Pursuing undergraduate degree in the USA

Excellent international reputation and recognition worldwide, superior quality of education, vast cultural diversity, flexible degrees and practical oriented learning experience are some of the reasons why acquiring an American degree is becoming popular among students. One can easily be flabbergasted by the sheer number of certified colleges / universities the U.S. advanced education framework offers.

Bachelor’s degrees in the United States are regularly intended to be finished in four years of full-time study – including 120 semester credits or around 40 school courses. The expression “college degree” is also commonly referred to as “Bachelor’s or Traditional four-year degree” in the USA. Whereas under engineering or architecture departments some courses can even take five years, and some universities and colleges allow aspiring apprentices to complete the course of study within three years owing to the help offered by summer school where they conduct numerous classes each semester or who have existing courses from college diplomas acquired in their home countries or International School course exams. Some colleges and universities have a separate academic track known as an “honors” or “scholars” program, generally offered to the top students based on GPA acquired. These programs are more challenging as they offer a vigorous curriculum which includes individual seminars or research projects instead of a standardized curriculum. These students are awarded Bachelor’s Degrees but Bachelor’s Degree with Honors is often mentioned on their transcripts.

The education curriculum offered by US Universities allow students to pursue a specialized course according to their passion right from the second year of the Bachelor’s Degree unlike the degrees offered by Indian Education System and many universities making an exception while talking about Engineering Degrees. Their four-year Bachelor’s Degree is broken majorly in two sections – The first year is a general program and from the second year the student specializes in their area of chosen interest again making exception of certain professional programs such as Pharmacy, Architecture, Medicine etc. The programs focus on practical oriented education rather than only focusing on theory giving students plenty of opportunities to build and sharpen their skills at an early age through presentations, workshops, seminars, experiment’s, research projects etc.

The popular courses to study in USA at the Undergraduate Level:

• Business
• Engineering
• Biological and Biomedical Sciences
• Health Professional and Related Programs
• Psychology
• Education
• Social Sciences and History

Baring these few popular programs mentioned above there are still a wide range of specializations one can chose from such as Law, Sports and its related programs, Pharmaceutical Sciences etc.

Application Process – Undergraduate Bachelor Degree Courses in USA:

Pre-Application Process:

• Choose right universities: Max 7 – 10 Universities are more than enough.
• Check whether you are eligible to apply.
• Application forms along with Deadlines.

Application Requirements:

• Academic Records: 8 – 11th / 12th Transcripts and Attested Mark sheets.
• Entrance Standardized Tests: SAT – I (provided by The College Board) and TOEFL (provided by ETS) / IELTS (provided by British Council / IDP). SAT – II is not commonly asked for by Universities.  ACT also may be given in case of SAT – I although SAT – I is most commonly preferred examinations among Indian Students.
• Letter of Recommendations (LORs): 3 signed by Professors / Teachers on the letterheads of the institution.
• Statement of Purpose (SOP):  Stating your career goal, reasons for choosing this particular specialization, your academic profile etc.
• Financials: Very few universities do ask at this stage.
• Interviews: Rarely applicable

Timelines:

• SAT – I: Is only conducted 6 times in a year hence one should be ready either in May or then in October of the previous academic year that the student intends to join.
• TOEFL / IELTS: Should be given before or after the SAT – 1 Exam.
• Academic Records / LORs / SOP: Should be ready around October of the previous academic semester that the student intends to join.
• Application Deadlines: Mostly done through the Common Applications Portals which starts from October – December of the previous academic semester that the student intends to join.

How we can assist:

1. Coaching SAT + TOEFL / IELTS
2. Country and Course selection
3. Setting up the timelines
4. Personalized SOP and LOR drafting based on the student inputs (Provide Questionnaires to the students to fill)
5. Assistance for University-specific requirements (Scholarship Essays, Personal Statements)
6. Profile Review for University Shortlisting
7. University shortlisting based on Job Prospects, Cost of Living along with the guidance of best-suited options
8. University application assistance
9. Assistance in preparing Financial documents for university applications.
10. In-house Education Loan Team
11. Filling up of Visa application along with preparation (Mock Interviews) and review of the required documents for Visa process.
12. We can also help you connect with other students in the university you choose as well as information on foreign exchange, booking of flights etc.

Related: Visa Interview Myths  and Study Abroad Visa Process
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Ms. Nisha Rao

Sr. Counselor

Imperial Overseas Educational Consultants