International friendly universities in US?

[wings101]

I was just wondering what are peoples thoughts are on US schools? I applied to UC schools this cycle and have found that a lot of people have said that it is really hard for international students to get in. What schools do you think are more friendly/ are more likely to admit you or send out invites to international students? 

Would love to connect with people who are in the same boat! drop me a DM and I'll pass on my socials  

[foreverontheQ]

I’m not sure about all UC schools, but I did hear that about UCSF so didn’t end up applying there. I would say Stowers is very international friendly, and so are most schools in NYC!

[Sky_china]

state school, and NIH funded program usually have internatioal unfreinedly

[CRISPRitout]

Hey, I am actually in a similar boat, I had applied to 17 schools and got rejected from most of them. Only interviewed with 3 (still waiting to hear back), which were not my top choices. I am international but I am currently in the US. I have a Masters' and have 6 years of research experience. I had heard that the more research experience you have the more it helps, but definitely didn't help me in my case. So I don't really know what all you need to have to get into a good school. UCSF is definitely not international friendly, I am currently working at UCSF, and my PI couldn't help me get in. He said the admissions committee has very specific criteria but he didn't give me more details. I was rejected from both schools I have worked at as a research technician. I felt very dejected but consoled myself saying may be things happen for a reason. The only thing I don't have is a publication under my belt. I am one of the unlucky ones who hasn't been able to be published even though I have given 6-7 years to the research field. 

As far as international friendly schools is concerned, I would check out UMass Amherst, Rutgers, UC Santa Cruz too. They are mid-tiered universities but have a pretty good biology program. 

Would love to chat more if you want to. Feel free to DM me and we can connect. 

[DRMF]

Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs.

UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself.

Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think.

Stanford low

Harvard 34%

MIT OK

Yale 30%

WUSTL 30%

UCLA 20%

Columbia OK

UT SW OK

Baylor College of Medicine 33%

Sloan Kettering OK

Weill Cornell 46%

Einstein College of Medicine 30%

NYU OK

[Crucial BBQ]

California dedicates a large portion of the State's budget towards higher education and most California residents do not pay tuition (they pay fees instead).  Because the costs are heavily subsidized by (Californian) tax-payer dollars, California tends to favor California residents above everyone else, including Americans from other States.  It's simply cheaper for the UCs (and PIs) to do so.  

[HelsiBorlis]

I would consider taking a deeper look at schools with a large endowment and private. This will help to ensure that their funding isn't dependent on the state's budget.

Some schools that come to mind are:
Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Emory, WashU, Rice, Vanderbilt and Johns Hopkins.

[TangentTam]

On 2/24/2021 at 12:24 AM, DRMF said:

Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs.

UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself.

Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think.

Stanford low

Harvard 34%

MIT OK

Yale 30%

WUSTL 30%

UCLA 20%

Columbia OK

UT SW OK

Baylor College of Medicine 33%

Sloan Kettering OK

Weill Cornell 46%

Einstein College of Medicine 30%

NYU OK

Hello, thanks for the sharing! And I am wondering if you know the situation of Rockefeller University. Is there friendly to the international students?(I am glad to see that those in NYC you listed are friendly to the international students) 

[DRMF]

On 6/25/2021 at 9:14 AM, TangentTam said:

Hello, thanks for the sharing! And I am wondering if you know the situation of Rockefeller University. Is there friendly to the international students?(I am glad to see that those in NYC you listed are friendly to the international students) 

Hi - my general impression (probably from personal anecdotes) of Rockefeller is pretty international-friendly, though I'm not sure if there are differences between their own phd vs the Tri-ins program. 

I couldn't find official data on their website, but here are two other websites with references:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rockefeller-university-195049#

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/rockefeller-university/student-life/international/

 

[TangentTam]

9 minutes ago, DRMF said:

Hi - my general impression (probably from personal anecdotes) of Rockefeller is pretty international-friendly, though I'm not sure if there are differences between their own phd vs the Tri-ins program. 

I couldn't find official data on their website, but here are two other websites with references:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rockefeller-university-195049#

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/rockefeller-university/student-life/international/

 

Thanks for your detailed info!!! It’s so nice of you and I do want to apply for their own Ph.D grogram. Actually, I decide to apply for some Immunology programs this fall and RU is always my dream school. However, when I tried to contact my POI, he told me that he couldn’t completely decide the app progress(which I think he wants to tell me it is no use contacting with him…) Then I read the guide material on its website, which writes that it is not a must for students to rotate and the candidates can just stay in their own labs(which I think that hints students should contact their interested profs in advance…) So now I’m really confused and don’t know what to do…BTW

,all of the research field of that prof fall into my interest areas….Could you give me some suggestions?Many thanks to you!

[DRMF]

10 hours ago, TangentTam said:

Thanks for your detailed info!!! It’s so nice of you and I do want to apply for their own Ph.D grogram. Actually, I decide to apply for some Immunology programs this fall and RU is always my dream school. However, when I tried to contact my POI, he told me that he couldn’t completely decide the app progress(which I think he wants to tell me it is no use contacting with him…) Then I read the guide material on its website, which writes that it is not a must for students to rotate and the candidates can just stay in their own labs(which I think that hints students should contact their interested profs in advance…) So now I’m really confused and don’t know what to do…BTW

,all of the research field of that prof fall into my interest areas….Could you give me some suggestions?Many thanks to you!

I have no additional knowledge on Rockefeller either, sorry. The way I understand their "Guide" is just that rotations are not required. I don't necessarily see that as saying "you should contact faculty members before applying" - usually application instructions are pretty clear; if they program actively wants you to contact potential advisors in advance, they would usually state that directly.

It sounds like you already established contact with your POI - did he say anything like "happy to have you rotate in my lab if you are admitted"? Or did he discuss any open projects in the lab with you? It's true that a single faculty member rarely has the power to decide whether you'll get in, and what he was trying to say by stating that fact would depend on the tone/context.

I think at this point it's the most helpful for you to start a separate thread just about Rockefeller so that others familiar with the program can give you more relevant help.

[TangentTam]

1 hour ago, DRMF said:

I have no additional knowledge on Rockefeller either, sorry. The way I understand their "Guide" is just that rotations are not required. I don't necessarily see that as saying "you should contact faculty members before applying" - usually application instructions are pretty clear; if they program actively wants you to contact potential advisors in advance, they would usually state that directly.

It sounds like you already established contact with your POI - did he say anything like "happy to have you rotate in my lab if you are admitted"? Or did he discuss any open projects in the lab with you? It's true that a single faculty member rarely has the power to decide whether you'll get in, and what he was trying to say by stating that fact would depend on the tone/context.

I think at this point it's the most helpful for you to start a separate thread just about Rockefeller so that others familiar with the program can give you more relevant help.

Thank you very much!!! You have already given me so much info and  helped me clear my thoughts. Now I see what the "encouraging you to contact POI in advance" is like. 

Well....I don't really know if that is the so-called "contact".... I started to write emails to him since last December for the SURF(which he told me the recruitment was up to the committee) and I was rejected finally. Then now my application season comes and I contacted him again as well as talked about his research. He repled to me like 5 times and he insisted that he won't give me an interview individually because it is not fair to other students and if I have any more admission questions, I should contact the committee(Oh he also said the application is not directly to the specific lab). From his words, I think he releases the clue that the power of enrollment is centralized in the committee, though I don't know if this is just a polite excuse or RU is actually a strong committee university. 

Thanks for your advice and that is why I come to this helpful forum and write to you! Good luck to you and wish you advance your research well!

[aryanj]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:07 AM, CRISPRitout said:

Hey, I am actually in a similar boat, I had applied to 17 schools and got rejected from most of them. Only interviewed with 3 (still waiting to hear back), which were not my top choices. I am international but I am currently in the US. I have a Masters' and have 6 years of research experience. I had heard that the more research experience you have the more it helps, but definitely didn't help me in my case. So I don't really know what all you need to have to get into a good school. UCSF is definitely not international friendly, I am currently working at UCSF, and my PI couldn't help me get in. He said the admissions committee has very specific criteria but he didn't give me more details. I was rejected from both schools I have worked at as a research technician. I felt very dejected but consoled myself saying may be things happen for a reason. The only thing I don't have is a publication under my belt. I am one of the unlucky ones who hasn't been able to be published even though I have given 6-7 years to the research field. 

As far as international friendly schools is concerned, I would check out UMass Amherst, Rutgers, UC Santa Cruz too. They are mid-tiered universities but have a pretty good biology program. 

Would love to chat more if you want to. Feel free to DM me and we can connect. 

Wow that is tough, I think your 6-7 years of research experience actually might be going against you because you don't have any pubs yet. I only have 5 months of research experience(behavioral ecology) through internships, combined, but have 5 pubs(1 first auth, 2nd auth, rest mid auth), I guess I was lucky to work with groups that publish relatively quick and are inlusive with student about authorship.