The United States is an exciting place to be a student whether pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree or completing a short-term academic or professional training program. Some of the many benefits students in the United States access include the following.
- High quality offerings and a multitude of choices: More than 4,000 accredited, degree-granting institutions are available in the United States, including 27 universities ranked in the world’s top 100.
- Flexibility and opportunities to explore different subjects: Undergraduate students typically choose their major and minor areas of study during or after their second year of study. This allows them to take elective courses outside of their major area of study from across different disciplines, enabling a well-rounded and diverse educational experience. Graduate students are often able to take elective courses outside their primary area of study, but to a lesser extent than undergraduate.
- Exciting extracurricular offerings and campus-based support: U.S. institutes of higher education offer activities, services, and support to international students to ensure a positive and successful experience as members of the university community. These include leadership activities, internships, athletic participation, work experience, academic teams and clubs, and creative pursuits.
- Experience in the diversity of American society: The United States is a country of diversity that embraces different perspectives from citizens and visitors with heritages from around the world. From 2020-2021, approximately 1 million international students attended U.S. universities, including thousands of students from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. (https://opendoorsdata.org)
- Affordable training: While funding education in the United States can be a challenge for both U.S and international students, there are a variety of options and funding sources for international students to explore. This includes a variety of public and private colleges and universities with more affordable tuition rates, some with merit-based scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, and other private funding for international students. There are also government-sponsored programs and private scholarships from students’ home countries that are worthwhile to research.
- Improvement of English Language skills: Study in the United States offers the added benefit of English language acquisition. It is widely accepted that the English language is important in many fields, including business, science, computer technology, medicine, and many others. Students can join intensive English language programs to focus on English language acquisition specifically and/or improve English language while studying in any other field.
- Establishment of life-long professional networks: The U.S. education system supports the building of professional networks with professors, other students, and professionals already working in the field. These relationships, once established, can serve as valuable resources for collaboration and growth throughout a student’s professional life.
