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Dr. Starkweather's Guide to Studying Abroad

So you want to study abroad? Many students at Yunnan University are interested in studying abroad, and in response to the many questions I have received, I decided to create this web site to provide helpful information and other resources to students who are interested in studying abroad.

The information here is primarily targeted at business and economics students interested in graduate school abroad. Since I am American, I know more about American universities. However, if you are not a business or economics major and/or you are considering studying in Europe, Australia, Canada, or elsewhere, this guide will hopefully be helpful nonetheless.

This document contains only my take on various topics and what pieces of information I have been able to assemble about the subject in my free time. There may be other sources of information that are more authoritative. Google, Baidu, and other online search engines can be very helpful.

If you have a question that is not answered on this page, please feel free to ask on the Ask Collin page. If you have a comment or some information that you think would be helpful for other students, please let me know on the Suggestion Box. Your questions and comments will help make this a better resource for other students who share your interests.

    Index

    Last update: May 27, 2007

Getting Started

Finding which university is right for you, applying to the university, and finding funding will probably be a very difficult and time-consuming process. There is no magic bullet. You should count on spending much of your free time and many weekends navigating the process.

The process of getting into a foreign graduate school program will go something like this:

1. Find out which universities you are interested in.
2. Get more information about these universities. Narrow down the list to the top candidate universities.
   • Ask me or other Americans what they think of these schools.
   • Send an e-mail to a professor or other contact at the universities you are interested in.
3. Research the entrance requirements. Is the TOEFL required? Is the GRE or GMAT required?
   • Go to the web site of and/or contact the graduate school you are interested in to find out what their entrance requirements are.
     • For example, to apply for the Ph.D. program in economics at the University of Colorado, the GRE and a TOEFL score of at least 525 are required.
   • To find out how to contact the graduate school you are interested in, see the section below on Selecting a University.
4. Take the TOEFL, GRE and/or GMAT tests as necessary.
5. Prepare and submit applications to the universities you are interested in.
   • Most graduate programs require that you pay an application fee of around $50-100.
   • Recommendations from your professors are probably the most important part of your application. Many programs require three or four recommendations.
   • Have your recommendations translated into English by a native English speaker.
   • Applications also typically require transcripts from your university (i.e., Yunnan University). The transcripts must be translated into English.
   • Pay attention to deadlines. For example, to begin school in September 2008, many programs have application deadlines as early as December 1, 2007.
   • Many universities now allow you to apply online, which will save you time and money.
   • If any of your professors know a professor at a university you are considering, a personal phone call or e-mail from your professor gives your application the best chance of being accepted.

There is alot of information in this document. I recommend that you take the time to read through the whole document. If you still have questions, you can submit a question on the Ask Collin page.

Selecting a University

So you know you want to apply to a foreign university. The next question is, "Which one?"

Since I am an American, I do not know nearly as much about European or other universities outside the U.S.. However, I can provide a link to information about universities in the U.S.:

1. Go to the U.S. News and World Report University Ranking site.
2. Click on "Log In"
3. Enter the following e-mail address and password:

   E-mail:  usnews@collinstarkweather.com
   Password:  xuesheng
   

4. Note that the log in account will expire on August 14, 2007.

The web site provides information about things such as

• How highly universities are ranked,
• How expensive the universities are,
• Links to the university web sites,
• Contact information for their admissions departments,
• And much, much more ....

Keep in mind that the U.S. News and World Report rankings are for universities' undergraduate programs and that rankings for specific programs and graduate programs vs. undergraduate programs differ quite a bit.

For example, overall, the University of Chicago is ranked number 9 in the U.S. for undergraduate education but its graduate economics program is ranked number 2 in the world and its graduate business program is ranked number 5 in the U.S.. The University of Colorado at Boulder undergraduate education is ranked number 77 overall in the U.S., but their undergraduate business program is ranked number 37 and their graduate business program is ranked number 55.

• For the rankings of business graduate schools (MBA programs) in the U.S.,
  1. Go to the U.S. News and World Report MBA Program Ranking site.
  2. Click on "Log In"
  3. Enter the following e-mail address and password:

         E-mail:  usnews@collinstarkweather.com
         Password:  xuesheng
         

  4. Note that the log in account will expire on March 14, 2008.
• For the rankings of graduate economics departments worldwide, see Tom Coupé's rankings
  • Rankings start on page 58.
  • Note that they are only current up to the year 2000. However, it is perhaps the most comprehensive list and perhaps the best rankings available.

You may also find the web site Asian Nation useful. It is intended primarily for Asian-Americans, but I think you will find the information they have concerning which colleges are particularly favored in the Asian-American community to be helpful.

Which universities you ultimately apply to depends on alot of things.

1. First, your choice should be realistic.
   • Harvard is generally considered the top university in the world. However, they also only accept the smartest, most capable, or the most well-connected students in the world. And Harvard is very expensive.
   • On the other hand, you don't want to apply to the worst university in the world.
   • I have heard that talented Yunnan University students can realistically expect that they may be admitted among the top 100 universities in the U.S..
     • I have not been able to confirm this. Noone has been able to tell me how many Yunnan University students have gone to which U.S. universities, so this statement is based on heresay only.
     • Based on the information I have been given, I would recommend applying to universities ranked 40-120.
2. Second, you should consider funding.
   • Some graduate programs have more money than others.
     • Many graduate programs are able to fully fund students by providing them with employment as Teaching Assistants or Research Assistants.
     • Generally, business departments have more money than economics departments and can afford to provide financial assistance to more graduate students.
     • Engineering departments generally have more money than any other department on campus and can provide more financial support to more graduate students.
     • If you are interested in a graduate program, contact them and ask how many paid graduate student positions are available and how many graduate students they have total. This will give you a good idea of your prospects for being funded.
       • Be sure to ask them how many paid positions vs. graduate students they have at the level you are interested in; i.e., Master's degree or Ph.D.

Getting Funded

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when considering whether to study abroad is how you are going to pay for it. Prices are quite a bit higher in the U.S. and Europe. For example, where I went to graduate school, at the University of Colorado, tuition was relatively inexpensive, about $5,600 for in-state students and $23,000 for out-of-state (e.g., foreign) students and room and board (a dorm room and meals at the student cafeteria) costs about $8,300 per year. Renting a student apartment (an apartment larger than a dorm room and located off campus) in Boulder, Colorado typically costs about $800 per month. Lunch at a local restaurant might cost $7.

At a private university, such as Princeton, tuition is typically $33,000 per year (regardless of whether you are "in-state" or "out-of-state") and room and board (a dorm room and meals at the student cafeteria) costs about $9,200 per year.

There are several ways to get funded:

• Pay for it yourself
  • If your family is fortunate enough to be able to pay for an education abroad, you are fortunate indeed. Count your blessings.
  • However, even if your family can afford it, you should still seek outside sources of funding. If you can get someone else to pay for it, you can spend the money you would otherwise spend on graduate school on something else.
• Get a scholarship, grant, or other financial aid
  • Most scholarships in the U.S. are for U.S. citizens. However, there are some scholarships available to foreign students with an exceptional academic record.
  • I do not know much about how to find such financial aid. But I can offer the following advice:
    • Check whether you can take advantage of financial aid programs that exist here in China. Does Yunnan University or the Chinese government have a partnership with a foreign university you are interested in?
    • Contact the Financial Aid Department at the university you are interested in. They will have more information than anyone else about what kinds of scholarships, grants, or other financial aid would be available to you.
    • Search online.
• Get funded by the graduate school
  • This is perhaps the best way to fund your graduate education.
  • Most graduate programs hire teaching assistants (TAs) and research assistants (RAs) to help professors with their classes and research.
  • TAs and RAs typically have their tuition paid for by the graduate school and are paid an additional salary. When I was in graduate school, it amounted to about $1,400 per month after taxes. By Chinese standards, it sounds like alot of money, but $1,400 doesn't go very far in the U.S..
  • Working as a TA or RA can help you build a resume or curriculum vitae that will be very helpful when you look for work after finishing your degree. It will also help you network and meet faculty and other students that will be helpful to you throughout your career.
  • Refer to this topic in the Selecting a University section for more information.
  • Typically, students who are seeking Master's degrees are not given TA or RA positions. You will probably have to be enrolled in a Ph.D. program to receive a teaching or research assistantship.

Questions and Answers

Q: Which major should I choose: Business or economics?

A: I assume that you are a business student or are interested in applying to a business or economics program.

Since I am an economist, I do not know as much about other majors.

• Economics:
  • At the graduate level, economics is thought of as a science, deals mostly with theory, and is extremely mathematical.
  • Graduate students in economics may find it difficult to find work with only a Master's degree. If you are going into an economics program, you should aim for a Ph.D..
  • However, if you are going for a Ph.D., economics departments provide an excellent way to go and the education is more technically rigorous than that of a Ph.D. in business. That is, Ph.D.s in economics can do things, such as advanced statistical analysis, that Ph.D.s in business typically cannot.
• Business:
  • At the graduate level, business is much less mathematical than economics and is concerned more with a practical, "real world" education.
  • Business programs typically have better placement programs
    • Placement programs help students find work after graduation
  • Business programs usually have more money for funding graduate students than economics programs.
  • As opposed to economics, with only a Master's degree in business, such as an MBA, it is typically easy to find a job. However, it is much more difficult to find funding if you are only in a Master's program.

Q: Someone told me I should send a letter to a professor at a university that I am interested in. Is that a good idea?

A: With regards to sending letters to professors, letters are helpful; however, I would recommend just sending e-mails. It is quicker and easier than sending a letter.

I would also recommend asking professors to refer you to a graduate student who would be able to answer your questions. Most professors are too busy to respond to e-mails from people they don't know, and if you ask them to take time to answer your questions personally, they probably will not respond to your e-mail.

I would also recommend letting a native English speaker, such as your English teacher, review any e-mail before you send it. You want to be sure there are no grammatical mistakes and, more importantly, since you are sending an e-mail to someone from a different culture, that the words you use convey the proper tone.

Finally, there are many Chinese professors at foreign universities. The Chinese professors may prove to be the best contacts.

Q: Can you help me find what I am looking for? Can you help me apply to universities?

A: Unfortunately my time is limited. I can provide you with information, but more students have expressed an interest in applying to foreign universites than I have time to assist. As far as researching universities, fill out forms, double-checking your English, etc., you are on your own.

If you have questions that are not answered in this document, please feel free to submit a question on the Ask Collin page.

Q: How many universities should I apply to?

A: Apply to as many as you can.

Many universities have application fees. For example, to apply to the Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado, international students must pay an application fee of $70. This may be one constraint on the number of universities you can apply to.

Applying to graduate school is also a time-consuming process. It may take you a day or more per application to gather all the necessary information, write letters or application essays, etc..

If you can afford to apply to many universities, do it. Most graduate students from the U.S. that I know only applied to 2 to 4 universities due to the time and expense involved.

Q: What is the difference between a Master's degree and a Master's program?

A: A Master's degree is the degree you are awarded when you graduate from a Master's program. A program is an integrated course of academic studies, and a Master's program is a program of classes and studies required to get a Master's degree.

For example, if someone asks, "You just finished school. What degree did you get?" you might answer, "A Master's degree. Specifically, a Master's of Business Administration, or MBA." Then they might ask, "What Master's program did you get your degree from?" You might answer, "From the Master's program at the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University."

If a school has a Master's program, then that means they have a curriculum that a student can complete to get a Master's degree. If a school has a Ph.D. program, then that means they have a curriculum that a student can complete to get a Ph.D..

Q: Is there a Chinese-language version of this web page? The English is very complicated.

A: If your English is not good enough to understand this web page, you may want to reconsider whether you want to study at an English-speaking university.

However, if you think a Chinese-language version of this page would be helpful and you know how to write HTML (web) pages, please feel free to translate it for me. I would be happy to make the translation available to other students.

Q: Where and when can I take the TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT?

A: I don't know. A friend told me that you can take them in Hong Kong and Beijing. I also heard that the GRE is being given here in Kunming in October. But I have not confirmed this personally.

If there is someone who knows more than I do, please let me know.

Q: There is a question that I have that is not answered on this page. How do I get an answer?

A: You can submit a question on the Ask Collin page.