Studying in the United States of America
USA is one of the best countries in the world and many international students prefer to study in its universities due to some reasons such as advanced education and technology, quality of staff and curriculum, excellent reputation, solid research background, and the diversity of universities and specializations, etc.
Alata for Education provides consultancies to the students and their parents who are seeking advice about the best US universities and majors. It also receives the required documents from students to send them to the universities by email or express mail such as ARAMEX or DHL. All Alata's related services to US university admissions are free of charge, and we do not ask students to pay any fees for Alata. Terms & Conditions of Universities apply.
The Education System
The American education system is based on the credit hour system and the students graduate after completing and passing the required credit hours for each program or specialization.
The Tuition Fees and Living Costs
The tuition fees are different from a university to another and it is generally estimated between 9000$ to 40000$ per academic year. With regard to living cost, it is generally estimated between 500$ to 900$ and it could be more according to the students’ life styles.
English Language Course
There are a lot of universities and language centers that provide English language courses to the students and we will try to do our best to choose the best services provided by universities and canters. The costs of language courses are different, but they are generally between 2000$ to 3000$ for one-month training course including the fees, accommodation, health insurance, and picking up the students from the airport to the accommodation and returning them to the airport. It also costs approximately 4500$ - 6500$ for three-month training courses including the fees, accommodation, health insurance, and picking up the students from the airport to the accommodation and returning them to the airport. The number of teaching hours is between 20-30 hours weekly according to the programs, courses, and schedules of the universities or centers and according to the students’ request. Many universities and language centers provide the service of living with a family which facilitates the English language learning, particularly, conversations in English language, communication skills, confidence, and cultural awareness.
The Dates of Admission and Studying
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Some universities have two semesters and other universities have three semesters and students may be admitted and enrolled at the beginning of each semester accordingly.
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The universities usually commence their study at the beginning of September or at the beginning of each semester (early May, September, and/or February).
The Admission Process
Reception: we receive the application with the necessary documents or advise the students to apply online based on the concerned University's regulations.
Application: Filling in the application based on the country, university and major that students prefer. This may be filled out online by the students themselves accordingly.
Communication: We start contacting the universities to get the required admission after they evaluation process. T&C of the universities apply.
Following up: We follow up with the universities until the students get the decision accordingly.
Required Documents
English Language Course
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A photo of the applicant’s valid passport.
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A phot of the last academic qualification.
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Bank statement or official scholarship document to prove the ability to pay the tuition fees to the university or center.
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The application (online) form.
Bachelors
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The average in the high school should be very good or above.
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A photo of the applicant’s valid passport.
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An original copy of the high school certificate attested officially from the Ministry of Education.
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Bank statement, an official scholarship document to prove the ability to the tuition fees to the university and specify the specialization, or a sponsorship letter from the sponsor or Ministry of Higher Education.
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An approval letter from the Minsitry of Higher Education allowing students to study abroad at their own expenses (there should be NOL from the Minsitry about the program and university.
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Certificate of IELTS/TOEFL or an equivalent certificate if it is available to get unconditional admission offer. Some universities may require academic IELTS 6.0 or more .TOEFL score of 79 (IBT) or 550 (PBT), or the computer based TOEFL with a score of 213.
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Certificates of SATs to support the application if they are available.
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Pesronal Statment about the student himself (some ask one page 250 words and others may ask between 250-650 words)
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Detailed address (email, phone number, and home address).
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The application (online) form.
Masters
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A photo of the applicant’s valid passport.
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Photos of the bachelors’ and high school certificates, and transcripts. The averages should be good or above.
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Bank statement, an official scholarship document to prove the ability to pay the tuition fees to the university and specify the specialization, or an approval letter from the Ministry of Education allowing students to study abroad at their own expenses.
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Certificate of TOEFL or an equivalent certificate if it is available.
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A letter indicates the purpose of the study (400-600 words). The letter should include the name of the major, the reasons for choosing the major, the future career after graduation, etc.
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Curriculum Vitae
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Some universities may ask recommendation letters from referees (3-5 letters).
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The address.
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The application form.
Doctor of Philosophy
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A photo of the applicant’s valid passport.
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Copies of the certificates and transcripts of Bachelors, Masters and High school.
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Bank statement, an official scholarship document to prove the ability to the tuition fees to the university and specify the specialization, or an approval letter from the Ministry of Education allowing students to study abroad at their own expenses.
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Research Proposal
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Certificate of TOEFL or an equivalent certificate if it is available.
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A letter indicates the purpose of the study (400-600 words). The letter should include the name of the major, the reasons for choosing the major, the future career after graduation, etc.
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Curriculum Vitae
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Some universities may ask recommendation letters from referees (3-5 letters).
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The address.
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The application form.
Important Notes
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Some universities may ask the original birth certificates attested from the concerned governmental departments or ministries, certificate of experience, and other documents.
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For some postgraduate studies, many universities require some certificates such as GRE or GMAT, LSAT for doctor of Juris, USMLE for medicine degrees, etc.
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All documents must be in English language.
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Most universities have some conditions such as the TOEFL certificate and they may require (TOEFL 510-590) according to the university and specialization, or an equivalent certificate.
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Some Universities require the vaccines certificate and/or disease-free certificate attested from the concerned departments and ministries.
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The process of obtaining the required admission may take two months.
U.S. Student Visa
The US student visa will be issued after receiving the official I-20 form showing that you have been accepted in one of the academic programs or degrees at the university that you applied to study in. If the student has a sponsorship, he/she should bring the DS-2019 from your sponsoring agency revealing that you are taking part in one of the sponsor’s programs, this means that there is no need for the I-20 from the university. The Mode of the academic program should be full-time and the US embassy will determine the period. The time to get the visa is varied, but it may be between 3-9 weeks less or more. All the students who get the visas must travel to the US within the first six months of the issuing date, otherwise it will be invalid.
The Required Documents and Procedures:
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The students need to fill in the U.S. official forms to apply for the visa: they are DS-156, DS-157 (for some applicants), and DS-158. All the documents and requested data should be completed in English language. Answer all questions, otherwise the application will not be accepted. You can ask the consular office if you need some clarifications for particular questions.
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I-20 or DS-2019 form. It is the program/degree confirming acceptance form that the student receives from the university that he/she applied for or the sponsoring agency.
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If the student has a form I-20, he/she should make sure that they have filled in page number 2 and 5, signed page 2, and checked that the date of expected arrival is still valid before you take it to your interview. If the student has the DS-2019 official form the sponsoring agency, he/she should make sure that they have read page number 2, checked the date of arrival, and signed page number 1.
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Valid passport: make sure that it is valid for six months at least after the expected arrival date to the US; however, it is advised to have longer validity of the passport. The reason for this is that if the passport expires and the student wants to return to his/her homeland, he/she will renew the passport and they need apply for another new visa from the US embassy before they enter the US again.
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Paying the fees: They students must pay fees of the visa application and the SEVIS fee (students may also pay additional fees).
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The Photo: The student has to take 2-4 recent photos, and it is specifically as a passport photo as there are very specific formatting requirements. It must be 2 inches square (50 mm in metric measurement) and have a white background. Your head must fill at least 50 percent of the picture area.
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The certificates and transcripts of high school and/or university must be in English language and notarized officially.
A very important note for those who have scholarships
The sponsored students have to bring the sponsorship letter from the Ministry of Higher Education or the sponsoring agency/company.
The self-sponsored students have to bring bank statements to prove their abilities on covering all the tuition fees and other related costs such as living costs.
All the students are advised to contact the US embassy in their countries through its official website to get the most updated information, requirements, and/or instructions.
