Indian student Pursuing a Masters U.S

[PursuingPsych]

I am a student currently pursuing my Bachelors in India, University of Delhi. I am looking to enter a masters program (clinical psy) in U.S  but in India we have a 3 year undergraduate course which is not accepted in U.S. so I am trying to find courses to gain enough credits to enter the Masters program in U.S (California particularly). Any suggestions on international students filling in the gap year in community colleges or diploma degrees will be helpful.

[Silverstars]

Hi there! I am also from India, and I had the exact same issue as you when I was looking to apply to the US for grad school. I held a 3 year bachelor's degree in Psychology, and found that most of the good schools would not accept that degree. I ended up transferring to the undergraduate program at the University of Minnesota, and completing extra coursework there. It did take me a year and a half (i.e., three semesters) to complete all of the coursework they required to graduate with a bachelor's degree from there, but it was totally worth it. I gained some really valuable research experiences and received strong letters of recommendation from faculty that made me a much more competitive candidate for graduate school, and I am currently in a PhD program. There are some concerns with transferring though, particularly financially, as there almost no scholarships for international undergraduate students. I managed to make it work with a loan, a campus job and some financial support from my family, but it was definitely an expensive option. It is also almost impossible to finish in one year, so be prepared for it to take at least two. One thing to keep in mind is that every university has different requirements for the bachelor's degree and some may not even let you transfer if you already hold an Indian bachelor's degree (these are usually places that DO accept the Indian bachelor's degree, though), so finding universities that will take you and don't have too many requirements requires a LOT of research. I don't think the US has any diploma programs you can use as a substitution for your 4th year and I have never heard of international students at community colleges (although you should look into it as it might be cheaper), so transferring might be your best bet if you're very keen on coming here. If you're not, there are cheaper options such as pursuing a master's in India first, or considering going to the UK or other European countries, where they do accept Indian bachelor's degrees. If you are interested in transferring,  feel free to PM me for more information. I went through the process on my own with no guidance, and I know how overwhelming it can be. I'm happy to share everything I learned from applying

 

 

[Saman]

Hi PursuingPsych,

I'm also an Indian student pursuing MS. in I/O psych at Northern Kentucky University. I also had a bachelors degree from Delhi University (BRAC) in App. Psychology (Hons.), 2013 batch, and came here in Fall, 2015. With respect to your concern, I'm not sure what schools you have checked which do not accept 3 year degree program (It used to be a major hindrance for the Indian students in the past though). As far as I know, every US school requires foreign nationals to have their degree evaluated in terms of GPA and its equivalency to the US bachelors programs. One of these organizations is WES which I used for my degree evaluation. Once you get your credentials evaluated, I'm sure not a single school will hesitate to accept you given you have met every other requirement.

I would highly recommend you to check the "International Student Department" of every school you visit as they offer the current, consistent and up-to-date information regarding the admission requirements. If you need some more information you think I can help you with, please do not hesitate to shoot me an e-mail at nirwanv1@mymail.nku.edu

Hope this helps. Thanks