<p>I'm Ahmed, an American living outside the United States. I once made a thread where I asked for a bunch of FAQs (which int'l students mostly come up with) regarding "Types Of Colleges In The United States" and "Application Deadlines" for our FAQ software project at EducationUSA and I got great help from b@r!um (I apologize if I spelled the member's name wrong). There's still a couple more topics we need to cover before we start working on software's technical stuff. I was reassigned to cover this topic - FAQs of int'ls regarding "Things To Consider While Selecting Colleges In The U.S." or "Facts/Issues To Consider While Making Your College List" (as an int'l/non U.S. citizen). </p>
<p>The deadline is approaching so I need to submit this as soon as possible. I would really appreciate it if you guys had given me as many FAQs as possible on this topic. I'm sure regular and senior CC members get a LOT of questions everyday. So, I figured this was the best place to ask.</p>
<p>The more FAQs the better. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>P.S. This software I'm talking about is mainly for int'l applicants'/non U.S. citizens' FAQs.</p>
<p>I’ll assume you are talking about choosing a university for an undergraduate program, because making a choice for graduate school is infinitely more complex.</p>
<p>How do I evaluate the strength of my potential major(s) at a university?
How would I evaluate the social atmosphere without visiting?
How do I find out about the post-graduation outcomes of a particular university? (average starting salaries, unemployment rates of recent graduates, graduate school paths, etc)
To what extent will the location or prestige of a university affect my career options after graduation, both in the US and at home?
Should I be paying attention to housing options? (Would an international student struggle to secure a rent contract off campus?)
What other factors should I be paying attention to? (a couple of examples: free tutoring, whether the dorms close during breaks, whether there’s funding for unpaid summer internships or research on and/or off campus, whether there are established study abroad programs and whether there’s financial support available for a study abroad, how helpful the career development office is, whether this university enrolls enough international students to be knowledgable about international student issues)</p>
<p>And maybe most importantly:</p>
<p>Are admissions offices a reliable source of information? (In most cases not!)</p>