Academic Scholarships In The USA For International Students

Studying abroad is the dream of a lot of students across the world, because people see great value in studying abroad, especially at American universities. Today we are going to talk about why American universities are the best choice for international students that want to study abroad with an academic scholarship.

There are several reasons that explain why more and more international students are choosing to go to American universities, here we are going to cover the most important reasons why, by answering the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) that most students have about being an international student in the USA.

 

Do American Universities give scholarships to international students?

Yes! All American universities give academic scholarships, no matter what type of university they are, but all depending on the academic qualifications that the university requires, since some are more reluctant on giving academic scholarships to international students. There are a lot of different scholarships available, especially for American students, but you as an international student can obtain academic scholarships too.

 

 

What scholarships can I earn as an international student?

Scholarships for international students (willing to study in the US) are offered by the government or by private organizations. They come in different forms: some are partial, some are full scholarships, some may cover only your tuition fees, some may cover your living expenses (or both of them at the same time etc). Some other scholarships can be offered in form of grants to you. The institution or organization that awards it to you may hand the money to you and you can decide to use them on your own or they can directly send to your university and cover your expenses.

Now, the different academic requirements that any international student needs to access academic scholarships are the following:

 

Merit Scholarships 

These scholarships are given by the university of college itself, and as the name implies, it is based on your academic merits, which include: high school grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. This scholarship is available to anyone and it can either cover you tuition expenses, room and board or both, all depends on each university and the amount that is offered.

 

Grants 

Grants tend to be need-based funds that the US government offers to students based on criteria such as family income. Federal and state governments are the primary sources of grants, which doesn’t mean you are not eligible to apply to these grants, but they tend to give preference to American citizens.

 

What are the academic requirements to obtain a scholarship as an international student?

SAT

The SAT is a standardized test administered by the College Board, a non-profit organization that runs other programs including the PSAT (Preliminary SAT), AP (Advanced Placement) and CLEP (College-Level Examination Project). The SAT along with the ACT is the primary entrance exams used by colleges and universities in the United States.

 

 

What is the content of the test?

The current SAT covers three required areas and the optional essay:

Reading: Test-takers answer questions about texts they read. All questions are multiple-choice and based on those texts. Some questions will also include questions related to tables, graphs, and charts, but no math is required to answer the questions. Total time for this section: 65 minutes.

Writing and Language: Test-takers read passages and then are asked to identify and fix mistakes and weaknesses in the language. Total time for this section: 35 minutes.

Mathematics: Test-takers answer questions related to the types of math you’re likely to encounter in college and your personal life. Topics include algebra, data analysis, working with complex equations, and some basics of trigonometry and geometry. Some questions allow the use of a calculator; some do not. Total time for this section: 80 minutes.

Optional Essay: The optional essay exam asks you to read a passage and then make an argument based on that passage. You’ll need to support your argument with evidence from the passage. Total time for this section: 50 minutes.

Unlike the ACT, the SAT does not have a section focused on science.

 

How does the SAT score work?

Before March 2016, the exam was scored out of 2400 points: 200-800 points for Critical Reading, 200-800 points for Mathematics, and 200-800 points for Writing.

With the “redesign” of the exam in 2016, the Writing section is now optional, and the exam is scored out of 1600 points.
You can earn 200 to 800 points for the Reading/Writing section of the exam, and 800 points for the Math section. The maximum score on the exam currently is 1600 points, and most applicants to successfully enter the US most selective colleges and universities have scores from 1400 to 1600 points.

 

 

How Much Time Do I have for the Exam?

The SAT exam takes a total of 3 hours without the optional essay. There are a total of 154 questions, and with the essay, the SAT takes 3 hours and 50 minutes.

 

When can I take the SAT?

The SAT is currently administered six times a year: March, May, June, August, October, November, and December. If you’re wondering when to take the SAT, the August, October, May, and December dates are the most popular — many students take the exam once in the fall of junior year (1st year of Bachillerato), and then again in August or October of senior year. For seniors, the October date is often the last exam that will be accepted for early decision and early action applications. Be sure to plan ahead and check SAT test dates and registration deadlines.

 

Conclusion

The SAT exam is always evolving, and the test you will take is quite different from other previous years. Either you like it or not, the SAT (and ACT) is still a significant piece of the college admissions equation (which affects your chances of getting a lower or higher amount for your academic scholarship) for most of non-profit four-year colleges. If your dream school has selective admissions, you’d be well advised to take the test seriously. Spending some time with a study guide, doing sample tests and maybe even a tutor will definitely help your chances of getting into the school you want.

 

TOEFL

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a computer-based standardized test to measure the ability of the English language by non-native speakers that want to enroll in American universities(also includes any English-speaking university around the world). The test is accepted by most American universities and colleges. The TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
TOEFL is a trademark of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private non-profit organization, which designs, corrects, and administers the tests.

 

 

 

What is the content of the exam?

Before you take the TOEFL, you will first read a seven-step tutorial teaching you the computer skills that you need for taking the test. For reading the tutorial you have as much time as you want because it is not part of the test itself. The tutorial will teach you: how to use a mouse, how to scroll down a page and click on icons etc… All four sections of the TOEFL test (Listening, Structure, Reading, and Writing) are covered in the tutorial, therefore when you have finished reading the information you will be well prepared for the test.

Also, something really important to know is that the Listening and Structure sections of the TOEFL  are computer-adaptive. This means that the computer first gives you a question of what is considered average difficulty. If you answer this first question correctly the computer gives you a question with a higher degree of higher difficulty. If your first answer was wrong your second question will be of lower difficulty. Therefore, the computer-based on your answers can evaluate your level of English and give you questions according to your level.

 

 

You start the exam by reading the tutorials (which you will have unlimited time). Then you take the Listening Section, which goes from 40 to 60 minutes and you will answer between 30 and 50 questions. After the Listening Section, you move onto the Structure Section. This part takes between 15 and 20 minutes and there will be more or less between 20 and 25 questions. After you have finished the Structure Section there is a short break of 5 minutes and then you start the Reading Section which takes 70 to 90 minutes and includes 44 to 55 questions. Finally, the last part of the TOEFL exam is the Writing Section. Here you will be given a topic that you will have to write an essay on, in 30 minutes or less.

Listening: The Listening Section of the TOEFL test has three different parts. In the first part, you will hear short conversations usually containing two sentences which are followed by a single question. In the second part, you will hear a longer dialogue between two people. After the dialogue, you will hear four of five questions. Each of those questions is followed by four answers (A, B, C, and D). Only one of those four answers is correct. You have to select the correct answer.

Structure: In the Structure Section you will be asked to demonstrate your skills and knowledge in vocabulary, grammar and proper usage of standard North American written English (so based on American and Canadian English). You will have to recognize some vocabulary items of an academic nature, which means, that the subjects will be related to science, arts and literature, culture and history.

 

 

Reading Section: In the Reading Section you will find short texts that are of similar sort as those used for academic purposes in the US, Canada or other internationally recognized universities. For example, there will be texts about the arts, literature, biography of important people, science and scientific research as well as history related to North America. Even if you know a lot about any of the subjects covered in the Reading Section of the TOEFL test, it will not necessarily be to your advantage in answering the questions correctly because the TOEFL measures your English language proficiency rather than your knowledge of a specific area. After all, you take the TOEFL test before you actually start your study program at university.

Writing Section: In the Writing Section, you have to compose an essay based on one single assigned topic. Your essay should include such elements as original thought, analysis, examples, evidence, and organization in English. You can choose between composing your essay at a computer or using the traditional hand-written format.

 

When and how can I sign-up for this exam?

In order to sign-up for this exam, you will need to create an account at the official ETS website. Then, in order to find a date that suits you, you will need to also find if there are any official test centers near where you live. After that, once you find the test center then you will be able to select the date you want to take the exam, for example, for this year there will be chances to take this test from November of 2019 to April of 2020.

 

 

Conclusion

The TOEFL exam is an essential requirement for non-native English speakers that want to study abroad in American universities, and as mentioned before with the SAT exam, practicing with sample tests, the preparation book and even a tutor can make an enormous difference when applying for an academic scholarship in an American university.

 

After reading all this information, how can I learn more?

We are glad you have asked this question, because we have the answer for you, and it’s very simple. In order to learn more in depth what was briefly explained here, if you are really convinced at this point that you want to become an international student, therefore studying abroad in an American university, then you should visit Mooxye.com but here we are going to give you a quick overview of who we are and what we have to help you achieve your dream.

Now, you probably are asking yourself, what is Mooxye? Here at Mooxye, we are a digital platform that connects universities and academic organizations with students from all over the world and guides them on their path to access university. So, basically our job is to help people like you to be able to have the possibility of applying and studying in the US.

 

How can I start using Mooxye?

You only need to create a free profile on our website! That’s all you initially need to start using our platform. For example, this will allow you to receive the last updates on your wall from universities and share all your academic and extracurricular achievements! After that, you are all set and you can start informing yourself and use all the amazing features that our website has to offer.

 

 

What does your website offer that can help me?

We have a lot of amazing tools and features that will help you with your own student profile and this are:

Mooxye Profile will first allow you to share and update all your academic, extracurricular or athletic achievements to increase your exposure to universities.

University Search Engine will allow you to use the available filters to find information about universities based on their country, cost/year or the areas of study they are offering.

Academics Search Engine will allow you to find the degree, the undergraduate program or the scholarship you have always dreamt about.

Guide to access university will help you access the information about the requirements you need to meet to access to a university and to apply to different types of scholarships in the USA, UK, and Spain.

Wall of Notifications will help you by receiving on your wall information and daily news that universities publish.

Send and receive direct messages that will allow you to request information about the program that best fits you and receive a direct message from the university.

 

When can I start registering in Mooxye?

Right now! We are a digital platform and we don’t have any deadlines, but we recommend to start as soon as possible so you have more time to plan accordingly for when you finally go to college in the US.