From February 26th, the results of the preliminary examination for 2024 postgraduate students will be announced one after another, Xiaode hopes that everyone can achieve excellent scores in the postgraduate examination, and the stars will live up to the passers-by and open a new chapter in their lives!
However, for some students whose scores are not ideal, Xiaode strongly recommends that you consider "studying abroad"!
At this time, you may ask: Is it too late to apply for studying abroad? Can I apply across disciplines? What should I do if I don't have time to take the TOEFL IELTS GRE ?..
In fact, it is not only too late to prepare to study abroad, but also a great opportunity to study abroad!! Let's look at a case -
From missing Peking University to the world's top media dream school, it turned around against the wind.
The seeds of media took root in the hearts of student M very early, and he set a goal for himself: he must go to the best university to study media! Therefore, the goal of the postgraduate entrance examination is to be a graduate student of the Department of Communication of Peking University.
However, the road to graduate school is not a smooth road, under the war of thousands of troops crossing the single-plank bridge, students do not want to fight World War II, and have the idea of studying abroad.
During the initial communication, the teacher had insight into the student's English advantage and rich internship experience, which was his application advantage. However, the GPA of student M is not high, and there is still a certain risk in applying across majors.
However, we did not give up, given that student M has a bachelor's degree in statistics and has solid data analysis skills, which is precisely in line with the trend of increasing emphasis on data in the American media industry.
Therefore, the applicant teacher took advantage of this to cleverly highlight this advantage in the essay, and showed the students' deep love and persistent pursuit of media through detailed internship experience.
This unique essay strategy successfully helped students break through the predicament, turn the tables against the wind, and win the second largest media project in the world!
Through the story of student M, you should also understand that the application for studying abroad will not be like the postgraduate entrance examination, with the "test scores" as the final word, the application cycle is much more flexible, and the examination factors are more comprehensive.
If you're still hesitating, you might as well take a look at these five dimensions
Domestic rolls are not as fragrant as foreign ones!
part01
Admissions Situation Difficulty of application.
Domestic postgraduate entrance examination. Generally speaking, the domestic postgraduate entrance examination needs to go through the written test + re-examination, and only after passing can you get the admission notice.
According to reports, the number of applicants for postgraduate entrance examination in 2023 will reach 4.74 million, 170,000 more than in 2022, but the acceptance rate does not exceed 20%, which indicates that more than 3 million postgraduate students have no chance to go ashore.
And in recent years, there is a new phenomenon in the domestic postgraduate examination circle: "reverse postgraduate examination"! That is, in order to successfully go ashore, the undergraduates of the "double first-class" universities do not hesitate to "go down" to the graduate students of the double non-university universities!
The popularity of the postgraduate entrance examination is only increasing, and the difficulty is getting higher and higher.
Go abroad for graduate school. Compared with the domestic postgraduate entrance examination, the foreign enrollment form is relatively flexible, and you can submit applications for multiple schools at the same time. In addition to focusing on students' hard backgrounds (language scores, GPA), students also focus on soft backgrounds, and students can demonstrate their abilities from various aspects such as personal statements and letters of recommendation.
As one of the popular study abroad countries, the United States has always been favored by Chinese students!
According to the 2022 Fall International Graduate Survey Report of the Council on Graduate Schools, the number of international graduate applicants in the United States has increased for four consecutive years as of 2022, and a quarter of international students are from China.
In recent years, the "graduate track" has become more and more rolled! The phenomenon of "reverse postgraduate entrance examination" in China is a strong proof that last year's postgraduate examination was released, many students wailed, and the undergraduate 985 was finally transferred to double non-graduate school.
In comparison, there is obviously no such "volume" for graduate school abroad, as long as the plan is in place, not to mention 985 211, students from double non-university colleges can win QSTOP100 or the top 30 in the United States in one fell swoop! This year, students from Shuangnon University applied to Columbia University, Cornell, and Northwestern University!
part02
Time cost. Graduate school in China.
According to the different types of degrees, domestic master's students are divided into professional masters and master's degrees; According to the form of study, it is divided into full-time and part-time graduate students, and part-time graduate students are also "part-time graduate students", which are generally 3 years.
The training direction of master's degree is generally teaching and scientific research talents, which is generally 3 years. However, there are also 2-year master's degrees, such as law and education at Beijing Institute of Technology;
The duration of a master's degree is generally 2 years, but in recent years, more and more colleges and universities have reformed, and the master's degree has also become a 3-year system, such as Sichuan University of Foreign Chinese in 2023 enrollment, all the master's degree system will be adjusted to 3 years.
Study abroad. The duration of foreign master's degree is generally 1-2 years, and the employment is 1-2 years earlier than that of domestic graduate students, that is, one step ahead of their peers, entering the workplace earlier to enrich their work experience and improve their work experience.
In the United States, for example, the master's program is fast, very compact and rich, and it only takes one year to obtain a master's diploma from a prestigious university.
Previously, Xiaode also took stock of the one-year master's degree in the top 30 in the United States (click to view), such as marketing and business analysis at Columbia University; Master of Education, Harvard; Master of Finance from MIT; Purin's MPP, etc.
Obviously, graduate school abroad takes less time!
part03
Monetary costs. Graduate school in China.
Generally speaking, the tuition standard for full-time academic degree students in China is 8,000 years, and the tuition standard for professional degree master's students is 10,000-25,000 years.
However, the tuition fees for different majors in different schools are also different, such as popular majors such as business administration and journalism, and the tuition fees will be relatively expensive.
In addition, domestic graduate students will have scholarships, grants, etc. to help reduce stress; The exact amount varies depending on the school.
Study abroad. When it comes to studying abroad, everyone's first reaction is that it is expensive, but the cost of studying abroad in different countries and majors is not the same! Taking USC as an example, the annual tuition fee for completing 18 credits in the master's program of the School of Engineering is $41,562, which is indeed much more expensive than domestic graduate studies at first glance.
However, there are also many scholarship incentive systems in foreign universities, such as scholarship, fellowship, tuitionwaiver, and TA (click to view) to help you save money on studying abroad!
To sum up, the cost of studying abroad is relatively high. However, in combination with the time cost, domestic master's degree generally takes 2-3 years; Whereas, a master's degree abroad takes 1-2 years; If you graduate early, you can enter the workplace early and have your own stable income, so it is not much more expensive to study abroad than at home.
part04
Employment prospects. According to Liepin's "2022 Overseas Fresh International Students Employment Competitiveness Insight Report", it roughly presents the trend of overseas QS100> overseas non-QS100 domestic 985 211> domestic non-985 211.
If the institution you study is 985 211, then the gold content is still very high, and you will have a better career competitiveness.
In addition, according to Zhaopin's 2022 China Returnee Employment Survey Report, some occupations have opened "fast" channels for international students, such as education and training industry, professional service consulting, Internet e-commerce, etc.
At the same time, many first-tier cities in China have also introduced a series of preferential measures for overseas returnees, taking Beijing's "2023 Latest Policy for Returnees to Settle In" as an example
Obtain an overseas master's degree or above, and obtain the certificate of retention service;
The number of days of study abroad is greater than 365 days;
During the period of study, the labor contract of the original employer in China was terminated;
Submit an application for settlement within two years of returning to China;
Be under the age of 45 at the time of application;
Of course, it should be noted that the contracted unit needs to have an index for international students to settle down.
To sum up, at present, there are more preferential treatments for returnees in China, and enterprises also prefer students who come back from studying abroad. Therefore, students do not have to worry about not being recognized after returning to China!
part05
Postgraduate studies abroad vs postgraduate examinations at home.
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Whether at home or abroad, graduate students will have better career competitiveness.
Comparatively speaking, the acceptance rate of master's programs in American universities is more advantageous, at around 36-40%, and the acceptance rate of international master's programs is even higher. Therefore, if you choose to go to the United States for graduate school, it is easier to obtain a master's degree from a prestigious university, and it is more competitive after graduation.
And!! It's really not too late to decide to study abroad after the graduate school entrance examination!