First, we will break down different types of universities. According to the source of funds, it can be divided into public universities and private universities. According to the educational philosophy, it can be divided into research universities and liberal arts colleges. Private universities do not have government funding and rely on donations to solve their finances. Although there is no government funding, private universities in the United States are the richest. Because they do not use government funds, they have more academic freedom. However, private universities also have disadvantages. The first is the high cost. The tuition fees of private universities are basically more than 40,000 US dollars, which is a huge expenditure for both American and Chinese families. The second disadvantage is the difficulty of applying. The number of students in private universities is not large. Coupled with the high quality of teaching, the competition for applications is naturally fierce.

 

Public universities rely on federal and state funding to survive. Private universities and public universities can be seen from their names. Private universities are generally named after their founders: Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Stanford. Public universities are generally the University of California**, the University of Michigan**, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The advantage of public schools is that they are cheap. The disadvantage is that it is more difficult for foreign students to apply for scholarships than domestic students.

According to the educational philosophy, it can be divided into research universities and liberal arts colleges. Another type of school is a professional university, such as the Juilliard School of Music, Babson School of Business, Rhode Island School of Design, and Cooper Union School of Engineering.

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The first is that there are many schools. There are more than 4,700 universities in the United States. The second is that the campus culture of each school is very different. Some schools are characterized by a large number of students, some are characterized by rich club activities and more social students, and some schools are more literate and youthful, so the students are relatively small and fresh. The third is that there are many standards to measure the level of the school. The teacher-student ratio, alumni donations, the number of professors' papers, the number of majors, laboratory equipment, awards, the number of sports teams, clubs, etc., are all standards to measure the school level. The above factors determine that applying for an American university is a complicated physical task.

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In general, professional settings, cross-department course selection, cross-school course selection, student associations, number of international students, international student employment services, overall employment services/internship opportunities, geographic location, alumni strength in your industry, school reputation, etc. It is an important indicator for judging schools.

Let me talk about professional settings first. You must first pay attention to the quality of the target profession. Go to the website of the department to see which courses are taught in this major and which professors are taught.

Then you have to look at the cross-department course selection requirements of this school. Most schools have requirements in this regard, for example, one semester can not choose more than many credits of foreign courses, and how many foreign courses are required to graduate.

Cross-school course selection is the advantage of studying in a university town. For example, Harvard, MIT, and Tufts University in Boston. Students from these three schools can choose courses from each other's schools. Students from Wesleyan College, Brandeis, MIT, and Babson College can also choose courses from each other's schools. We must fight for such benefits, so we must also consider this factor when choosing a school.

Student associations are also factors to consider when choosing a school. Each university is very proud of its student clubs and will detail which student clubs the school has on its official website. Why is the student club important? The four years of university are the most critical four years for meeting friends and establishing one's initial social connections. Student clubs are the best platform for establishing this connection.

A number of international students. You don't want to go to a school with too many international students, so you lack the feeling of studying abroad. However, if you go to a school with too few international students, this school may be lacking in services related to international students.

International student employment services. Big schools have special international student service centers. You will use it for OPT and job hunting. The staff of many international student service centers in universities have no experience of studying abroad, and they don’t know much about visas and the employment of international students. This is not shown when you first go to school, but when you are close to graduation and looking for a job, it shows the benefits of a university with a good international student service center.

Overall employment services and internship opportunities are indicators to measure the comprehensive competitiveness of this school, and they are also very important. And if a university offers many internship opportunities, your job search will be much smoother.

Geographic location. Geographical location can bring city advantages in addition to the school's own advantages. For example, in Boston mentioned just now, you can choose classes from other schools in the same city to go to school there. Or in New York, you have more opportunities to find internships, jobs, and meet people in the industry.

Alumni power. Alumni in your industry are strong. First of all, these alumni will donate generously to your major. Second, it is easier to find a job in this field after graduation.

The last one is the reputation of the school.

After considering these multiple factors, you have to give your own school selection a gradient. Schools that you need to reach, suit you, or guaranteed to you. The application to a university is a one-year job, and you certainly hope that your application will bear fruit in the end. So don't put all the eggs in one basket.

Finally, look at these schools and ask yourself if you are willing to spend the most important time of 4 years there. If the answer is yes, then congratulations, your school selection is a success.

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The ranking can give you a range during the school selection process, which can be used in the primary selection stage. You can get an approximate school gradient based on the score and ranking. This makes your job easier. But the ranking cannot determine the school you ultimately apply to. First of all, there is absolutely no difference in the schools that are few places worse in the ranking. In addition, rankings are calculated by setting variables and then applying formulas. These variables include the ratings of other university presidents, return to school rate, graduation rate, laboratory scale, number of professors' papers published, alumni donations, number of disciplines, ethnic diversity, teacher-student ratio, etc. Some variables are not very useful to us, or some variables are not important to your profession, so you don't need to rely on the ranking too much.

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Look for professional counselors for help; participate in admissions activities organized by the school, communicate with admissions staff; communicate with previous graduates, sometimes they will give you more insight in the admission process.