Last Updated on 2020-12-07 by ppcguybklyn
Coming to the United States for a master's degree is the choice of many people who have plans and dreams of studying abroad. But with so many schools in the US, which one is the most suitable? Apart from school rankings, are there other important school concerns? In this article, based on my experience studying abroad, I will discuss how to choose a school in the United States.
The goal of studying abroad is to find a job or just study
Studying abroad is not an easy decision, especially the large amount of living expenses and tuition fees. So, before starting to choose a school, the most important thing is to figure out what our goal of studying abroad is. Do you want to seek better career development opportunities in the United States? Or do you just want to study to improve yourself and then return to your country and work there? I would suggest that those who are still considering whether to go abroad should first think through this issue, and then start investing in various preparations for studying abroad so that they will not be at a loss after coming to the United States and do not know the next step. This article is based on my own experience so it will be based on the consideration of job-seeking-oriented school selection.
Is the pandemic raging US still suitable for international students?
After determining our goal of studying abroad, the next question we have to face is: Is the United States, which is raging by the COVID-19 pandemic, still worth the money for international students to study? This issue alone is enough to write a whole article to discuss, I will try to make the long story short.
I think if you want to purely study and experience foreign life, the current environment in the United States is indeed not suitable for studying abroad. Because it is very possible to apply for a prestigious school in a big city but the school does not provide physical courses. The major cities in the United States are still semi-closed, and the quality of life may be very different from the imagined American life. So people who just want to study purely may have to wait and see for a while, and it's not too late to start preparing after everything is stable.
If the purpose of studying abroad is to come to the United States to search for jobs, then the pandemic will not have much impact on finding a job after graduation. There are still many companies recruiting talents. At the same time, if the United States has a way to stabilize the pandemic in the next year, then there will be more job opportunities. Almost all the jobs that master graduates can apply for can also work remotely, so as long as you can be sure that your academic and work experience can stand out from the competition, it is very feasible to study in the United States at this time and then stay and find a job. Another point to consider when applying for a job in the U.S. is whether you plan to live for a long time and immigrate. If so, you must study what kind of visa you should use after graduation, how to apply for a green card after you work, etc. If you can do more research on this issue before coming to the United States, you can save a lot of effort in the future.
After talking about so many premises, we are finally able to formally discuss how to choose a school. As mentioned earlier, the following school selection considerations are all based on the goal of finding a job in the United States. I think the most important conditions are the following four points:
Concern 1: The city where the school is located
To apply for a job in the United States, the location of the school where you graduated is very important. Some small and medium-sized enterprises will almost only hire graduates from local schools. If your school is in a relatively small area and no other large companies besides the school, It’s a bit harder to find a job after graduation. Therefore, when choosing a school, you must first investigate whether there are enough opportunities in the job market near the school in the industry you are interested in.
The following are the larger job markets in the United States:
Finance and Marketing: New York City
Entertainment, Media, and Gaming: Los Angeles
Technology and Startups: San Francisco, Seattle, Austin
Others (High population with more opportunities): Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston
Of course, it does not mean that only these cities can find jobs in the above industries. For the marketing industry I work in, there are relatively no geographical restrictions on related job vacancies. As long as the population of a city is large enough, there are very likely to have more job opportunities.
Concern 2: Ranking
Although in terms of job hunting, academic qualifications are relatively unimportant. However, if the school you choose is well-known, you still have certain advantages when looking for a job. The higher-ranked schools are usually larger schools in the local area. When you spray and pray, you will have a better chance to meet alumni who graduated from the same school and increase your chances of receiving interview invitations.
If it’s hard to apply to a higher-ranked university due to a lower GPA, Toefl or GRE/GMAT, you can consider looking for a school that is very active and wants to increase the school’s ranking, Because the employment status of graduates is one of the important determinants of the school’s ranking, these schools usually provide employment counseling resources such as mock interviews, resume revisions, corporate visits, etc., to ensure that the students can get a job. Schools that have these resources and are not badly ranked can be given priority when choosing schools.
Concern 3: Alumni network
In addition to location, ranking, and employment counseling resources, another important school selection condition is whether the school has an excellent alumni network. In the United States, networking is a very important method of job hunting, and for those of us who have no connections in the United States but want to find a job by this method, we must take the initiative to contact outstanding alumni in the same field.
Usually, alumni are more willing to help the graduates of their school introduce jobs or provide some suggestions. So when choosing a school, first use the Internet and Linkedin to investigate the employment status of the alumni of this school in the industry they are interested in. After enrollment, you can expand your network by getting to know these alumni. It will be an advantage to find a job after graduation.
Concern 4: Scholarship
The last point is very realistic, and that is whether the school can provide scholarships. Studying in the United States is not a cheap thing, so as long as there is any financial help in the process of studying abroad, it should be given priority to accept. If several schools with similar conditions offer offers at the same time, then I think the key to the final decision must be the number of scholarships.
Conclusion
Whether it’s for job hunting or pure study, choosing the school that suits you best as a place to study abroad is a very tedious task. You must have a very clear goal and selection criteria to make yourself capable of making the most favorable decision in the future.
