United States

How do you get into a top US university such as Stanford? What do US colleges look for in your application? How can you afford to study in the US?

When Indian student Manu Chauhan started looking into studying in the US, he had all the same questions. While many international students dream of studying in the US, the high cost of studying, the competitive application processes and the lack of access to admissions advice can easily make this goal feel out of reach.

I recently graduated from Purdue University in the US and found a job at a start-up company. This feels like a dream for a student from a small village in Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

My father is a farmer, and my mother is a homemaker; our family’s annual income has always been less than $1,300. With limited means, my family struggled to support my education. I was 12 years old when I passed the entrance exam for VidyaGyan, a leadership academy in rural Uttar Pradesh founded by the Shiv Nadar Foundation.

If you are studying in the US, it is possible to move from one university to another. This process is called “transferring”.

You can transfer from a community college to a four-year institution, or you can transfer from one university to another. If you’re transferring from a community college to a university, you will start at the university as a junior for the final two years of your bachelor’s degree.

When Covid-19 emerged, I was still in my sophomore (second) year of university. It did not take long to realise that many aspects of my university experience were going to be impacted by the pandemic. Specifically, I knew that the traditional study abroad experience would no longer be feasible.

If your UK student visa application gets refused, it’s natural to feel disappointed or stressed by the outcome.

Remember that you are not the first international student to have their visa application rejected, and a range of support is available.