The aspiration to study abroad is a dream for many Nepali students. The allure of pursuing education in the United States, often portrayed in Hollywood movies and on various social media sites, is invigorating. The prospect of studying in the United States, a nation prominently associated with various technological hubs and the renowned Silicon Valley, holds irresistible appeal for students from across the globe.

The year 2023 witnessed a remarkable surge in the number of international students vying for enrollment in various US universities, with over one million applicants from around the world. 

The situation in Nepal is no different from the rest of the world, there has been a significant escalation in the number of Nepali students flocking to the United States for their educational pursuits in recent years. Statistics from the US Embassy in Nepal reveal a significant influx, with the current number of Nepali students studying in the US surpassing 15,000—a record high in the nation's history. This surge is indicative of the growing popularity of American education and lifestyle among the youths of Nepal. 

Securing admission into a top-tier institution in a highly developed country like the United States is no simple task. It requires dedicated effort in both academics and extracurricular activities. These institutions seek well-rounded applicants who they believe will be a good fit for their university. For applying to universities in the US, the CommonApp and Coalition App are used and every year they open on August 1 and August 15 respectively for the fall intake.

Filling out applications and writing essays can be incredibly demanding and chaotic, causing students to lose focus amidst the cumbersome process. If you aspire to study at a prestigious university in the United States, this application timeline will provide valuable guidance during this challenging application procedure. 

College list

Once your 12th grade begins, start researching for colleges and universities that fit your criteria. Students should make an organized list of the colleges considering various factors like location, acceptance rate, financial aid and scholarships, ranking and so on. An organized college list helps to make a proper decision about which college you are targeting for. 

Also, students should make sure that they include all kinds of colleges in their college list, aiming only for the top-tier ones is not considered smart, it is a huge gamble as the elite universities have extremely low acceptance rates, and the chances of admission in such colleges is not high. Make a diverse list of colleges incorporating top-tier and safety universities. 

Standardized tests

Although many universities are now test-optional for the fall 2025 intake, meaning that standardized tests like the SAT and the ACT are not required, it is often recommended for students to take these tests if they want to showcase their academic abilities alongside their high school GPA. Doing so can place them on a higher pedestal and increase their chances of acceptance.

While standardized tests are an important part of the academic section of the application, a student's top priority should be their high school GPA. Admission officers take the GPA very seriously and are highly selective.  

Extracurricular Activities

To enhance your college application, consider brainstorming different extracurricular activities available at your high school. In today's college admissions process, it’s not just about academics as admission officers value well-rounded students. Simply having a 4.0 GPA or a 1600 SAT score is no longer sufficient for gaining admission to a good college. Engaging in a variety of extracurricular activities can help students highlight their leadership abilities and interests beyond the four walls of a classroom.

However, it's important to note that participating in extracurriculars just for the sake of college admission is not advisable. Students should be committed and consistently involved in their chosen activities throughout their four years of high school. The options for extracurriculars are endless – drama club, debate society, community service, public speaking, writing and book clubs, and research programs are all excellent examples of extracurricular activities. 

Letters of Recommendation 

There is a myth amongst the students that letters of recommendation (LOR) given by the teachers and the school counselor are not important in the college application. If students still have the same ideology, their research needs to be more adequate. Because LORs are considered one of the main factors in the applications, admission officers are keen to find out what the applicant’s high school teachers and counselors’ views are about that student, their involvement in the classroom, their interests in the subjects they teach and their performance in tests and exams. 

So keeping this in mind, students should inform the teachers they want to seek the LOR from before the commencement of applications so that they will have ample time to think about what they want to write in their letter for a particular student. 

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Unsurprisingly, education in the United States is far from affordable. It costs $ 80,000 on an average which is equivalent to Rs 10 million a year to study in an American university, the amount includes costs like tuition, living expenses, meals and other miscellaneous expenditures. Therefore an average Nepali family can't afford such an expensive education for their children. So students have to be vigilant about any scholarship and financial aid opportunities that are offered by the universities and apply to acquire those aids and grants. 

However while selecting colleges, students should also check whether the university offers financial aid or not before adding that college to their list. Because some colleges do not offer financial aid and scholarships for international students. Additionally, students with a good academic profile are often offered merit scholarships by colleges and the amount varies depending on their high school GPA, test scores and rank. 

Personal Essay

Once all the sections of the application are completed, towards the end there will be a personal statement essay section and this section is also regarded as an important factor in a student’s admission. In this essay, the admission officers are not interested in an applicant’s academic pursuits or achievements, instead they are interested in finding out the real story about the applicant. 

This is your opportunity to be the most authentic and honest version of yourself and describe who you are as an individual in society. In many cases, students have been accepted to their dream colleges solely based on their essays. Therefore, one should spend at least two months writing their essays and get them reviewed to avoid mistakes and errors. 

Application deadlines

After the completion of all the sections of the application, the final step is to submit the completed application. Students should be watchful as each university has set a different deadline for the submission of applications. Generally, the application deadline for most universities is in January. A student should review their application thoroughly before submitting their applications, and make sure that they do not miss the given deadline as it may have some consequences in the future. Once the applications are submitted, an email will be sent to the student by the colleges. After that students will await their decisions from colleges in March! 

 
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