Tips for Applying to U.S. Colleges I. George Mason Unive

Tips for Applying to U.S. Colleges
   Today we visited George Mason University. George Mason University is the largest public research university in the state of Virginia. It has about 33,000 students studying over 100 different majors and specializations. Its students come from all 50 U.S. states and 130 different countries. About 7 percent of its students are international. We sat down with Jennifer Tkacz, director of international admissions. She shared her views on financial aid, rankings, and visas.
   Why are American universities so expensive? First of all, I’ll say that American education is expensive for Americans. But you’re getting a high-quality education from some of the best professors in the world with some of the best resources and facilities in the world.
   What kind of financial aid is available? It really depends on the university what kind of financial aid is available. There are some universities that have merit-based scholarships. There are a lot of opportunities out there for international students. There are athletic scholarships, scholarships based on a specific talent. It really depends on the individual university.
   Are school rankings important? I know that rankings matter to a lot of parents and students worldwide, but here in the U.S. we pay very little attention to rankings. The rankings that are produced are actually the opinion of several different magazines. They’re not really official government rankings. The U.S. doesn’t have a universal ranking system. So in the U.S., they don’t really have that much credibility.
   In terms of the student visa, I know that generates a lot of anxiety for many students around the world. When you go for the interview they’re looking for generally three things.
   One, of course, is that you’re a genuine student and you’re coming to the United States to study your education program to get your degree. So when you go into that visa interview, you should really know things about the university that you’re going to, why you’re going there, why you want to study, what you want to study—that’s how you show that you’re a genuine student.
   The second thing that they’re looking for is to be sure that you have the finances to cover your educational program. You’ll have to submit the same bank documentation you used in order to get your 1-20 to the U.S. embassy as part of your interview to prove that you are able to pay for your education in the U.S.
   The next thing that they’re mainly looking for is to be sure, again, that you’re a legitimate student and that you’re not looking to move to the United States, that you have a reason to return to your home country, whether it be your family or prospective employment. So if you go into the interview, think of all those things and prepare yourself to answer those questions that you really are legitimately coming to the United States to get an education. I think that the visa interview will be no problem.