STUDY IN THE US

As the home of nearly one in every five universities in the World University Rankings, the US remains the world's leading destination for international students.
In 2009, 660,581 non-US students – around 18% of the total number of students studying abroad – studied in the United States.
Of course, it’s not just educational quality that draws students in. Whether you’re drawn to the bright lights and fast pace of the big city or miles and miles of unspoiled wilderness; sun-kissed beaches or lush forests; the rustic and traditional or the sleek and modern, this huge and massively diverse country will be able to deliver.

The sheer volume and variety of educational establishments also means that you can be pretty confident of finding a suitable institution in your preferred surroundings. And if you don’t get it right the first time, moving between universities is not uncommon in the US.
American undergraduate degrees last four years. You will spend the first two studying a wide range of subjects – you can choose which ones, but you will be required to cover certain subject areas set by your university – after which you choose the subject on which you want to focus.

• Federal presidential republic  with bicameral legislature
• President (currently Barack Obama) is both head of state and head of government
• Capital city is Washington DC, but biggest city by population is New York, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago
• Consists of 50 states – all but two of which make up the US mainland along with the District of Columbia (the DC in Washington DC) – as well as the unoccupied Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, and five overseas territories (people who live there are US citizens but cannot vote)
• World’s biggest economy by far, with a GDP of over US$15 trillion (a trillion is a million million in case you’re struggling to get your head round that)
• World’s number one destination for international students
• Biggest spender on defence in the world, spending more than six times more than China, the next biggest spender, in 2010
• Either the third or the fourth biggest country in the world, depending on who you ask…
• National sports include American football, basketball and baseball, with ice hockey popular in northern states
• Formerly part of the British empire, until gaining independence in the late 18th century
• Currency is United States dollar, symbol: $
• Time zones vary from UTC-5 (-4 in summer) to UTC -10
• International dialling code is +1

New York

As well as the Big Apple and the City That Never Sleeps, New York is sometimes called the ‘Capital of the World’.
Few other cities conjure up as many instant associations, be it the skyscrapers that serve as towering monuments to the city’s financial power, the legendary music and fashion scenes, the bright lights and glitz of Broadway or something else altogether; everyone has their own sense of the city, be it from experience or otherwise.
There is no shortage of quality universities either, the best known of which are Columbia (ranked 10 in the QS World University Rankings) and New York University (44).

Boston

Boston is famous for its universities, which include (we’re cheating a bit and counting Cambridge, MA as part of Boston) Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – ranked second and third in the world in 2011.
If you enjoy being surrounded by the best and the brightest, then you can’t really do much better. Fittingly, it can also offer plenty by way of arts and culture too, particular when it comes to contemporary classical music. It’s not all serious academia and highbrow culture though: Boston is renowned for its pubs and bars, and its fondness for sports.

Chicago

In terms of wealth, population, and cultural impact, Chicago only lags behind the behemoths that are New York and Los Angeles. From a distance, it appears to be a sterile mass of imposing skyscrapers, but underneath all that glass, metal and concrete is a living breathing city, known for its lively mixture of cultures, its vibrant live music scene and nightlife, and its thriving intellectual life.
The University of Chicago finished 8th in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, with Northwestern (just outside the city) at 24th, not a long way behind – and there are plenty more quality institutions too…

San Francisco Bay Area

In UC Berkeley and Stanford (ranked 21st and 11th respectively) , the San Francisco Bay Area is home to two of the world’s most prestigious and best known universities. The intellectual might of this pair has massively contributed to this area’s wealth, which is largely founded on the technology hub that is Silicon Valley.
San Francisco itself, and the branch of the University of California which shares its name, is also known for its groundbreaking biomedical research. Add mild weather, a liberal outlook to life and a solid party culture, and you can see the appeal for yourself… (Read an international student's guide to the Bay Area here.)

Los Angeles

Los Angeles will forever be primarily defined by the creative industries on which its wealth is founded: music, television, and – most of all – film. Other things that might leap to mind when you think of the city are the bright Californian sun, beaches, and the perpetual pursuit of the body beautiful – after all, this is the home of ‘Muscle Beach’.
But if you’d rather be exercising your mind than your body, there are plenty of prestigious universities, including UCLA – 34th in the 2011 QS World University Rankings. Worth a look if you’re into star-spotting too!

Practical Information

Fees and financial aid

In terms of fees, universities in the US do not tend to differentiate between domestic and international students (domestic students studying at public universities in the state in which they live do pay less though).
Fees do, however, vary significantly from university to university. One thing is certain though – it won’t be cheap.
However, there’s a good chance you will not have to pay the full figure. Universities in the US are known to offer substantial discounts, grants and scholarships.
If you want to get an idea of what financial aid you’re eligible for, use the ‘net price calculator’ on the website of the university in which you’re interested (all institutions are required to offer this service).

Applications

You will need to apply directly to the institution(s). If you are accepted you’ll be entered into an international student database, and sent a copy of the information stored on this, which you will need to check for accuracy.
It’s also important to ensure that you pay the fee (the SEVIS I-901 fee) for this database service, which will be US$200.

Visas

You will then be ready to apply for your F-1 non-immigrant visa. In order to obtain this you will need to arrange an interview at your local US embassy, following the process below.

• Pay the MRV fee of US$140 (the embassy will tell you where you should pay this).
• Complete a DS-160 form online, uploading a photograph.
• Bring your acceptance letter, proof you’ve paid all the fees and filled in the right forms, and a passport which doesn’t expire until six months after you complete your degree to the interview.
• The decision will be in the hands of the consular officer. Their decision will hinge on three things: whether you can financially support yourself, whether you can show you can and want to return home after  graduating (getting a work visa is a whole different process), and whether you can prove your academic results to date.
• The last of these may involve you proving your proficiency in English. You will also have to provide proof of this to your university at the application stage.
• Additional demands will be made if you have a criminal record, or you’re an expert in certain areas of science and technology.
• You can receive your visa a maximum of 120 days before your course’s start date – but processing can take place before this date. You cannot actually enter the country until 30 days before the beginning of your course, unless you have a visitor visa. This last stipulation also applies to those who would normally not require a visa for short stays in the US.

America's Top Colleges

Rank            School Name           State           Cost        Total Student Population

1  

Princeton University

New Jersey $53,934 7,813

2  

Williams College

Massachusetts $57,141 2,126

3  

Stanford University

California $57,755 19,945

4  

University of Chicago

Illinois $59,950 14,979

5  

Yale University

Connecticut $58,250 11,875

6  

Harvard University

Massachusetts $56,000 27,392

7  

United States Military Academy

New York N/A 4,624

8  

Columbia University in the City of New York

New York $59,208 26,050

9  

Pomona College

California $55,319 1,586

10  

Swarthmore College

Pennsylvania $55,895 1,545

11  

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts $55,270 10,894

12  

University of Notre Dame

Indiana $55,257 12,004

13  

Amherst College

Massachusetts $56,898 1,791

14  

Bowdoin College

Maine $56,540 1,778

15  

Washington and Lee University

Virginia $54,843 2,193

16  

Wellesley College

Massachusetts $55,300 2,502

17  

University of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania $57,360 24,832

18  

California Institute of Technology

California $54,090 2,231

19  

Brown University

Rhode Island $56,150 8,768

20  

Vassar College

New York $57,385 2,386

21  

Wesleyan University

Connecticut $58,371 3,202

22  

Northwestern University

Illinois $58,829 20,959

23  

Claremont McKenna College

California $57,865 1,321

24  

Duke University

North Carolina $57,325 15,427

25  

Colby College

Maine $55,400 1,815

26  

Boston College

Massachusetts $56,728 14,754

27  

Haverford College

Pennsylvania $57,712 1,198

28  

Harvey Mudd College

California $57,968 784

29  

Colorado College

Colorado $52,150 2,043

30  

Davidson College

North Carolina $52,498 1,755

31  

Carleton College

Minnesota $56,340 2,018

32  

Tufts University

Massachusetts $56,600 10,777

33  

Vanderbilt University

Tennessee $58,554 12,836

34  

Dartmouth College

New Hampshire $58,638 6,144

35  

United States Air Force Academy

Colorado N/A 4,413

36  

University of Virginia-Main Campus

Virginia $48,980 24,297

37  

Rice University

Texas $50,171 6,224

38  

Georgetown University

District of Columbia $58,125 17,130

39  

Kenyon College

Ohio $55,680 1,658

40  

College of William and Mary

Virginia $47,804 8,200

41  

College of the Holy Cross

Massachusetts $54,358 2,905

42  

Middlebury College

Vermont $57,050 2,507

43  

United States Naval Academy

Maryland N/A 4,576

44  

Whitman College

Washington $52,856 1,596

45  

University of California-Los Angeles

California $54,434 39,271

46  

Emory University

Georgia $55,992 13,893

47  

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina $41,140 29,137

48  

Colgate University

New York $55,570 2,964

49  

Lafayette College

Pennsylvania $55,720 2,478

50  

University of California-Berkeley

California $55,510 36,137

51  

Cornell University

New York $57,125 21,131

52  

Bryn Mawr College

Pennsylvania $55,714 1,785

53  

Wake Forest University

North Carolina $56,236 7,351

54  

Scripps College

California $56,700 985

55  

Brandeis University

Massachusetts $56,416 5,828

56  

Bucknell University

Pennsylvania $57,140 3,635

57  

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Michigan $50,352 42,716

58  

Barnard College

New York $58,078 2,438

59  

Sewanee: The University of the South

Tennessee $43,418 1,557

60  

Centre College

Kentucky $45,100 1,309

61  

Wabash College

Indiana $43,050 910

62  

Union College

New York $56,050 2,220

63  

Grinnell College

Iowa $51,844 1,693

64  

Hamilton College

New York $55,270 1,864

65  

Kalamazoo College

Michigan $46,732 1,375

66  

Smith College

Massachusetts $55,993 3,162

67  

Johns Hopkins University

Maryland $57,442 20,996

68  

Reed College

Oregon $55,700 1,474

69  

Carnegie Mellon University

Pennsylvania $57,520 11,531

70  

Connecticut College

Connecticut $57,270 1,903

71  

Washington University in St Louis

Missouri $58,901 13,908

72  

Santa Clara University

California $55,797 8,800

73  

University of Richmond

Virginia $54,460 4,348

74  

Occidental College

California $58,343 2,132

75  

Oberlin College

Ohio $57,268 2,978

76  

Bates College

Maine $57,350 1,769

77  

Mount Holyoke College

Massachusetts $55,496 2,362

78  

Macalester College

Minnesota $53,315 2,005

79  

DePauw University

Indiana $48,800 2,352

80  

University of Florida

Florida $41,534 49,589

81  

Wheaton College (MA)

Massachusetts $54,564 1,622

82  

Hillsdale College

Michigan N/A N/A

83  

Villanova University

Pennsylvania $54,520 10,661

84  

Skidmore College

New York $56,500 2,730

85  

Lawrence University

Wisconsin $48,671 1,487

86  

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Illinois $41,770 44,407

87  

University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Washington $41,543 42,444

88  

George Washington University

District of Columbia $57,148 25,260

89  

Trinity College

Connecticut $57,575 2,393

90  

Willamette University

Oregon $50,402 2,968

91  

St Lawrence University

New York $55,390 2,457

92  

Southwestern University

Texas $45,340 1,347

93  

Brigham Young University

Utah $16,588 34,101

94  

Franklin and Marshall College

Pennsylvania $56,580 2,363

95  

University of Southern California

California $57,876 38,010

96  

Furman University

South Carolina $53,096 3,028

97  

New York University

New York $58,858 43,911

98  

Boston University

Massachusetts $56,842 32,439

99  

Wheaton College (IL)

Illinois $39,996 3,069

100  

University of Rochester

New York $56,760 10,290