Roadmap to an American University
The American education system is arguably the best in the world. With a plethora of study opportunities, scholarships, subjects, and employment opportunities afterward - the US beats much of the rest of the world in most departments.
So what does it take to make it to an American university? Given the rewarding nature of the eventual admission and the quality of the education on offer, the path to the university can be a complex process.
Here are a few steps you should be mindful of:
The Pre-Admissions Phase: Building Up:
Step 1: Admissions to American Universities is competitive, and goes much beyond your academics. The university is looking for students who have displayed genuine interest in their claimed field of study, and are seeking intensive engagement on your part. This includes building your “profile” up with the relevant activities. These should fulfill the following criteria:
Professional Experience - all your academic interests are bound to have companies and organizations that work around them. It does not matter too much how big they are, whether they are incumbents or start-ups, what matters is that you have worked with them.
Empathy - it does not matter how excellent of a student you are if you do not make attempts to benefit your community. Colleges are seeking students who can confer an empathetic benefit to their college campus as well. This can be in the form of volunteer work, social justice work, etc.
Research Work - universities are, at the end of the day places of research. Research is very distinct from simply studying, and relevant experience within it can go a long way.
Leadership - good students participate in activities, great students start them. It's one thing to join institutions, and another to found them and act as their presidents. Start your passion project - it has the added benefit of you finally pursuing your dreams and impressing a university along the way.
Knowledge Beyond the Classroom - to display genuine interest in your claimed academic area of expertise, you must go much beyond your classroom to become adept at it. This includes reading books, online courses, and summer programs.
This is a complex and comprehensive list to fulfill - it will not take a year, but multiple ones. This is why it's paramount to start early
The Admissions Phase:
Step 2: At this point, it's important to know that the US Admissions process, or CommonApp, requires a lot of documentation. This includes, and is not limited to:
Though this list may seem relatively small, multiple amounts of these are required per college, on average, around 2 per college. So say you have a list of around 15 Colleges. This makes for a total of 30 documents to be designed by you, which makes thousands and thousands of words. Again, this is why it's important to start early, and we do so at least a year in advance of your application deadline.
The Post Admissions Phase: Keeping an Ear to the Ground
Step 3: Once your application has been submitted, colleges will start emailing you about a month later. Sometimes they seek more documentation, and other times they will send you an additional prompt or supplemental essay to answer - this is referred to as an “indication of continued interest” - so it's important you keep a check on your email and promptly respond to any communications from your college.