As soon as students from other countries enter a school in the United States, they realize that the education system in this country is very different from that in their home countries. Most Commonwealth countries that were earlier under the British Crown, have a “standardized” education system that involves studying a structured set of subjects with very limited options at each grade in school, accompanied by a grading system that is based on evaluation of performance at mid-term and final exams that promotes a student to the next grade. Likewise, admission to college is based on the performance at a single examination at the end of High School.  In contrast, United States does not have a standardized education system. The Credit system of education in United States is followed in very few countries. This system requires that students attain a specific number of credits to graduate from high school and a different number of credits if the student is college bound. The Grade Point Average (GPA) system measures a student’s performance over a period of time and reflects consistency in performance. The combination of Credit system and Grade Point Average system seems to overwhelm students coming to the United States from other countries. They need information not only regarding how many credits they need to graduate, but also the subjects that they need to study in school which should include the right combination of electives that would help them get into a career path and the college of their choice. Additionally, they need an understanding of how Advance Placement subjects contribute differently to the computation of Grade Point Average. They need to know that unlike in other countries; colleges in United States do not give importance to academic performance alone but look for all round development. Hence, the need to participate in extra-curricular activities is emphasized. Their problem does not end here. Unlike most countries where the tuition fees is a fixed amount that a student pays out-of-pocket, the tuition fees actually payable in the United States depends on a large number of parameters such as the status of the student, namely in-state, out -of-state or International, whether the college is a state college or a private college, the income of the student’s family and the computed value of “Expected Family Contribution”, scholarships available and so on. These students definitely need help on these issues.

An important thing that these students need to know are the requirements that they need to fulfill in order to apply for admission to colleges. In the same way that most countries have Central Education Board examinations, the United States of America has the SAT and the ACT. SAT/ACT is a standardized test that a student is required to take, the score of this test being one of the qualifying criteria for admission to almost all colleges in United States. Additionally, the student needs to get recommendation letters from his teachers, prepare a resume which tells the reader all the things that the student has accomplished during the students high school career and attach these to their application for college admission. The final step in the process for completing the college admission application is to submit the above along with the formal college application as a package to the school guidance counselor. The guidance counselor will then attach the high school transcript to the college application and then mail the college application to the college.

Typical College Costs Per year (2 semesters)

*Cost of attendance varies with college e.g. For "Nursing" college, the In-state and Out-of-state costs are approx. $13,000 & $ 26,000 respectively.*

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