Enrollment - the truth

[dagkoc]

Hi Guys. First of all i would say that i am polish, Bachelor in UK , top 60 world unis.

 my question to you is: Is the PhD in US dream could be reality ? if i hear that most of unis admits 1-3 international students every year, even if i find sympathy to me from course directors etc (quite specific life circumstances), i have doubt if we have really chances and if we should apply top or bottom ties, and if, then to how many  unis to have some reasonable  chances- 10-20 -30? i think about neuroscience , biomedical or developmental. my bsc - Biomedical Science (anatomy)

[TakeruK]

Yes, it's possible. I actually think you should apply to top tier private schools because private schools admit way more international students than public schools. This is because us international students cost a lot more than American students in public schools. 40% of grad students at my private school are international! I got into a few top tier private schools but rejected from lower tier public schools because of this.

[fuzzylogician]

It can be done and is being done by quite a few members of this community. Whether you can do it depends on your profile, which you did not share with us. As TakeruK says, applying to top private schools might be a smart move because those schools tend to have more funding, and all students cost the same. Public schools tend to have less funding and normally at least some, if not all, US students will cost less. California public schools have recently been particularly bad about funding international students, but I believe the problem is more widespread.

[dagkoc]

Hi

Cheers from reply guys.well, my gre is very high, i m at third year now, my gpa is low due serious illness and other circumstancess, however at my university the fibnal year grade is your final grade and i am expected to achieve First (highest). i am writing now two pubs, in summer will have summer intership with Prof who was teacher in harvard, he will do as well my LOR,  and in the final year i will have couple of placement plus my own research. i am finalist of FameLab (neuroscience topic). high school - veterinary technicall college in Poland. what you think?

[music]

Coming from a UK institution, do not worry about your 'GPA'. UK and US systems do not correspond at all, and being more specialised in our undergrads in the UK can give an advantage when applying for PhDs. Even if you get a 2:1, don't let that deter you. I opted to only apply to private schools in the US, because the public schools often do guarantee give full funding to international students, which seemed too big a gamble for me - unless you have significant savings, it might not be worth applying somewhere which may well be unaffordable, even if they make you the most generous offer they can.