I want to study in US but I have no $$$ then this message is for you.

How to Apply

Some friends in Burma asked me how to get into the US college and university. So I decided to write a post so that I don’t have to write email to individual but referring to this blog. And I also thought this information would be helpful for those who are trying to apply US colleges and universities. I know how stressful it could be. I was blessed by my friend, Maran Zau Seng, for these processes. He not only wrote a letter of recommendation for me, he also edited essays and monitored the whole processes. I’m always thankful for that. So I would like to share the blessing with your all. These are the steps he leaded me through, and it works. I have some more tips to share with you all but I saved it for next post since this one is getting too long. Please come back and get more information later. Thanks for now and best luck. Above all, enjoy the following steps.. Make sure you dance the right steps though...:)

Step I. Decide Where to Apply

There are over 2500 colleges and universities in the US. The following factors should inform your choices of colleges:

1) Does the school offer an attractive financial aid package?

a. Tuition fees for US colleges are very expensive ranging from $3000 to more than $20,000 per year. A few colleges offer large financial aid packages to international students. Ideally, you should apply to schools that offer full, or nearly full, assistance to international students. Note: the funding available to domestic and international students varies greatly. When researching a school make sure you do not confuse the two.

b. There are some supplementary grants available to students from Burma who do not have full financial support. These generally amount to only several thousand dollars. If you are accepted to a good school and additional funds are needed we may be able to find a private sponsor or negotiate some arrangement with the school. Unless you have your own sponsor, however, you should not apply to a school unless it will potentially offer a scholarship to cover at least 75% of tuition and living costs. Information on aid packages is available in the tables provided in the book on financial aid for international students.

2) Can you meet the school’s admissions requirements?

a. What tests are required? Schools require standardized tests in addition to the TOEFL. These may include the SAT I, the SAT II, and or the ACT. While the better schools often require these, they are difficult and require lengthy preparation. If you are not prepared to invest the time and money to take these additional tests you should not apply to schools that require them.

b. Are your scores high enough?

• i. Some schools indicate a minimum score that is necessary to be considered for admission. If your scores are more than a few points below this minimum, you should not bother applying.

• ii. Other schools provide average or median scores of successful applicants. You can use these statistics as a rough measure of your likely success. Remember, applicants’ scores were both higher and lower than the average, and schools consider a range of factors in their admissions decisions – test scores are only one of the important elements of an application. So, if your score is not dramatically lower than the average you may be accepted. But the higher is the better. Try your best if you were preparing for the standard exams.
  

3) Does the school have a good reputation?

a. The better the reputation of your school the better the chances you will receive a good education, that you will be able to find additional outside funding, and that you will be issued a visa. A school’s reputation may also affect your future job prospects.

b. The more competitive the school the tougher the admissions criteria.

c. One way to assess a school’s reputation is with the Barron’s Guide, which ranks schools as “most competitive”, “highly competitive”, “very competitive”, “competitive”, “less competitive” and “non-competitive”. You should aim at least for schools that are “competitive” or better, although you may wish to apply to one “less competitive” school as a safe school.

4) Does the school offer a program of study that interests you?

a. In particular, does the school offer the major that is of interest to you?

b. Another factor to consider is the student faculty ratio, whether the school has a religious affiliation (if this is important to you), whether the school is coed or single sex, and the school’s educational philosophy (liberal arts colleges, for example, generally offer a much broader educational experience and more individual attention).

5) Is the location convenient?

a. If you have relatives or friends in the US, or if you wish to be near a Burmese community, location may also figure in your choice of schools.

b. If you have a wide range of choices you may also wish to consider whether the school is in the country or a city, and the area’s climate.

Step II. Get Applications and Additional Information on the Schools that Seem Most Interesting.

You can get additional information on schools from several sources:

1) The Internet.

2) At the American Center; library. The American Center; library has lots of school catalogs in their library. Note: If you get an application from the American Center; library; ensure that it is for the correct year. Applications often change and it looks very sloppy to use an application from a previous year.

3) By sending a letter or email to the school. If you request a school to send you information be sure to request that the mail 1) an application for international students, 2) financial aid information for international students, 3) a catalog. It may be helpful to indicate in your letter that Internet access in Burma is very slow and that you are thus unable to use the Internet to get this information.

How many schools should you apply to?

It is expensive and time consuming to apply to college. Moreover, many schools only offer admission once per year. Nor are there any guarantees that anyone school will accept you. With that in mind, it is wise to apply to several schools to maximize your chances for success. It is also good to apply to a “safe school” – that is, a school for which you easily meet the admissions requirements.

On the other hand, many schools require special essays, application fees generally are $35 to $50 each, and you will need to send each school official copies of documents and TOEFL scores. For these reasons, you will probably want to limit the amount of schools to which you apply. At a minimum, I would apply to three schools.

May you get there soon...
~~~~~Best luck with your searching and endurance~~~~~
Great thanks to Maran Zau Seng who leaded me to master those steps.