<p>I am a freshman college student who wants to get a master degree after 4 years of college, and I`ve heard that almost all of the good colleges require 2 years of work experience for their gradute schools. does this also apply to international applicants? Our F-1 visas does not allow us to work in the US. so does anybody know how to deal with this problem?</p>
<p>I think whether you need work experience depends on what field you are applying for in graduate school.</p>
<p>If you're in the US on a F-1 visa, you can apply for a work permit for "optional practical training" for up to 12 months of full-time employment that's somehow related to your degree program in the US. You may use that time to work during summer or after graduation. In addition you may use up to 12 months minus 1 day of "curricular practical training". It's similar to optional practical training but you need to receive college credit for your work/internship to be counted as CPT instead of OPT. So CPT and OPT combined give you the chance to work in the US for up to 24 months.</p>