It’s been a while! As I transition from working with final year students to the year before final year students in the spring, it seemed like a good time for a blog about what’s going on in the international education world for international students interested in studying in the American universities in 2023 and beyond. If you’re short on time: What does recent research say about international students success after studying in the USA? What is the real cost of university in the USA? How do you tell if applying to university in the USA is for you? Curious where international students who ar ..read more

If you’re a parent trying to learn more about secondary education in the USA so you can best help your student be successful in university, this article is for you. I often get questions from parents concerning whether it’s beneficial for their student to earn an American diploma and then apply to university, or whether they should stay in their home country and then apply directly to undergraduate programs from there. The answer is, it depends. Read on for more... If you’re short on time, here are three big takeaways: In the USA, graduation requirements for secondary school vary by school an ..read more

Happy 2020 everyone! I hope you all has had a great New Year or Lunar New Year! The past few blogs have been really focused on financial aid and paying for school. I have spent years educating students around the world on the reality of studying in the USA and what to expect. While us educators want all the students to study abroad, we often realize that it can be quite unrealistic for some families. I wanted to share a bit of my story for those students who aren’t sure if they can make it work. I’ll still throw some tips in at the end for those wanting to study abroad but struggling with the ..read more

It is college admissions season in the USA! As we get closer to November 1, the official deadline for many universities in the USA, I wanted to revisit some updates on types of decisions and how international students specifically can decide which type of application is best for them. This article will dive into Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision, and we’ll go over some things that are different this year and see what tips international students can use to help increase their chances of getting admitted to their dream university in the USA. College board defines early decision ..read more

Happy back to school! This blog dives into some of the details and questions international students encounter on the Common Application. Many students around the world are getting ready to go back to school in the next month, but here in Florida, we go back to school in early August. That means we are already beginning university planning sessions with final year students. If you’re short on time… The Common Application opens August 1 Many top universities in the USA have November 1 deadlines for students to submit all their applications While there is no centralized system in the USA to appl ..read more

Happy almost Valentine’s Day! Is this holiday celebrated around the world? I actually have no idea which countries do and don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day! Anyways, this is a quick article about getting through the student visa interview process. You can find some great resources online that can help with this, but sometimes it’s nice to just some input outside of the consular or embassy officials. They have very little flexibility in how they answer questions, and I’ve found through working with them that often the answer is, “we can’t speak or answer about a specific student question,” even i ..read more

Yay for summertime! Read on to see how you can prepare to apply to university in the USA this fall… Hopefully, you are enjoying a well deserved summer break right now! It’s been a crazy two years with the pandemic and international study and travel being a mess. I thought this is a good time to share some tips if you want to do some preparation for university this summer, but you don’t know where to start or you are already balancing a busy schedule. There are a few key things you can do to prepare for university for the fall 2023. So if your first question is, when do I start preparing, then ..read more

How likely are you to receive these types of aid as an international student? This blog is all about the different types of scholarships or aid that can help international students pay for school. International students can qualify for quite a few different types of aid to help pay for school. But how likely are they to get these different types of aid? I feel like this is a key piece of information often missing for international students… Of course the answer in short, is that it depends. It depends on the institution - big or small, public or private, two year or four year, large internatio ..read more

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is one of the most common questions we ask children year after year. Once graduating from secondary school is near, this question becomes an important part of your university search and decision. Many university deadlines are quickly approaching or have passed, and students are awaiting decisions and getting ready for the next step - choosing a university and a degree program. But where do you start? Do you dream of writing the next international best-selling novel? Of operating on brains to save lives? Of designing buildings as tall as the Burj Kh ..read more

Read this blog to learn about how much you can expect to spend on university in the USA. It has been entirely too long since my last blog, and for that I apologize. It’s been an insanely busy year of college counseling, keeping up with universities in the USA and around the world and how they are handling the pandemic, and figuring out the best ways to support international students. The good news is the future looks bright for international students from around the world. While many top universities had an incredibly competitive admissions year, there were also many universities that took a ..read more