About US Universities The US Undergraduate Landscape Higher education in the United States follows a liberal arts model of education, emphasizing the broad-based study of various disciplines (like the sciences, the humanities and the arts) as well as an in-depth understanding of your chosen field of study, or major. At most public and private research universities — whether you go on to study Engineering at MIT, Economics at UC Berkeley or Comparative Literature at Harvard — you will be required to take a few classes that teach you foundational knowledge in writing and quantitative reasoning. Liberal Arts Colleges Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs) focus on teaching the liberal arts and sciences. They are usually undergraduate-focused, and do not offer graduate programmes. Classes at LACs tend to be smaller and more discussion-based owing to the small cohort sizes. Public Universities Public Universities (or state schools) are publicly funded. They offer lower tuition rates for state residents and are typically very large, comprising over 10,000 students. They are often made up of multiple campuses (like the University of California campuses, for example). Private Universities Private Universities are not publicly funded and unlike liberal arts colleges, they do offer graduate programmes. They usually only have one campus, and are typically quite research-focused. The Ivy League schools are all private universities. What do I need to get into a Top University? Universities in the US will consider both academic and non-academic factors in making their admissions decisions. You are required to demonstrate competency and skill in both aspects. Academic Requirements Non-Academic Requirements How do I apply to US Universities? Step 1 University Choice Decide which universities you want to apply to. You should consider not just rankings, but other factors that contribute to student experience like location, design of curriculum, size of classes etc. You should also decide whether you want to apply via Early Action / Early Decision (deadline: 1 November) or via Regular Decision (deadline: early January). Step 2 Creating Accounts You need to create an account on an application portal in order to submit your university applications. There are three common portals used in university admissions: Step 3 SAT Scores Many US universities will allow you to self-report your SAT or ACT scores in your application. You can also send your SAT scores directly to colleges via the College Board website. You can send your ACT scores to colleges via the ACT website. Step 4 College Essays Write and submit your college essays. Each university will require supplemental essays and will have university-specific prompts of a few hundred words each. Step 5 Honors and Activities List Craft and submit your Honors and Activities List. In this section of your application, you should provide information about your academic, extracurricular, and work commitments and accomplishments. Step 6 Recommendation Letters Contact your teachers and request your letters of recommendation. Most universities will require two recommendation letters that are academic in nature and one recommendation letter that is non-academic in nature (written by your School Counselor / Form Teacher / Civics Tutor / etc.). When are the application deadlines? There are two application cycles in US university admissions — Early Action or Early Decision, and Regular Decision. Early Action / Early Decision Most Early Action/ Early Decision deadlines fall on November 1st of the year that you are applying in. Regular Decision The Regular Decision deadline for most universities is the first week of January in the year that you will be enrolling in. Exceptions Some public universities offer only one round of admission, with different deadlines for different systems (e.g. November 30th for the University of California system). Is there any benefit to applying early? Applying early indicates to schools that they are your top choice. The most recent statistics show that there is a distinct benefit to applying early — in some cases, close to 50% of a university’s cohort is filled by early applicants.
