U.S. Educational Institutions are known worldwide for their quality programs, faculty, facilities and resources. The U.S. education system offers an unrivalled choice of institutions, academic and social environments, programs of study, and subjects in which you can specialize. The U.S. Educational Institutions vary in two general types: Public vs. Private institutions.
Publicly supported schools are usually state colleges or universities that receive most of their funding from the states they are located in. Private schools, on the other hand, are not provided the same primary funding by the state and federal government but often receive financial support from individuals and benefactors in the private sector.
Most universities use the semester system where there are two major periods of study in each academic year - Fall and Spring. Depending on the university, the academic year starts sometime from late August to mid-September. There are 16 or 17 weeks of study in each semester. There may also be a shorter optional period of study in the summer. Some universities use the quarter system where there are four 10 week study periods (or quarters) during the year. Students are usually expected to attend three quarters, but may attend all four to graduate sooner. These are sometimes also called "trimesters."
Course work is measured in "units" or "credit hours." Generally, a class that meets for three hours of lectures or discussion a week carries three units of credit - one hour of undergraduate credit means one hour of lecture and two hours of homework, whereas one hour of graduate credit means one hour of lecture and five hours of homework. An average class-load at the bachelor's degree level is about 15 units per semester, which means about 45 hours of attendance and study are expected each week. At the graduate level the average class-load is about nine units per semester, so about 54 hours of attendance and study are expected each week.

Undergraduate study in the US
There are two types of undergraduate degrees - Associate's degree and a Bachelor's degree:
An Associate's degree (Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Sciences (AS)) is a two-year degree awarded by technical, community or junior colleges. Associate's degrees are usually very practical and offer advanced training in technical areas, such as business occupations, data processing, nursing, engineering technology, interior design and medical assistance.
A Bachelor's degree is a four or five-year degree awarded by colleges or universities, e.g. Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA).
To receive a bachelor's degree, students are expected to complete a sequence of courses within a major field of study, called "major requirements," complete a sequence of courses outside your major field of study, called "general education requirements," and must complete in total 120 credit/ hours. Some universities have additional requirements, such as a thesis written during the final year of study or a final research project

In the US, medicine and law are not offered as undergraduate majors. You must complete a bachelor's degree in another field first before you can apply to law or medical school. There are no required majors for students planning to attend law or medical school, although some colleges offer "pre-law" or "pre-medicine" programs.

The master's degree usually takes one to three years of full-time study. There are two main types of master's degree programmes - professional master's degrees and research master's degrees.
Professional master's degrees are certificates of competence in specialized fields and often have some type of internship or fieldwork component. They provide a specific set of skills needed to practice a particular profession and generally lead directly to employment.
Research master's degrees are generally part of the progression to a PhD program. They provide experience in research and scholarship and may involve writing a thesis or taking a comprehensive examination. Academic performance in a research master's program can determine whether a student is likely to be allowed to continue on to a PhD program. Graduate examination can result in a variety of degrees. The common include the master's of arts (MA), sciences (MS), business administration (MBA), law (LLM), social work (MSW), and specialist in education (EdS).

The main purpose of a PhD program is to train research scholars in a particular field. The doctoral degree typically involves both coursework and a major research project. It usually takes four to six years of full-time study to get a PhD. Some doctoral programs include a master's degree program, with students beginning directly after they complete their bachelor's degree. Some doctoral programs require the completion of a master's degree before the beginning of doctoral studies.
The first two years of a PhD program involve classes and seminars to give the student a comprehensive knowledge of an academic field. Following this period of study, students take written and/or oral examinations to test their knowledge. Successful completion of the exams and approval of a research project leads to "candidacy."
The research project involves original research and, depending on the field, should take one to three years to complete. Faculty members guide the process of formulating the research project and evaluate the resultant thesis, but the student carries out the research independently.
The most common final, or "terminal", degrees are doctorates in a variety of fields (PhD), education (EdD), law (JD), science (DSc), medicine (MD), and religion or divinity (DD).

When applying to universities, it is important to look for funding at the same time. Applicants requiring financial assistance to cover costs of further studies must plan on spending as much time on looking and applying for funds as on the admissions process. Realistically, one or even two months are not long enough to search for funding. Many applications are rejected because they are incomplete and inadequately prepared. To be successful, you must begin the process early and invest time in applying properly! Financial assistance for further study, whether it is from a university, foundation or corporation is extremely limited; applicants are numerous. Few sources of financial assistance cover all expenses. Prospective students should apply to more than one source.
E.g., the Soros Supplementary Grants Program provides students with partial funding only. Students must secure the remaining costs. Students should always obtain accurate estimates of expenses from the universities they wish to enter. If ranges of costs are given, use the higher figure for planning purposes.
Students cannot begin their further study without having all the costs covered.

Most students from Eastern Europe and Eurasia who go to the United States to study as undergraduates still do so as exchange students usually for a single academic year or less. These exchanges are usually arranged between institutions for groups of students and it is difficult for individual students to arrange an exchange experience.

periods of employment alternating with periods of study usually do not admit foreign students; look for programs with one or two extended periods of employment. Whether or not cooperative work assignments actually pay a significant part of study cost varies from program to program.
• UNIVERSITY LOANS - Students receive loans which are expected to be repaid after graduation. Foreign students are not usually eligible for loans.
• ADVANCED STANDING If a student qualifies, s/he can apply for advanced placement at the institutions s/he wants to study at. This does not constitute financial aid in the true sense of the word but is a means of cutting down on costs of the program by reducing its duration (i.e.: a student needs to make up less credits to graduate).
PART - TIME EMPLOYMENT ON CAMPUS After the first year of study, sometimes the International Student Office can help foreign students find jobs on campus consisting of up to 20 hours per week. The position must not displace a US citizen or permanent resident. These jobs, however, do not pay high wages.

Financial aid for foreign students studying in the USA is extremely limited. Though the competition is very keen financial aid is available for graduate study and research. Financial aid may come from either public or private institutions or private foundations and organizations. At a graduate level students should apply for admission and financial aid directly to the department, and department decides who will be accepted and awarded financial assistance. Remember, that many schools want to internationalize their campuses. If a school has no students from Ukraine, or has students from Kyiv but Lviv, they may be willing to fund such a student to increase diversity.

􀀹 Although availability of financial assistance from university departments varies directly with the field, many foreign graduate students finance US education through assistantships. To locate likely sources of aid, first consult the Peterson 's Guide to Graduate and Professional Programs, available in the advising center. General information about the program that you are interested in also includes information on financial aid awarded by the department. Loans of work/study programs are not available to foreign students. Choose several institutions that offer assistantships and consult other references for further information.

􀀹 Private U.S. agencies, foundations, business corporations and professional associations may award financial aid in the interest of furthering international exchange. International organizations such as United Nations, the Organization of American Studied and the Institute of International Education are other possible sources of financial aid. Since these institutions are large and complex, writing to eligible, and address the office indicated. Many foundation awards and grants are directed toward a particular group (e.g. women, irrigation engineers, children of journalists); you must read carefully to see whether you fit into any of the categories.

􀀹 Greater foundation support is usually available for students in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences. Apply only for awards for which you match the specifications. For applied scientists and engineering there are more opportunities for funding through research grants to university departments or to primary investigation based in universities than through foundation.

􀀹 Qualifying for an Award or Grant: To receive funds for research or study in the United States, you must often submit a carefully designed plan for your proposed research. As a rule, your proposal will be competing with those of other excellent scholars. It is not enough to state your qualifications by simply citing your diploma, your position or your experience.

Financial Aid application: Universities offer financial aid on the basis of merit, need or both. In all cases, consideration is given to academic achievements, ability, commitment and motivation. The research proposal and study plan are vital documents to include. Financial aid application deadlines may be as early as a year before enrollment. Therefore, check in the prospectus for details on how to apply. The application process may involve:

It is always important to include a cover letter with any application for financial aid. Some financial aid awards are taxable. This may reduce the amount of the grant. Students should check the tax status of financial aid awards before accepting them. The Embassy of the country where one is planning to study may have scholarship information, addresses and contact names of pertinent organizations such as Immigrant Societies through out the world. These societies could be an excellent resource for finding funds or for providing a network of fellow nationals. Businesses and corporations may offer scholarship, internship or career opportunities. They may provide funds in return for a commitment of employment. Personal or Family Funds. Every year, some of our scholarship students are able to continue onto further study because they had access to family funds. Please consider personal savings as a possibility.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

• Cover letter
• Completed application form
• Transcripts and diplomas - in original language and an English (or host university
language) translation
• Letters of recommendation
• Statement of Purpose
• Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Application fee, if applicable
Elements of an application
1) The Cover Letter:
The cover letter introduces the applicant and lists the documents that are in the package. The letter should also contain the correct name and address of the student and the correct name and address of the person to receive the application. Remember to include your email address as well. If documents are missing, this is the opportunity to explain why. The cover letter should always be typed.
2) A completed application form:
Type or print the application. Minimize the number of corrections, smudges and deletions. Do not leave questions unanswered. If the question does not apply, write "n/a" (not applicable).
3) Transcripts and Diplomas
Transcripts, undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) must be sent with the application. Transcripts that are not in English (or host university’s language) must be officially translated. Students must send copies in their home language as well as translated copies.
4) Letters of Recommendation
Strong letters of recommendation can greatly increase one’s chances of being accepted to university. Therefore, it is important to consider carefully who will write the letters. Who will provide the most positive recommendation? Who will write the fairest letter? How long has the professor known the student?
Writing recommendation letters for students is a very time consuming task. It should be looked upon as a favor that faculty offer for students. It should not be expected. Faculty always reserves the right to refuse. Thus, it is important to ask courteously and give the professor time to prepare the letter.
Letters should be in a sealed envelope that is signed on the back by the faculty member. (Universities will not always consider letters presented in an unsealed envelope). Students should always provide faculty with details of the program to which they are applying and
the name of the university and the department. Faculty may choose to return the letter to the student or send it to the university
themselves. In this case, students must provide faculty with the exact address. However, try to send the letters of recommendation with the application package. If this is not possible, the cover letter sent with the application package must explain the estimated time of arrival of the letters and details of who is sending them.
5) Application Fees
Most universities in the US (and some in other parts of the world) require students to pay an application fee. These fees usually range from $20 - $80.
Some universities will waive the application fee upon request by the student. Students who are applying to a number of universities may want to consider asking for these application fee waivers. However, some universities do not look favorably on students requesting application fee waivers since it can imply that the student may not have sufficient funds to cover the larger tuition and living costs. It is advisable to budget carefully to pay for extra application fees.
6) Statement of Purpose
University applications usually include an essay section in the application. This section is approximately phrased with the following sentence: "Please explain why the program is suitable for you and your topic of research". It is called the "Statement of Purpose" and is one of the most important documents in an application. The Statement of Purpose allows a student to highlight and emphasize individual achievements, goals and objectives for the
future. It distinguishes one student from another and is one of the deciding factors for admission in an application package. Universities want to select motivated and bright students. The selection of the right graduate students is important for the faculty and the long-term reputation of the department and university.
The Statement of Purpose gives the student the opportunity to be remembered by the Admissions Office out of thousands of applications. It should not be duplicated from one application to another but adapted for each application. A Statement of Purpose is not necessarily a research proposal. There is a special section in this manual devoted to Statement of Purpose.
7) Final Suggestions