Trying an Undergraduate Programme or a Graduate?

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>Though I haven't decided what to do as a job, I am thinking of law, intl. relations, psychology and political science. There are also good universities for these undergraduate majors in Turkey too, but I have always dreamed of studying in the US.</p>

<p>One of college directors advised me to study my undergradute programme in Turkey, then come to the US to study a graduate major. As I do not have enough information about the college system in the USA, I don't know what to do.</p>

<p>In order to cover you all, I haven't had SAT or IELTS yet, but I have an average over 95,I am in the top three of my class, also I have international academic honors such as MUN awards and good extra curricular activities. Additionally, my family support is weak, so I do need financial aid too.</p>

<p>What should I do? Is it a good idea to study these majors in the US or should I study them first in Turkey as an undergradute student? Should you suggest studying in the US, what colleges do you recommend me?</p>

<p>Thank you for your interest</p>

<p>What are the opportunities for graduate study in Turkey? If you’ve got good undergrad opportunities at home but not graduate, then I’d agree with your counselor. Another thing to look at is whether it’s any easier to get a student visa for study as an undergraduate versus for study as a graduate student.</p>

<p>If you do your undergrad in Turkey, you could try to do an exchange program in the US and see if you like it.</p>

<p>tugberk -</p>

<p>Did you make a visit to the EducationUSA advising center near you? What did the people there suggest? They should have been able to explain the higher education system in the US to you.</p>

<p>As you already know, it is very difficult for international students to get a lot of scholarship money. Even if you do apply to colleges and universities in the US now, you still need to apply to some in your home country that you can afford to attend. Usually it is much easier to get scholarships for graduate school than it is for undergraduate school. That is why you have been told to complete your first degree in Turkey. If you do well there, you will have good options for graduate level studies.</p>

<p>It may be true that in general it is difficult for international students to get scholarship money, at least some liberal arts colleges if not others do offer financial aid to international students in an effort to diversify their student body at the undergraduate level. If there are specific schools you are interested in, check out item H6 on their Common Data Set (often available via a search of the institution’s web site). It shows the average amount of institutional aid awarded to international students. For example, for Rhodes last year, the average was over $20,000. Other institutions may do even more.</p>