Going abroad is a very hard thing. I have been busy for half a year. If you add the time spent preparing for the English test, it will be even longer. This application summary is a review of my own application process. Firstly, I hope to take this opportunity to reflect on the problems in my application. Secondly, I also hope to provide reference and reference for other students. During the application process, I received a lot of help from teachers and classmates, and also obtained a lot of information from the forum. I hope to use this to give back to the forum.

1. Personal background

Bachelor’s degree: an ordinary 985 university; Master’s degree: a well-known liberal arts university in Beijing. Major: Agricultural Economics and Management

Perhaps everyone should know which of the two universities I am in.

English: IELTS (listening 7.5, speaking 6.5, reading 9.0, writing 7.5, total score 7.5)

GRE: 159+166+4.0

GPA: Undergraduate: 3.76/4.00, Master: 3.84/4.00

I have several papers in Chinese core journals, participated in the teacher’s self-study and social science projects, and also participated in writing international conferences, but no papers in English. Recommendation letters are all written by domestic teachers.

2. School application and admission status

The specific project names may be slightly different, but there will not be much difference. The schools I applied to were very wide and varied, and all of them were doctoral programs. The following is some information about related projects. Some of the information comes from the introductions of senior brothers and sisters. It is also my own opinion. There may be inaccuracies. It is only for reference and to inspire others. I hope everyone can express their opinions.

UIUC (Geography) offer

The department is divided into three directions: human geography, GIS, and physical geography. There are many human geography teachers, both qualitative and quantitative, covering fields It's also very broad. The Department of Geography of UIUC ranks fourth in the United States according to NRC rankings. It is a good geography department. In terms of human geography, it does a good job in environmental policy.

U of Toronto (Forestry) offer

There are only two teachers in the forestry department who are doing social science, one is forestry economics, and the other is forestry governance (focusing on sociology and political science) ), and the enrollment is very small, so before applying, you need to ask the teacher whether there is any enrollment.

U of Michigan (Natural Resource Management) rejection

One of the four major resource and environmental schools in North America. This department is very complex and has everything, but the competition for admissions is very fierce. In 2014, 96 people applied and 6 were admitted, all of whom received full scholarships. In the doctoral program, the social science direction only accepts about 2 people, and the competition is fierce. It is recommended to apply for the following magnets before applying. After communicating with a professor at the school, the professor said that if he has financial support, the probability of admission will increase. Admission still places great emphasis on GRE\TOEFL\GPA scores. Of course, the matching of research direction is the most important.

U of Florida (Agricultural Economics; Interdisciplinary Ecology) offer

The Agricultural Economics project requires intermediate macro and micro econometrics courses, but in fact it is not strictly based on this card. During my master's degree, I didn't take intermediate or advanced macro and micro courses, but I was admitted. I heard from a senior sister that the current employment situation for PhDs in agricultural economics in North America is grim, and the employment situation for PhDs in agricultural economics in Florida in 2014 is also not good. It is said that his qualification examination is not particularly strict and the passing rate is relatively high.

U of California Davis (Agricultural and Resource Economics) rejection

The old agricultural and economics school is strong, but it seems that in recent years the old people have retired and new people have come on board, and they are in a period of change and renewal. The competition was fierce, with more than 200 people applying. In the end, 30 offers were made, and more than 20 were accepted. Some people may have to be eliminated in the final qualification examination. Davis's admission process is also very strange. One month after the application ended, a batch of rejection letters were sent out, and about 100 people were rejected. Then they started sending offers, and finally in April, they sent rejection letters to others.

U of Georgia (Housing and Consumer Economics) AD

This project was purely a trial, and I didn’t feel too confident about taking it. I had done a similar subject in my undergraduate degree, so I applied. Later I learned that this project was quite good. This program in Georgia was previously in a business school, but later became independent. It deals with finance and real estate consumption and has good employment prospects. Not many people know about it and the competition is not fierce. The results were available in early March, but the main problem was that there was no money. This year, the master's and doctoral program has recruited more than a dozen people, and none of them have received scholarships. The school is in Atlanta, and the annual tuition and living expenses are 200,000-300,000. If funds are not an issue, you may consider it.

U of Connecticut (Agricultural and Resource Economics) AD to Master's Degree Program

The Department of Agricultural Economics of Connecticut is small but sophisticated, and does a good job in resources and environment, but it also faces the replacement of old and new personnel. I applied for a PhD, but was transferred to a master's degree, probably because the courses were not enough (I have not studied intermediate macroeconomics). It is said that finding this project is not particularly satisfactory.

U of Texas A&M (Agricultural Economics) rejection

After I was rejected by this project, I sent a letter asking why. The person in charge told me that because I chose the "required scholarship", I could come even if I had no money, and they would give me admission. Therefore, it seems that the option of "whether a scholarship is necessary" still has an impact on admissions, and you need to choose carefully. However, I saw on the forum that someone received admission with a scholarship, so I don’t know much about the scholarship award mechanism. Texas schools use a separate admissions system, and the operation is very complicated. If you apply to a school in Texas, you must apply early and understand the rules of the system.

U of Kentucky (Agricultural Economics) offer

The admission deadline is very late, and the results are very late. Its agricultural economics is also good, so it can be used as a guarantee school.

U of Guelph (Agricultural and Resource Economics) rejection

The school has an average ranking, but it is said that this program is the best agricultural economics doctoral program in Canada. It is said that the number of PhD admissions is very small, so competition is very fierce. They have a master's program with scholarships. You can consider applying for the master's program as a springboard for doctoral applications. I have seen children admitted to his master's program on the forum before. In addition, Guelph has a cooperation agreement with the public-sponsored project of the Basic Committee. It will be much easier if it is a publicly-sponsored project.

3. Choose a school and choose a program

Choosing a school is really important. I think you should spend more time on choosing a school. There are many posts with great advice on choosing a school. There is no doubt that match is the most important. If you can find a program that seems to be tailor-made for you, then the possibility of admission is very high. In addition, the application process for economics is so fierce now. For students whose own conditions are not particularly good, it is better not to set their goals too high. It’s better to avoid projects that everyone is flocking to. In fact, there are many good programs abroad, but when people choose schools, they often follow the crowd. Whatever others choose, I choose too, causing Chinese people to crowd together. You may wish to look at the list of all the programs in your favorite school. If there is a program with teachers similar to your own research direction, then you can consider applying. Afterwards, you can search the name of this project online. If you find that few other people have applied, then this may contain opportunities. Finally, in the economic management category, there are actually many projects that can be applied across the board. For example, my master's degree is from Lin Jing. I can apply not only for agricultural economics projects, but also for resources, environment, and ecology projects, as well as projects in Lin School. You can also apply for environmental sociology, etc. I don’t think it’s necessary to limit my vision to the School of Economics. Although the economics training in the School of Economics is definitely much better than that of other schools, the application process for the School of Economics is too fierce. If other schools have good tutors, you can also consider it.

Of course, for projects that no one else applies for, it may be that no one knows about the good stuff, or the project itself is not particularly good, so no one applies for it. Therefore, everyone should spend more time and take a closer look at the course offerings, rankings, faculty, school reputation, etc. in the project. In this way, it is not difficult to find a cost-effective project.

4. Material preparation

There are many online posts about material preparation, so I won’t go into details. I just want to mention one thing, to say is easy, but to do is another. Be sure to start writing materials early! ! For example, PS, you should write early, and once you have inspiration, record it first. You can take a look at the documents written by your seniors. First, you can make some mistakes, and then you can make changes little by little. After the changes are completed, you will find that they are completely different and completely transformed. Documentation is definitely not something that can be done overnight, so you must start doing it as early as possible!

As for the issue of document revision, I personally think that document revision is still necessary. However, as long as the language is changed, it is really difficult for the document agency to provide useful suggestions in terms of structure and content. The key to writing documents is to write them carefully and constantly improve them. In addition, you don’t necessarily need to find a professional company to revise your documents. Your senior fellow students and classmates who applied together can also provide a lot of good advice.

5. Some thoughts

5.1 What is the most important

I have always felt that what is the most important in the application? Now think about it, it’s connection! My suggestion is that no matter what the program is, before applying, it is best to find the teachers in the program and ask whether there is admission to a certain direction and what the selection criteria are. In fact, the purpose of magnetization is also to achieve this goal. However, to be frank, general magnetization requires a lot of energy and has a low success rate. In contrast, it is simpler to find a relationship directly. So, how to find the connection?

The first is to participate in more academic conferences and meet more experts. This is actually very useful. The experts are all approachable. Once you have the right eye, there may be unexpected opportunities. The second is to deeply explore the resources of the people around you. For example, where have all the seniors gone abroad? In which schools have the tutors of the college been visiting scholars, received degrees, or have academic cooperation with foreign schools? From my experience, teachers are very caring and willing to help students who are willing to study abroad for Ph.D. They can help you by asking whether a certain tutor in a foreign department is recruiting students, or they can recommend him to you.

Secondly, it is the personal level. Needless to say, the importance of one's own abilities, but in fact, many times people do not pay enough attention to it. I think the higher the GRE, TOEFL/IELTS, and GPA, the better, the more articles, the better, and the more advanced the course, the higher the score, the better. If the conditions are not good, even if the tutor tries hard to recommend, the other party may not be willing to take it.

Finally, there are the courses. I have learned a lot about the course. My lesson is to really take math and economics courses well. The college where I work does not even offer advanced macro and micro metrology courses for master's degrees, let alone mathematics courses. This is simply fatal when applying. If the college is not open, you have to take electives. The courses must meet the requirements of the other college. Otherwise, it is easy for the other party to feel that you do not have a complete knowledge system and research capabilities. I applied to Connecticut, but the main reason why I was transferred from a PhD to a master's degree was because of insufficient courses.

6. About CSC (Chinese Government Commission)

I would also like to mention the issue of CSC. Now everyone is also paying attention to CSC. I still have some experience in this regard. Share this with everyone.

There are two steps required to take CSC. First, apply to a foreign school according to the normal procedures (that is, you must meet the application requirements of the foreign school, take the TOEFL, IELTS, GRE test, etc.), and after getting admitted to the foreign school (usually an offer of free tuition or half-award tuition) , and then apply for a publicly funded scholarship (i.e. living expenses) from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). It should be made clear here that if the school is publicly funded, the country will only provide living expenses. That is, the other school must agree to provide tuition or waive tuition. The China Scholarship Council only provides tuition fees to a very small number of applicants. In fact, the government provides tuition to very few people every year, but this requires a separate interview, and the admission rate is much lower than that of those who do not apply for tuition, so it is better not to try easily. For specific regulations, please log on to the website of the China Scholarship Council to learn more. The regulations inside are still very complicated. In principle, people who are in the public sector are required to return to their country to serve. Those who want to immigrate may not be very suitable for the public sector.

Based on the situation in the past few years, when it comes to admissions to American schools, the proportion of public sectarians is the highest. This is mainly because there are more schools in the United States and more good schools. But there is a problem here that people tend to overlook: the tuition fees of North American schools are generally higher, but the living expenses are much lower than the tuition fees; in Europe, the living expenses are relatively high, but the tuition fees are not that high; and in public schools, the state provides living expenses. Therefore, from a school perspective, European schools prefer publicly sent Chinese students than American schools. The public's appeal to American schools is limited because they cannot save much money. Therefore, don’t think that because there are more people applying for public schools with offers from American schools, it means that it is easier to apply for public schools in the United States than in Europe.

If you really want to go to a public school, one way is to not tell the other party that you want to go to a public school when applying. If the other party admits you and gives you a scholarship that waives tuition or covers tuition, but does not provide tuition, Then apply for public funding yourself. The second way is to directly tell the other party when you apply that you want to go to a public school, and the state can provide living expenses. In this way, the other school may feel that it only needs to provide tuition fees, and therefore be more willing to admit you (only possible).

If you are applying to a European school, you only need to ask the other tutor to issue an admission letter in accordance with the Overseas Study Fund Committee. As far as I know, many schools in Europe have a big boss. The big boss is responsible for all the Ph.D.s. The Ph.D.s are actually not ordinary students, but employees. The admission letter is also issued by the big boss. In this way, all you have to do is get the big boss. However, American schools are more troublesome. Ph.D. admissions in American schools are very standardized and require approval by the committee and the graduate school, not just by the supervisor. This is especially true for liberal arts and social science majors. This creates a problem. American schools may not issue admission letters in full compliance with the requirements of the China Scholarship Council, and it is difficult for them to make compromises. For example: the admission letter issued by the school may read like this:

“If you can get a public admission, we may/usually waive the tuition fee.

”

However, this actually does not meet the requirements of the China Scholarship Council. Words like “may/usually will” can easily give people the impression that even if students receive public funding, the school is not necessarily responsible for tuition fees. .

So, why does the school issue such an invitation letter? My understanding is that this can reduce the legal liability that the school may bear if it cannot provide tuition for some special reasons. "Maybe/usually", even if the school is unable to provide you with tuition fees in the future due to financial constraints, it will not bear legal responsibility because it has left room for itself in the admission letter. However, this is actually the case. The risk is passed on to the China Scholarship Council and the students. On Xiaomu Chong, I once saw a student complaining that the American school only waived the tuition for the first year of the Ph.D. and was not responsible for the tuition for the second year. As a result, the students did not know what to do. .

My suggestion is that when applying to American schools, there is no need to tell people in advance that you want to go to a public school. When you talk to the teacher, you can first check the teacher's attitude. You, then he may provide you with a full scholarship. If he wants you but the funding is not enough, he will usually tell you the reason directly. Then you can tell him that you can apply for public funding and the school does not need to pay for living expenses.

Finally, I don’t think that public scholarship will actually bring you many advantages when applying to famous universities in North America, because famous schools focus on the quality of students, and they will not have to pay less because CSC provides living expenses. , and to admit an unsuitable student, and for prestigious North American schools, the tuition fee is much higher than the living expenses. The temptation of CSC is very small, but for those applying to European schools, public scholarships can still make them more interested. Some schools have cooperative programs with CSC, such as UCLA, USC, UT, UBC and other prestigious schools. If you choose a cooperative program, you may increase the chance of successful application, but to be admitted, you still have to meet the requirements of the other school, and these requirements are not the same. Low.

Finally, if you want to know more about public scholarships, please go to the Xiaomu Chong Forum. The section on public scholarships is the home base for public scholarship applicants. In addition, the difficulty of applying for public scholarships is becoming more and more difficult every year. , the process of applying for public scholarships is also quite complicated, and there are many things that need to be paid attention to. After all, the state’s money is not that easy to get. 7. About IELTS and TOEFL< /p>

As for IELTS and TOEFL, everyone knows that the applicability difference between the two is now very small. That is, most North American schools recognize IELTS, and most European and Australian schools also recognize TOEFL. However, I am still sincere. Let me tell you, if you really decide to focus on North America, you should firmly take TOEFL instead of IELTS.

The discrimination against IETLS in North America is very obvious. For example, Connell's Agricultural Economics does not recognize IELTS at all. , no matter how high it is, it doesn’t matter. There are also some schools, such as Ohio State, where many programs only require a TOEFL score of 100, while IELTS requires an 8. This almost tells you that you should give up and take the TOEFL test. There is also the University of Toronto in Canada, with an overall IELTS score of 7 and a single subject of 6.5, but a TOEFL score of only 93. Obviously, there are advantages to taking the TOEFL. Therefore, if you go to North America, be determined to take the TOEFL.

Finally, it is not easy to apply. Everyone must be mentally prepared. I hope you can persevere. In fact, my conditions were not very good, and I encountered many blows in the process. Sometimes I was prepared for World War II. Some of the students who applied with me were very good, but due to various reasons, the results were not very good. However, life is a marathon, and the twists and turns in the middle will not matter when you look back in the future. I hope everyone has confidence and can persevere.

The classmate who applied with me plans to continue applying this year. I also wish her success and wish everyone a smooth journey!