FAQ

Q：When shall I arrange visa formalities at embassy after admission?
A：

Students who come to United States for the first time shall arrange the visa within 120 days before the registration date. June, July and August are the busy period for visa application. Therefore, it is recommended to appoint for the visa application in mid-to-late May.

What kinds of visa are required to study in the United States?

There are two types of visa to study in the United States: "F" and "M" visas. "F" visa is issued to the students for academic study in the United States, i.e. "F1" visa. "M" visa is granted to the students for non-academic or vocational study.

Q：What materials shall be prepared for visa application?
A：

Valid passport

Confirmation page of Form DS-160; Site (online filling): http://chinese.usembassy-china.org.cn/ds160instructions.html

1 photo: taken in last 6 months, 2”X2” (51 mm x 51 mm), color Front view on the square white background

Two-couplet receipt of visa fees from CITIC Bank

Form I-20

Q：How much does it cost to study in the United States?
A：

Tuitions of American universities are quite different depending on the type, level and geographical location of the university. In general, the tuition of private universities is more than $ 25,000/year, and for the famous private universities such as Harvard, Williams and Yale, the tuition is up to $ 40,000/year. The tuition of public universities is typically $15,000 to $20,000/Year. In addition to tuition, students also have to pay about $10,000/year for living expenses. However, the top-level American universities generally offer a certain scholarship to international students. In addition, the universities may also provide the job opportunities to students.

After the beginning of the study abroad, the elite education in the United States can help you to get used to the campus life as soon as possible, enter the mainstream of American society and outcompete in the workplace after four years of study!

Q：What conditions shall be met for the undergraduate application for American universities?
A：

Generally, the following basic conditions shall be met for the Chinese students to successfully apply for the undergraduate courses in the United States:

1) Completion of senior high school education or equivalent in China;

2) A certain level of English (TOEFL and other test scores); preparatory course is available in case of no score or unqualified score;

3) Application materials requested by U.S. universities

Q：Can GRE score be used instead of SAT?
A：
Theoretically, yes. However, GRE is much more difficult than SAT. Most universities do not give additional points to applicant’s due to GRE score, and SAT score is also an important determining factor for scholarship. Therefore, it is not recommended for senior high school students to study GRE.

Q：When does the term of American universities begin? When does the application start?
A：
For the most U.S. universities, the international students may be admitted only for fall semester. Applications for fall admission shall generally start at least 1 year in advance. Of course, the spring semester admission is available for some universities, but the quota is limited. As large amount of information shall be provided before the application is submitted, the preparation period may also be extended to two years.

Q：What qualities of students are valued by American universities?
A：
Admission to U.S. universities differs from that of China in that it does not measure the performance of student by the score of one test or one kind of test. What the American universities are valued are the performance and overall quality of students throughout their senior high school. The academic performance, rankings, and the scores of standardized tests (SAT / ACT) in senior high school are the key factors. The important personal awards are also valued by the elite universities in United States. Essay writing (including the personal statement), the letter of recommendation from teacher, TOEFL score, individual extra-curricular activities, interests and internship, etc., are all important determining factors for the admission.

Q：Is it difficult to be admitted by American universities?
A：
It is not too difficult for ordinary American universities, with the admission rate generally about 30%. However, the admission rate of top 50 US elite universities, especially for international students, is very low, because there are too many applicants. So the pressure of competition is very high.

Q：What is the admission standard for American universities? How is the admission decision made?
A：
During the admission process, the admission officers at American universities will comprehensively examine the students' ability to learn, social activities, leadership, and personal characters, in conjunction with the letters of recommendation and the essays written by the applicants, before making a decision. Generally, the admission of American universities is managed by the admission committee which consists of the special organization responsible for the admission of international students. Admission decisions are generally made in the following forms: 1) panel recommendation and vote by committee; 2) the full-time staff responsible for the admission of international students conducts the admission and the chairman of committee has the veto power; 3) the materials not passing the review by the full-time staff responsible for the admission of international students shall be submitted to the panel for reconsideration.

Q：If the application were rejected
A：

Students who apply for studying abroad in America can be upset naturally when they receive the rejected information from American universities, especially from their chosen universities. The depression may last for a while sometimes. Nevertheless, we still suggest these students not to call or write any letter or e-mail to enquire the reason for being rejected. Instead, give yourself a little more time to transit and do some remedial measures trying to reverse the situation.

Suggestion One: Don’t face the fact alone that the application has been rejected

Applying for American universities is hard. It’s not easy for admission officers either to pick the favorable applicants out of the applications from all over the world. If you are rejected, don’t face the result alone, which may make it harder to regain the confidence and optimism while being useless for preparing another application again. You may analyze the reason for the rejection with your parents, teachers or consultants to make adjustments and prepare applications for other universities.

Suggestion Two: Write a testimonial to the university

Though your application is failed, you can still write a testimonial e-mail to the teacher who informed you to thank him/her and the university. The contents of the e-mail don’t need to be complex. Just express your gratefulness concisely for your application documents being reviewed. Maybe the teacher who informed you will tell you some information and suggestions about the application by the way.

Suggestion Three: Make sure your application documents are complete

If you think that your application was rejected for the document incompleteness or missing, you can ask the university’s admission office politely whether they have received your application, whether the application is incomplete, or that you need to add some documents like subsequent scores in school or a letter of recommendation. After the university allows you to supplement the application, you’ll need to send the additional documents to the specified address. Send a reminder if there are other important documents to make sure the university can evaluate them completely again.

Suggestion Four: Make sure the admission committee didn’t send the rejection letter wrong

Sometimes the admission committee of a US university may send a wrong rejection letter. You may confirm your personal information or the area of specialization with the university to make sure your application was not wronged. Pay attention to your attitude and manners. The attitude of questioning will not work definitely.

Suggestion Five: Look for the feedback on your application

Some American universities provide feedbacks on rejection by the form of phone call, e-mail or letter for the students who failed. You may ask your university for such information. After receiving the information, promote and improve your application based on the feedback instead of arguing about the rejection. Remember to thank the teacher who sends you the feedback information!

Suggestion Six: Try to apply again

If you still can improve or complete your application with new documents after being rejected, you may ask the university’s admission committee if you can apply again. If yes, don’t waste the chance, which is really rare.

Suggestion Seven: Keeping a good mindset is the most important thing

Being rejected once doesn’t mean the final failure. Losing one time doesn’t mean you will lose all the time either.

• Get informed of the new trend of admission

• Be familiar with the admission policy & application process of elite universities

• Understand the detailed method in various applying steps

The students who first come to the United States will face a lot of life problems and unfamiliar conditions.

EduElite in the United States provides the overseas students with the professional and complete landing service, and helps students to solve all the problems which cannot be solved by domestic intermediaries.