Venice Chan

Public Affairs Section

U.S. Consulate General

Hong Kong and Macau

Purpose

• Understand EducationUSA

• Understand U.S. higher education

features, structures, and admissions.

• Funded and Supported by the U.S. government

• 400 centers in over 170 countries

• Free, comprehensive, and non-biased online and phone

advising on education in the U.S.

EducationUSA Hong Kong

• School outreach

• Public outreach

• Phone advising

• Email advising

Nearly 5,000 accredited

institutions

Nearly 9,000 students from

Hong Kong and Macau

(70% UG level)

The United States

Types of Colleges

• 2-year community colleges

• 4-year colleges/universities

• State/private

• Large/small

College=University

In the United States, the terms “college” and

“university” are often used interchangeably.

General Admissions Requirements

4 -year university/ colleges

• Completed Application Form

• High School transcripts

• ACT or SAT

• TOEFL or IELTS

• Statement of Purpose

• Recommendation Letters

• (The Common Application)

• ACT/ SAT is NOT required:

http://fairtest.org/

2 –year community college

• Completed Application Form

• High school transcripts

• TOEFL or IELTS

• Standardized application process for first-year and

transfer applications at undergraduate level

• Over 500 member institutions

• Check for supplements and extra materials

• Set the budget, meet the deadline

• www.commonapp.org

The Common Application

Key Features

Flexibility

• Not standardized

– Council for Higher Education Accreditation:

www.chea.org/

– No central ranking body

• Emphasize a broad, well rounded education

• Allow to change major

• Two pathways

You can transfer!

UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell,

Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, Yale, Georgetown, MIT,

Northwestern, Washington U in St. Louis, Indiana

University, Purdue, U Michigan, U Texas and University

of Washington

The Importance of Fit

REPUTATION

SIZE

LOCATION

ADMISSION

REQUIREMENTS COST

FACILITIES

FINANCIAL

AID

COURSE

SELECTION

Types of Colleges and Costs Institution Tuition and Fees in 2013-2014

Community College:

North Central Missouri College

Northwest college

East Los Angeles Community College

~ US $ 11,120

~ US $ 10,712

~ US $ 18,711

Public University:

California State University, Fullerton

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

University of California, Los Angeles, CA

~ US $27,270

~ US $35,763

~ US $54,422

Private University:

University of Southern California, CA

Harvard University, MA

George Washington University

~ US $54,102

~ US $60,723

~ US $54,225

Private Liberal Arts College:

Grinnell College, Iowa

~ US $47,262

Finance Your Studies • Financial Aid and Scholarships

Merit Based

Need Based

• Online Resources

www.fundingusstudy.org

www.finaid.org

http://www.usscholarshipguide.org/

EducationUSA Weekly Updates

EducationUSA Weekly Financial

Aid Updates

EducationUSA.state.gov

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

EducationUSA.state.gov

www.fundingusstudy.org

Recommendations

• Never have to pay to find or apply for

scholarships

• Your next stop: Your institution’s financial

aid office

• Always try!

• Research and apply in advance!

Contact Information

• Email: hkeducationusa@state.gov

• Facebook: USAinHKMacau

• Global Website: http://www.educationusa.state.gov/