Which School is Right for You?

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There are hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. which accept international students who are seeking to earn American bachelor's degrees. So making a choice of which college you would like to join requires you to consider many factors:

Types of Schools
Cost
Admissions Requirements
Available Fields of Study
Accreditation (Be Sure to Read This Section!)

Let's begin by classifying all those hundreds of schools into four basic categories:

1. technical colleges
2. community and junior colleges
3. four-year colleges
4. universities

Technical colleges emphasize practical, hands-on training for specific jobs such as computer repair, secretarial skills, automotive repair, aircraft maintenance, and many other specific job skills. Technical colleges do not emphasize purely academic courses such as literature, history, political science, biology, physics, and the other courses typical of bachelor's degree programs. IT MAY NOT BE NOT WISE TO JOIN A TECHNICAL COLLEGE IF YOUR GOAL IS TO OBTAIN AN AMERICAN BACHELOR'S DEGREE. MOST OF THE COURSES TAUGHT IN A TECHNICAL COLLEGE ARE NOT A PART OF MOST BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAMS.

Community and junior colleges are two-year schools which have a wide range of programs of study. Nearly all community and junior colleges provide the first two years of most bachelor's degree programs, but these schools also provide remedial programs in English and math as well as some of the courses taught in technical colleges. International students who complete the university parallel course work at community and junior colleges receive an Associate's Degree and then are eligible to transfer as a third-year student to a four-year college or university. (Currently about one-third of all international students are beginning their American bachelor's degrees at a community college.)

Four-year colleges are schools which offer bachelor's degrees in many fields of study. International students who successfully complete a bachelor's degree at a four-year college are eligible to transfer to a university where they can pursue Master's Degrees and Ph.D.'s.

Universities offer a wide range of bachelor's degrees and also offer master's degrees and Ph.D.'s. (Nearly two-thirds of the international students in the U.S. begin their bachelor's degrees in a four-year college or a university.)

Some international students pay as little as $10,000 per year for school fees and living expenses. Others pay as much as $40,000 per year to live and study in the U.S. How much you (or your financial sponsor) will have to pay is most affected by two factors:

1. School fees vary greatly from school to school.
2. Living expenses vary a great deal in various parts of the U.S.

In general, school fees are lower at state-supported schools than at privately owned colleges. For example, at a state-supported school in Alabama, school fees might be as low as $2800 per year while private schools in that state might be as high as $28,000 per year. For another example, school fees at a private university such as Harvard or Yale might be as much as $30,000 per year while school fees at a public community college in Florida or Georgia might be as little as $3,000 per year. Remember also that public community colleges are generally less expensive than nearby colleges and universities.

It is also important to remember that the cost-of-living is not the same in all parts of the U.S. In or near very large cities like Boston or New York or Los Angeles, the cost of housing, food, and transportation is much higher than in places that are not so large and well-known. For example, an apartment in Birmingham, Alabama, might rent for $400 per month while the same apartment in Boston might rent for $1,000 per month. Many international students greatly reduce their expenses by living two or three together in one apartment.

When all the costs are accounted for, American bachelor's degrees require from $50,000 to $300,000 over a period of four to five years; and advanced degrees are usually just as expensive. Be sure to find out all the costs of studying at any college you are hoping to join. (Not all colleges have international scholarships, and not all colleges have paying jobs for international students. As a rule, you and your sponsor will have to provide all the financial support for your sojourn in the U.S.)

In order to join any American college you will have to prove to the college that you can meet the admissions requirements of that college. Some colleges have very difficult admissions requirements and may require a great deal more than the requirements described below; however, the following list shows what is required as a minimum by most American schools.

1. You must correctly complete the admissions application form for the college you are seeking to join.

2. You must provide proof that you have the equivalent of an accredited U.S. high school diploma. (It is a good idea to provide certified copies of English language versions and original language versions of all educational certificates, diplomas, and credentials.)
3. You must provide a credible affidavit of financial support.
4. You must present credible proof of sufficient ability with the English language. Usually this means that you will have to sit for the TOEFL exam. Scores of 173 or better on the "computer TOEFL" or scores of 500 or better on the "paper-and-pencil TOEFL" are required.
5. You must have a passport valid for the entire period of your stay in the U.S.
6. You must have valid health and accident insurance as soon as you arrive in the U.S.

Remember the items mentioned above are the minimum requirement for acceptance by an American college. The more famous colleges and universities may have other requirements such as minimum ACT or SAT scores, pre-payment of fees and insurance, and the like.

Once you have successfully completed the required admissions procedures for your intended school, the international student office will issue you INS form I-20. That form certifies to the consular officers at the U.S. Embassy that you have completed all the admissions requirements of your college. (You should not ask the international student advisor to issue an I-20 unless you have completed the process outlined above.)

American college students usually call their field of study a major. Someone studying computer science, for example, will say that his major is computer science. When you are trying to find a college or university, you must be sure that your intended field of study (major) is available at the school you are interested in joining. Unfortunately, not all schools offer all majors; and some schools place more emphasis on some majors than on others.

It usually takes four years to complete an American bachelor's degree. During the first two years there are many general education courses such as English composition, mathematics, history, psychology, laboratory science, literature, public speaking as well as introductory level courses in your major field of study. During the next two years you will take courses in your major and in closely related fields to your major.

Technical colleges do not usually offer most of the general education courses needed for the first two years; and of course they do not offer the third and fourth year courses for such majors as engineering, computer science, pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, business administration, and many other bachelor's degrees.

Community and junior colleges will usually offer the courses needed for the first two years of nearly all the major fields of study. Even a small community or junior college can offer most of the first and second year courses required for most majors. (One of the main attractions of community and junior colleges is that the school fees are quite low compared to four-year colleges and universities. Because the community college does not offer third and fourth year courses the school does not have to invest in the highly paid professors and expensive equipment needed to offer third and fourth year courses. After successfully completing the first two years at the community college, the student transfers as a third year student to a four-year college or university.)

Four-year colleges and universities usually offer all the courses needed for all four years of most bachelor's degrees; however, because the costs of offering third and fourth year courses is quite high, some small four-year colleges may not have the major you are looking for.

American colleges and universities which are properly authorized are said to be "regionally accredited." In other words, an organization such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has reviewed all aspects of a school's operation and has found that school to be maintaining the appropriate standards for a college.

If a school is accredited properly by one of the regional accrediting agencies, the diplomas, transcripts, certificates, and coursework of that school will generally be recognized by all the other schools properly accredited by these regional accrediting agencies. In other words, you will easily be able to transfer from one accredited school to another. If you attend a school which is not regionally accredited, you run the risk of wasting your money on degrees which will not be recognized by the majority of American educational authorities. Below is a list of the accrediting agencies which accredit the vast majority of legitimate American colleges and universities:

• The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
• The New England Association of Colleges and Schools
• The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• The Northwest Association of Colleges and Schools
• The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• The Western Association of Colleges and Schools

There are many privately owned religious colleges and technical colleges which are not accredited by one of the above agencies. Please be sure that you check out the accreditation of a school before you join it. Any work you do at a school which is not regionally accredited may not be recognized if you try to transfer to another American college or university.