index to show the safety of each region.

You can refer to this when choosing schools and accommodation, and you can also consciously avoid places with hidden dangers when going out. This will reduce the possibility of encountering danger from the root.

2. Making friends and socializing

Socializing is something that runs through the entire process of studying abroad. If you can get to know more reliable people, your network resources can bring positive effects to you, so you should not reject making new friends. After all, the positive effects on you may outweigh the negative ones.

Of course, you should also make a distinction when choosing friends. You can start with the Chinese circle, get to know classmates of the same nationality, and then get in touch with classmates from school. You can participate in social activities or gatherings, but you need to ensure that there are acquaintances present to confirm safety.

3. Property Information

You must protect your own property. Whether it is cash or bank cards, you should always pay attention. Current consumption in the United States is mainly by credit card, and you should also adapt to local customs. It is not difficult to apply for a local card, and you can use it directly after obtaining it. Be sure to get a receipt when swiping the card.

Do not tell others your private information, whether it is your identity or property, because information leakage may bring very bad consequences. If used for illegal activities, it will also affect everyone's reputation and normal study abroad arrangements.

4. Study Arrangements

Of course, don't forget your identity as an international student. In the United States, there are no parents or teachers to restrict you. You have free time to arrange your own time. Although the United States has many attractive places, you still need to be self-disciplined in your studies and complete basic courses.

Due to the school schedule, classes usually end around three in the afternoon. After that, you should complete your homework or projects first, and then participate in after-school activities to ensure that you do not delay your studies. The activities should also focus on improving yourself.

Further reading: Guide to US study abroad loans

1. Application Requirements

Independent borrowers must be at least 18 years old, have a permanent home address and a stable family income, provide proof and flow of income of their parents, guarantee the ability to repay the loan, and of course, also need to show proof of the relationship between the two parties.

You will need to present a copy of the paper admission certificate issued by the school, a valid passport, a medical health certificate, and other requirements that the loan institution requires students to meet. This can only be confirmed after consultation.

2. Loan Amount

In principle, the amount that international students can apply for cannot exceed 80% of total annual expenses. According to official surveys, the average annual cost of studying in the United States is around 500,000, so the amount they can borrow each year cannot exceed 400,000.

The above is the amount you can borrow. You also need to determine the specific amount based on your actual situation. You can estimate your graduation plans and salary after graduation, and determine the final amount based on your repayment ability.

3. Loan Period

There are also restrictions on the loan period you can apply for, generally 1-6 years. Most students will choose a loan of similar length to their study period, so that they don't have to worry about their expenses during their studies. The maximum period cannot exceed 10 years.

4. Loan Methods

1. US Loans

You can submit a loan application directly to a bank in the United States. There are no identity requirements, but you need to find a local person as a guarantor for your loan. The interest rate is lower, but you cannot repay the loan in advance, and there is no grace period for repayment.

Student loans are more suitable for international students. This method does not require a guarantor. As long as you provide complete materials, you can get a loan. The interest rate is between 7.%-13.%. You can repay the loan in advance or apply for a grace period for repayment.

2. Domestic loans

It would be more cost-effective to apply for a loan domestically. Certain guarantee documents need to be submitted and the interest rate of the loan is stable between 4%-5%. However, the loan can only be made in RMB and the conversion into US dollars will be affected by the interest rate.

Further reading: Course selection guide for freshmen studying in the United States

1. How to select courses

First, you need to meet the minimum credit requirement. Generally speaking, American courses are 1-4 credits per course. The F1 visa requires full-time undergraduate students to take at least 12 credits per semester, and graduate students to take at least 9 credits. Therefore, you must meet this minimum standard in your course selection to maintain your F1 student visa status. If you fall below this credit requirement, your I20 will be cancelled and you will not be able to stay in the United States.

Secondly, you need to understand whether the course difficulty matches your ability, and your preference for the course and professor. Before choosing a course, you should carefully refer to the course outline to understand the course objectives, class progress, and grading standards, and understand whether the course difficulty is suitable for you and what you like. In addition, you should also understand the teacher of the course, his teaching method, and the difficulty of grading.

Third, you need to meet the school's graduation and degree requirements. Take Harvard University as an example. To meet the school's undergraduate degree requirements, students must complete at least 32 courses and at least 8 of them must be selected from general education. In addition, students must choose at least 1 writing course and learn a second foreign language. In addition, students must also meet the graduation requirements of a certain major. For example, if a student's major is economics, then the student must complete at least 11 courses including Mathematics 1a, Statistics 100 or Statistics 104, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics.

II. Notes on Course Selection

Course selection itself can be said to be a compulsory course. Whether the course selection is appropriate or not will be the key to affecting the semester's grades. Before selecting courses, it is recommended that you make an overall plan to determine how many courses to take each semester. For freshmen who have just started their first semester, they should pay special attention to not taking too many courses or too heavy courses, so as not to bring themselves a heavy homework burden. If you really don't know what courses you want to take, you can go for a trial class first. American universities also have special course consultants to guide students in course selection. Students can take the initiative to ask course consultants for help.

You should register for classes as early as possible. In public universities, many courses have limited space, so you should register as soon as possible to ensure that you can complete your studies as planned. Now many schools are online for class registration, which is more convenient, so you should complete the class registration as early as possible.

Don't be greedy and choose too many courses at a time, or choose courses that are too challenging. Don't choose too many or too difficult courses in your first year of college. It is recommended to choose more difficult courses, such as writing, literature, or history, in your sophomore or junior year. You can consult your course selection instructor and ask him or her to give you reasonable suggestions for course selection.

Students can sign up for 1-2 more courses each time. In one week, students will attend all the courses, and can drop one or two courses after one week. This ensures that their learning progress will not be delayed every semester due to disliked or difficult courses.

Take the initiative to make an appointment with the school's instructor, and communicate your preferences and current situation, including language ability and academic ability, to the instructor in a timely manner. Only by making full use of the teacher's resources can you choose courses more easily. When consulting, ask experienced friends and teachers to understand the course selection system process. The most important thing is to have a deep understanding of each course and not to choose courses blindly. Make full use of the help of teaching assistants. If you don't understand the course, you can ask for help from the teaching assistants, make appointments with the teaching assistants for extra lessons, and build a good relationship with the teaching assistants. You will benefit a lot.

Study Abroad in the U.S. Graduate Application Materials Checklist

Summary of the application materials list for graduate students studying in the United States

After understanding the issues regarding the list of application materials for graduate studies in the United States, you will also need to prepare a VPN tool to bypass the firewall and return to China when studying in the United States.For many Chinese who go to the US to study and work, they still like to watch some Chinese TV series and programs in China, and they are more accustomed to use some domestic native apps to listen to music, watch videos, play games and so on. However, due to copyright reasons, most of the popular programs are only allowed to be accessed by mainland IPs. In such a big background, theVPN back over the wallQuickFox now fully supports Apple iPhone & iPad mobile devices, Android phones, Windows PC series, Apple macOS computers, and also Android TV boxes.