<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I'm currently studying humanities in Spain and will probably start the whole grad school application process within a year or two. </p>
<p>I'm interested in you guys' experiences with GREs (like how early should I start taking it, books that help prepare for it, even the possibility of taking a course in the States). </p>
<p>Also, how is getting into grad school different from getting into college? What do the boards of admissions look for aside from the obvious grades and GRE factors? What are some things I should be doing to get their attention? </p>
<p>And finally, I have a couple questions for anyone who has attended grad school in the US and got their degree elsewhere...I'm probably going to apply to top universities and I'm concerned that most of the other applicants will come from well-known colleges in the US whereas I come from a Spanish university and the admissions people won't be familiar with it. How much will this affect my chances? Also...How hard is it to get a reasonable combination of loans and financial aid? I know as an international student it is virtually impossible to get real financial aid at the college level, but I've heard that for grads it isn't as difficult. How is that so? </p>
<p>OK...thanks guys. I know it's a lot of questions...anything you can answer will be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>If you are going for your Ph.D. then it will be much easier to find funding. I know specifically with Penn in most fields the school requires itself to cover the expenses of the grad student and provide a stipend for living expenses. However, if you are looking for just an M.A. (terminal-oriented or not) I must say funding will be a lot harder to come by and you will most likely have to take out a good deal of loans! (Again!) </p>
<p>Also, grad school admission process is a bit different. The GREs aren't everything at all the schools. They help, but if you are apply to a top school that is not everything they will look at. And don't worry abotu going to a Spanish Uni, because actually alot of grad students in the U.S. seem to be from abroad. And the top grad schools will most likely be familiar with your Uni. Just like undergrad schools like Pton, Harvard, and Yale are familiar with the secondary school systems of India, France, Germany and various other countires. They kinda have to be.</p>
<p>what field do you want to go into? each program can have very very different suggested paths towards admissions</p>
<p>what does terminal-oriented mean?</p>
<p>a terminal MA would mean MA would be the highest degree you seek, in other words, you are not PhD track.</p>
<p>To OP, for humanities, your chances of funding is dramatically increased if you apply for PhD track rather than terminal masters.</p>