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The Realities of Admission: Understanding Options

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The Realities of Admission: Understanding Options

The first step to studying in the USA is to understand the application and admissions process in the U.S. How to apply to colleges and universities in the U.S. is probably very different than the university admissions process in your home country. One big difference is the importance of “fit,” and how fit plays a different role among the 4,000+ U.S. colleges and universities. In this module, you will begin to learn about the U.S. admissions process, including how schools evaluate international applications, U.S. college admission requirements, and how schools decide who to accept (it is not all about SAT or ACT scores like many students think). You will also begin to explore yourself so that you can look beyond the "top" colleges and universities to identify schools based on “fit,” a big step toward being accepted into U.S. colleges and universities.

“It depends.” That is what you’ll hear when asking about the U.S. university admission process. With over 4,000 universities in the United States and no standard application system, the U.S. admission process can be confusing for everyone, but especially for students applying from other countries. This course will help international students (non-U.S. citizens) and non-native English speakers navigate the U.S. university admission process by offering practical information about the documents and pieces that make up a U.S. university application. More importantly, admission officers will discuss how they use those pieces to decide who is accepted and who is denied, so that you can understand the process beyond the pieces. By the end of this course, you will understand application basics that include researching schools, creating a school list, and establishing an application plan. This course will not answer all of your application questions, but it will teach you to ask the right questions of yourself and the universities. Ultimately, you will have all the information you need to start your process the right way, putting you on the path to acceptance. * Please note, while the English Language Programs are part of the University of Pennsylvania, this is not a course about applying to Penn. Furthermore, this course is intended for international students educated in the national curriculum of their country. While other students are welcome to enroll, the course is not intended for American students or students studying in an American, International Baccalaureate, or Advanced Placement curriculum. The course is also intended for students who do not have access to university counseling – if you attend a school that offers university counseling, your counselor is the best source of information on applying to university. Finally, this course is for undergraduate (Bachelors degree) freshmen (students who have not attended any university) applicants. Undergraduate transfer applicants, students who have attended a university, will find some of the information helpful, but graduate (Masters and Doctoral) applicants will not.

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教学方

Erick Hyde
University Connection Counseling Specialist

脚本

Welcome.

My name is Erick Hyde, the university connection councilor

at the English language programs of the University of Pennsylvania.

And, your guide through this course on applying to US University.

As you work your way through this course,

you're going to learn all about the US application and admission process.

From how schools evaluate applications to how to research colleges and

universities to how to find the right school for you, and much more.

We created applying to US universities especially for international

undergraduate applicants by building the course on the most common questions,

misunderstandings, and myths among international students.

And there are a lot of them.

Before we really get into the course,

we want to share some perspective on one of the biggest misconceptions.

The idea that applying to US universities is a complicated competition

to win an acceptance to a very limited number of top schools.

Because attending one of these schools Is the only way to ensure a bright future.

This idea is mistaken and misguided.

Why do we believe the myths of US admission?

Why do we believe that the US admission process is a competition?

Why do we believe that the process has to be brutal and stressful?

Why do we believe we have such limited options?

The answer is easy.

That's what we're told all the time.

When you look at articles, websites, movies, everything tells us that

admission is an impossible, stressful competition that rarely ends well.

Here's why.

We tend to focus on only the most selective schools.

Schools like the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, and

other familiar names that accept a small fraction of their applicants.

Media helps to create the focus, but its parents friends and

society that reinforce that narrow focus.

When I was a kid my mom bought me a Yale sweatshirt.

I no idea what a Yale was but I wore it.

I didn't go to Yale, but I still remember the sweatshirt.

Take a look at this graphic from the college board.

Trends in college pricing report.

US colleges and

universities are divided according to the percentage of applicants that they accept.

Notice that tiny little sliver there?

That almost invisible 2% of the pie represents schools

that accept less than 25% of their applicants.

Highly selective schools, like the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, and

those other familiar names.

Even if you add in the next piece of the pie,

the 13% of schools that accept between 25% and

49.9% of their applicants,

you are only up to 15% of the school's In the US.

That means 85% of US colleges and universities accept half,

or more than half, of the students that apply to their school.

A lot of time and attention is dedicated to admission at highly selective schools.

And all of that attention feeds the myths.

This graphic always puts thing in perspective by reminding me

that highly selective schools are literally the smallest piece of the pie

even though they get the biggest amount of attention.

Speaking of fighting for a small piece of the pie.

Check out this information specifically about international students.

The Institute of International Education,

IIE, releases an annual report called open doors.

This report provides information about international students studying in the US.

According to the open doors report, 69% of international students in the US

are clustered at only 5% of the schools in the US.

So just over 200 US colleges and universities host a majority

of the international students attending school in the US.

The reality is that the US admission process is what you make it.

If you or your parents choose to focus on the smallest slice of the pie, or

those same 200 plus schools that most international students go to,

then you and your admission experience are falling right into the mitts.

However, if you look beyond the 2%, if you look

beyond those 200 schools, you're going to be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

You're going to see the exciting possibilities that come with a US

education.

Not to mention how easy it is to avoid many of the myths of admission.

Now I'm no fool.

Another reality is that you, possibly encouraged by your parents,

will probably chose to apply to those schools where the competition for

admission is the toughest.

And that is okay.

In fact, as you'll see later on this course,

we encourage students to aim high and apply to highly selective schools.

If those schools are a good fit for you.

What I am asking you to do, is remember that there is a much

bigger piece of the pie that you should also consider.

The good news is that this course will help you,

no matter what type of school you're applying to.

From the most selective, to the least selective.

We're going to help you understand the application and admission process for

them all.

Because the reality is that US colleges and

universities want you as a student and a member of their campus community.

But in the end, you have a choice.

You can choose to enter this process believing the myths about US admission.

You can treat the process like a competition.

You can choose to be anxious and stressed about admission.

Or, you can choose to understand the process.

You can explore the possibilities and treat the process like an adventure.

You can choose to be optimistic and positive about admission.

No matter what, this course is going to help you.

But the choice is yours.

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