(The Free Press Journal publishes articles by study abroad consultants, Consulates, foreign universities, international students, and much more every Saturday to give its readers a glimpse of the world of overseas education.)
Many Indian students aspire to pursue higher studies in the United States given the quality of education, the hands-on approach to learning, the breadth of subjects, and the benefits of international exposure. There are around 2,00,000 Indian students currently enrolled at institutions across the United States. All of these students had to research to select the right-fit universities and programs, prepare applications, take standardised tests, and so much more to receive admission to a university. But where does one start? We live in a world where accessing information digitally has become second nature. Be it looking up a recipe, a news article, or a film review, we have everything available on a smartphone. Search engines have made information readily accessible, but with a plethora of digital information, it becomes critical to filter and finds authentic information.
There are over 4,000 accredited higher education institutions in the United States that offer undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs. These universities are independent of each other in terms of the programmatic offerings, entry requirements, tuition and fee structures, cost of living, academic and social environments, campus services, and other resources. In short, students have their work cut out for them when researching universities and colleges to which to apply. Students should begin the research process at least 12 to 18 months before they plan to join an institution in the United States. Applying to universities in the United States can be straightforward if students begin researching early and plan well to make sure all their application components are ready on time. Starting early will provide ample time to search for “right-fit” universities.
Websites that can offer details on US institutions
While researching universities in the United States, students must check that the institutions they are interested in applying to are accredited. The website https://www.ed.gov/accreditation is a good place to check the accreditation status of an institution. Students should begin their university search using college search engines and ensure that these engines are independent, neutral, and not determined by university brand value or ranking. Chaitanya Haram, a second-year doctoral degree student at Texas State University, says, “I initially spent a lot of time looking up only top-ranked universities and my research was biassed towards only highly ambitious universities, but EducationUSA helped me understand how rankings are not official, and students should focus on shortlisting a balanced list of universities that are right for them.”
Students should keep in mind that the ranking parameters might not translate into what students' academic and non-academic needs are.
College search engines such as https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools.aspx(for graduate student applicants), and https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search(for undergraduate applicants), are good places to start. These college search engines have user-friendly interfaces. For example, the college board search engine lets one choose between various filters such as major, college type, campus type, and affordability. This can be a good starting point to see which institutions match students’ needs.
Aditi Lele |
University websites significant sources of information
College search engines are a place to start, but they are not the end of the university search process on the internet. Your next critical step is visiting individual college websites. Students should remember that for a particular university’s program, the university website is the official and authentic source of information. Steer away from internet forums where second-hand information or opinion pieces might be available because this can sometimes be misleading. University websites will have basic common tabs such as ‘About the University,’ where you can find out how old the university is, the university’s mission statement, and information on university accreditation. Then, you might see a tab ‘Academics,’ which will provide you with information about the colleges and departments within the university and different majors offered by the university. The website will also have a tab for ‘Admissions,’ where you can find information about application requirements for international students such as test requirements, document requirements, deadlines to submit applications, and information about the online application portal. You will also typically find a tab on ‘Campus Life’ where there will be information about student clubs, resource centers, student engagement, the career center, and much more. Another very important part of researching universities and colleges is finding the cost of attendance, which includes tuition, fees, and approximate living cost. There are different ways universities calculate and display cost and aid information. Some might give the overall cost of attendance per year for the degree program, while others might provide a net price calculator to calculate the approximate cost per semester or year.
Get an idea of ongoing faculty research across institutions
University websites also like to highlight ongoing faculty research which can be a critical piece of information for students to consider before shortlisting a university. Most universities allow you to navigate to faculty profiles to see the subjects they teach, their research areas, research labs, students who work in the lab, and much more. Chaitanya stresses the fact that he devoted plenty of time to researching university websites to find out about faculty research and how that matched with what he wanted to pursue. Students should use this information when determining the academic experience they are looking for and make sure the university offers them the same. University websites will also have navigation tabs to find out about research or technology centers. For example, if one looks at the Research tab on the Arizona State University website, one will navigate to various centers, labs, and initiatives on campus. The Cognition, Behavior, and Information Center then further lists different types of ongoing research at this center. On the other hand, on Syracuse University’s iSchool (School of Information Studies) website, one will find a section on career services. The career services webpage lists considerations such as career and support resources, industry partnerships, a list of staff members to contact, and much more. These are just two examples of the information that is available on university websites. Students should thoroughly research and note information from various university websites to finalize the list of universities to which they apply.
Take note of International students’ offices, clubs, associations
It is also important that students use internet resources like university websites to understand what each university offers beyond the academic program. Almost all universities will have a tab for the ‘International Students’ Office’ with information about services available to international students and ways to engage with the larger student community. U.S. universities are known for their student clubs which can be both academic and non-academic. The Ohio State University has a ‘Data Science for Scientist Club’ for students in the engineering school, and a ‘Mycology Student Club’ for students interested in fungi. There are also non-academic clubs such as the ‘Indian Student Association’ at Arizona State University and the ‘South Asian Student Association’ at the University of Chicago.
The internet is your friend when it comes to finding information about higher education in the United States, but one must focus on authentic sources of information. EducationUSA also encourages students to use the EducationUSA website (https://educationusa.state.gov/) to find helpful information about higher education, living on campus, stories of international students, and even a section for parents.
For more information, please visit the EducationUSA website (https://educationusa.state.gov), and for individual questions or direct counseling with an EducationUSA adviser, please write to USEducationQueries@state.gov.
The author is an EducationUSA adviser at the United States - India Educational Foundation.
