Guides
Up-to-date guides for international students: choosing programs, applying, costs, campus life and careers in the US.
172 articles
- Brown University’s Master of Science in Sustainable Energy: Curriculum, Admissions and Costs Brown University's Master of Science (Sc.M.) in Sustainable Energy is a one-year, on-campus program in the School of Engineering that combines energy technology with the policy and economics of the energy transition. Brown announced the program in March 2025 and enrolled its fir… Mar 13, 2025
- How Scholarships Work in U.S. Higher Education, and What International Students Can Get Scholarships and other grants are the largest source of help with college costs in the United States. According to the College Board, students received $173.7 billion in grant aid in 2024–25, and colleges' own institutional grants made up $85.1 billion, or 49%, of the total. Bec… Mar 7, 2025
- Using Student Health Services in the U.S.: A Guide for New and International Students Almost every U.S. college runs a student health service on or near campus, but many students do not use it until something goes wrong, and international students often do not know how it fits with their insurance. This guide, updated for November 2026, explains what campus healt… Mar 7, 2025
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UGalapagos Biology: University of Miami’s Semester in Ecuador and the Galápagos
UGalapagos Biology is a semester-long study abroad program run by the Department of Biology at the University of Miami (UM). Students spend a semester in Ecuador, taking field-based biology courses in Quito, the Amazon and the Galápagos Islands, and live with host families. This… Mar 5, 2025
- U.S. College Accreditation: How It Works and Why It Matters for International Students Accreditation is the quality check behind almost every legitimate U.S. college degree. It decides whether a school can take federal student aid, whether other schools will accept its credits, and, for international students, whether a degree qualifies for the STEM OPT extension.… Mar 4, 2025
- Student Organizations in College: Benefits, How to Join and Tips for International Students Student organizations are one of the easiest ways to find friends, build skills and make a large university feel smaller. Large U.S. universities typically have hundreds of registered clubs; Miami University in Ohio, for example, brings "hundreds of student organizations" togeth… Feb 27, 2025
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Cornell’s Einaudi Travel Grants: Funding Graduate Fieldwork Abroad
Fieldwork abroad is essential for many dissertations, but airfare alone can exceed a graduate student's monthly stipend. At Cornell University, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies helps close that gap with research travel grants for master's and Ph.D. students. Th… Feb 24, 2025
- Harvard’s Kempner Institute Research Programs for Undergraduates: KURE and KRANIUM Harvard's Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence runs two paid research programs for Harvard College undergraduates: KURE during the semester and KRANIUM in the summer. Both pair students with Kempner-affiliated faculty on research about intellige… Feb 22, 2025
- Boston University’s CGS January Start and Gap Semester: How It Works Some first-year applicants to Boston University (BU) are not offered a regular fall start. Instead they receive "full admission to BU through CGS," the College of General Studies, which begins in January. The fall before is a gap semester that students plan themselves. This guid… Feb 6, 2025
- Studying Landscape Architecture in the U.S.: Accreditation, Licensing, Careers and STEM OPT Landscape architects design parks, campuses, streetscapes, waterfronts and green infrastructure, combining design with plant science, ecology, grading and stormwater engineering. In the United States it is a licensed profession, and the degree you choose shapes how quickly you c… Jan 29, 2025
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