U.S. University Application

First, it helps as a reference for scholarship applications, as scholarships are typically applied for after admission. Additionally, students need to demonstrate sustained academic excellence to the school, showing that they haven’t become complacent after receiving the offer.

ED (Early Decision) applications have a deadline in October or early November, and the admission results are announced before December. Students applying through ED must sign a commitment to accept the offer if admitted; failure to do so could impact their academic reputation.

EA (Early Action) also has an application deadline in October or early November, with results released before December. However, students do not need to respond immediately but can wait until April or May to make a final decision after receiving all admission results from the universities they’ve applied to. Since the application requirements are more flexible compared to ED, the expectations are usually higher.

RD (Regular Decision) applications have a deadline in late December or early January, with admission results being released between March and April.

Learn more from College Board official website: https://counselors.collegeboard.org/college-application/early-decision-action

No, because if a student is not admitted through ED, the RD application will not be considered either.

Overall rankings are the most important because they directly reflect the school’s scale, faculty strength, academic resources, and international reputation. Geographic location is more important for graduate school applications, as students are more likely to seek employment in the area after obtaining a master’s degree. For undergraduate programs, most students will continue to pursue graduate studies. Program rankings are secondary, as most U.S. universities do not have specific rankings for programs (except for business and engineering), and many students applying for undergraduate programs do not select a major at the time of application.

The higher the ranking, the better. The top choice would be Ivy League schools, followed by the top 20 universities in the US. Of course, local US companies may have a regional preference, as a higher proportion of their employees are graduates from local universities, and they are more familiar with local school graduates.

The application requirements are generally the same across universities, including the submission of high school transcripts, recommendation letters, application essays, personal resume, activity list, honors received, multimedia essays, etc. The exception is for art-related programs, which may require applicants to submit a portfolio.

Typically, students apply for their major in the second or third year of university, provided they have completed the required courses or prerequisites for that major in their first year, and their academic performance meets the necessary criteria.

Yes, you can. However, you need to clearly and reasonably explain the reason for taking a gap year and how you spent that time in your application essay and U.S. visa documents.

It is recommended that non-U.S. students submit SAT scores. Although some U.S. universities have made SAT scores test-optional in recent years, this is aimed at helping U.S. citizens from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who cannot afford SAT preparation and exam fees. However, for non-U.S. applicants, it is important to do everything possible to demonstrate academic strength and potential, and striving for a high SAT score can greatly enhance their competitiveness.

The SAT ranks third among various factors in U.S. undergraduate applications, following high school GPA and course difficulty. Nearly 90% of U.S. universities consider the SAT as a very important indicator of an applicant’s academic potential, and this percentage is even higher for international applicants.

AP is very important. The higher the rank of the U.S. university, the more they value a student’s academic potential and leadership skills. AP is one of the most challenging academic courses for high school students. This is why many top American and Canadian high schools integrate AP courses into their curricula. For example, academically strong 11th-grade students can choose AP English instead of regular 11th-grade English, which will reflect a higher level of course difficulty on their school transcript. In U.S. university applications, a weighted GPA (which reflects the difficulty of courses) will be higher, which is why many students admitted to Ivy League schools have a GPA above 4.0.