International LMIC Students, how is the Fall 2021 Application affecting you?

[Rerun]

I want to put this out and say it loud. I believe many did and I am not the first. Here it goes.

I know many schools waived the GRE "due to COVID19", but English Requirement-which is in the same test center- is not waived. If you really want to apply, I suggest to ask the admissions people about your circumstances. I believe the really "internationally sensitive" and kind ones can accommodate that, like accepting your old scores or taking a test on a later date, or replacing it with other test. But it's just crazy to see some schools just say "Please take the test". Aren't we all affected equally?

Right now there's IELTS indicator and TOEFL at home, and there's a growing list of schools taking this scores. Honestly I find the schools that only take TOEFL and not IELTS as insensitive, not to mention those who are not taking any of the at home test- at all- or only considering it as temporary. International students are just facing extra hurdle. For GRE, I am not sure with your country. In my country, there's only very few "word of mouth" resources and group of people to even learn it, not to mention taking the test and affording it. The courses are so expensive. 

As international, I am talking about LMIC countries. Those country where 1 USD can feed you for a one day meal. It's such a privilege to even think about applying to these schools, and this is speaking of- non scholarship path. You know how competitive is even to get one.

I hope admission offices and more university hear this. If they really want to have international students in their campus, then give out the resources, preparations, or mentoring to give prospective students the access to actually be an international student at your campus. You can't say that your school holds to social justice if you ignore this. For GRE people, I just hope they can release more free sources to study apart from the one you get from the website, giving more study discounts to at least make it accessible to learn. I am aware GRE is giving a test fee waiver, but I guess the learning resources need to be more affordable. I know they are making money out of it, but I believe change can happen. I just hope someday most schools break this cycle. If they can waive GRE due to COVID19, why can't they do it all together in the future? Either the school or the GRE people need to find a way to change the system.

I am here to say that it's hard as an international student to afford applying to US schools and meeting all this expensive eligibility to study in the States. To the least I want to say, it's unfair. I've been applying to schools multiple times for Master and PhD. I'll do it anyway because I want to study in the States. I just want to highlight that the testing system is inequitable for international students, especially those who are originally coming all the way from LMIC countries, with limited resources to even get the access to learn and spend money for all these things.

My international student fellows, I just want to acknowledge my stress and your stress with all these extra requirements apart from the already expensive application fee: TOEFL/IELTS prep, test and sending the scores, transcript credentials, sending transcripts from abroad, and other things like the courses that is not equivalent to the standard, the frustration when you realize your English is not very good, or your research experience is limited because your country just don't have all these fancy access, or the course in your undergrad is not good enough to meet the requirement, and the list goes on. I am just talking about the process of getting in. We need more accessible preparation resources and funding support for it.

My friend, your stress- if you're like me, is not invisible. It's real.