An intro to 'Murica!

America~~~~~~~~ the land of the free
except for college education

A lot of people don't actually know what the US university's admission process is about, much less the whole US education system. Most of the parents in Malaysia can only stereotype based on what they see on media. Much partying, much booze, much guns and not much studying, hence it has been frowned upon by those who prefer the more academically rigorous UK education system. But US is more than just a 'wild country', it is also an intellectual hotbed where many of the latest advancement in technology and most of the startups were founded. Going to the US to study is slowly gaining traction in Malaysia with the emergence of the IB (International Baccalaureate) and ADP (American Degree Transfer Programs). But first, what does a US education looks like?

Curriculum: 

The curriculum of the US higher education is different from those offered in the UK. Most of the universities employ a liberal arts first year where you can happily just go and join as many classes you want and gain credits according to the number of hours you attended. The lecture and tutorial system is about the same but the exams are more spread out. 

Types of Universities:

First of all, before everything else, we need to know what are the types of US universities out there. There are mainly two big groups - state schools and private schools. State schools usually have the name of the state attached to them such as the University of California Berkeley, however some of the private schools name themselves after their state as well. Besides, state schools offer lower tuition fees to the residents of their state, thus making it more popular and thus bigger than most of the private schools. State schools are usually more diverse and vibrant due to this, although private schools might offer a more close-knitted community and more focus on the students.

Under this umbrella of state and private schools, we have different types of schools in the US. First of all, we have the normal universities. Then we also have the technical schools like MIT or Caltech with an emphasis on the technology (Institute of Technology duh). Community colleges are universities that provides 2 years of an undergrad education, after which students can further their studies to get their degree by transferring to a normal college just like Malaysia's ADP program. Last but not least, we have the liberal art colleges, which employs the Socratic method - or in simple terms, focus on discussions and debate. People study exotic subjects in the liberal arts such as oriental tea-making and end up with a degree specializing in, well, the liberal arts. Liberal arts has been well known to produce well rounded graduates but they usually don't show up in higher education rankings due to the lack of research work.

Of course there is also the Ivy League - a group of eight old, distinguished colleges and universities in the East, known for their ivy-covered brick buildings. The members of the Ivy League are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale Universities; Dartmouth College; and the University of Pennsylvania. They used to compete in an American Football league together, but now they are the cream of the crop of higher education in the US. We also call some top schools like Stanford "Ivy-standard".

US Universities Admissions:

It might be known by some people that US admissions is very 'Mafan' (troublesome). First you have to take the admission test known as SAT and/or ACT. Not to mention the English Proficiency test TOEFL or IELTS. Not to mention the essays. Or the recommendations. It sounds like a ton of work, and it is. You also have different school using different portals and having different requirements in which you have to individually fulfill. So yes, going to US to study is not for the faint-hearted. You need to be committed in order to prevail. More on these on the next few posts.

Besides that, US universities looks for something that is different from what the UK universities are looking for. UK unis typically only wants an essay from your teacher, a recommendation from your lecturer and your grades. Nothing more. US unis however want to know you as a human being. The more functional you are, the more likely you'll get admitted. Perfect grades doesn;t mean anything to them. A keyword here is 'holistic'.

holisticcharacterized by the belief that the parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

The US university admissions process is a mystifying one. Your application will be judged by a small team of admission officers, who reads through tens of thousands of such applications every admission cycle. My definition of holistic is thus, make your application stand out while being humble and true to yourself. If it happens that in your application year, there were a lot of applicants who wrote about their solo performances, and you wrote about yours too, then your application will be downgraded; if the universities need swimmers and you happened to represent your nation in synchronized swimming, you will immediately enter. There is sort of an element of luck in the whole application process. 

Finances and living costs:

Here is another factor that potential students might worry. Actually most of the top schools in the US are so rich that they don't really care if you are paying fees or not. The endowment given by their alumni is just too much! Here we have two categories of schools, those that are need-blind, which views your admission and your finances separately; and need-aware which sees your finances as part as your application. Hence you must be careful to apply for cash in need-aware schools as they will judge your application differently and deliberately. Of course, who would want to immediately accept a student screaming "I need money"? Costs of studying in the US is undoubtedly high, even after financial aid by the universities. This is because financial aid by the universities are calculated based on not just your family income but also your family's property as well, meaning that they might expect you to mortgage your property to finance your studies there. There are a couple of reasons to this: First they value the education you are getting heavily meaning that you can easily repay the debts after you graduate. Secondly, they are simply 大牌 (big card- essentially meaning prestigious) enough to do that. Majority of the students in 'Murica take loans.

There is really no space to talk about the whole US university application process here, but here's to give you a brief run through. I would really recommend anyone who is interested to visit USAPP's website or to just Google and find out more about prospective unis. US offers a wide scope education and for those who couldn't stand another 4 years of their life being chained to the final exam, US might just be the place for you. Also, just before I end, I have to tell you something very important. Life-changingly important: START EARLY !

Any questions? Feel free to ask.