Student Visa

There are many questions about student visa, and many people wonder what is necessary to get it. And the answer to this question is: it all depends where you want to go.
TOEFL
Among the English Proficiency Tests, TOEFL is the most used and known. It really isn’t as bad as people think it is.
One of the reasons why people are hesitant to take it is because some people that know English really well fail in it. But the thing is, there are also people who don’t know English that well and pass in it. How can that happen? It’s simple: TOEFL isn’t about how well you know English, but how well you master its strategies. There are many strategies used in the TOEFL that you will be aware and able to get to know them if you take a preparatory course.
Each university accepts a different TOEFL score. Take a look at the list below of the most known and competitive American universities and their respective TOEFL (iBT) required scores:
Yale 100
Brown University 100
Stanford Not required
Harvard Not required
UCLA 83
New York Academy of Art 80
BYU 80
LDSBC 66
There are some universities that don’t require TOEFL. You must be wondering why and this is why: their grades requirement is so high that they assume your English is already good enough. And after all, it makes a lot of sense, since one of the most important requirements are your SAT/ACT scores.
SAT/ACT
It’s been a couple of years since most American universities have been asking for SAT/ACT. The SAT is more of an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities. The SAT has only 3 components: Critical Reasoning, Mathematics, and a required Writing Test. The ACT has up to 5 components: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and an optional Writing Test. The highest score for ACT is 36, and for SAT is 2,400, being 800 from each component. From the colleges above, the only school that does not require any of these tests is LDS Business College.
Once your application is complete, each university has their own documentation process, but in the end it takes you to the same place: issuing your I-20.
I-20
It is a document that holds all your information as well as the school’s. In my opnion, your I-20 is as important as your visa. The form also includes the student tracking number (SEVIS ID number) and school code. Your visa specifies the length of time that you are allowed to stay in the US; your I-20 gives more details, like how long your course will take to be completed, if you are on an employment license, etc. Every time you travel to your home country, you need a new I-20, because when you come back to the US, the immigration representative will stamp your new I-20 with your arrival date. If you lose your I-20, there isn’t a problem at all. Your school can always print you a new one.
Interview
To get your visa, it is also good to have an affidavit of support showing that you will be able to support yourself in the USA, even if you are planning to provide your own living wirking on campus. Before your interview, you need to fill out online the DS-160 form
In summary: for your interview, have in hands your:

Passport

I-20, and

A passport standard picture

Some additional documents that could be asked by the interviewer also include:

An affidavit of support

Transcripts, diplomas, degrees, or certificates from schools you attended; and

Scores from tests that your U.S. school required, such as the TOEFL, SAT, GRE, or GMAT;

Your intent to depart the United States upon completion of the course of study

And then, all you need is good luck! Student visas are the least likely ones to be denied.

BYU or LDSBC: Where should I start?

Many people wonder about where to start school: BYU or LDS Business College? The purpose of this article is to clarify this doubt and also help you to understand how the American college system works. If you are applying as a freshman, this is what BYU and LDSBC are looking for:

• SAT/ACT test scores (BYU only): They will choose the highest score.


• High School GPA: BYU praises cultural and international diversity, so when you’re coming from another country, the fact that you are coming from somewhere else than the US weighs more than your high school grades. Still, keeping your grades high is still an important factor.


• Service: church, school, community, all this will be taken in account.


• Special circumstances: The admissions committee is interested in you and who you really are, where you’re coming from, what challenges you have faced and what you have been going through, either alone or with your family. They will learn this in the essays you write on your online application.


• Talents: that’s BYU nifty way to say: “And what do you do with your life? Do you practice sports? Dance? Sing? Theater? Write? Speech? Anything outside of classes that you’ve done.


• Leadership: they’re not only looking for leadership of title. However, the committee is interested in the leadership you’ve developed including in classroom, in a club, student government, scouting, in the church, all that type of leadership the committee wants to evaluate, including leadership in community.


• Seminary/Institute attendance: whether you attended in the morning or at home, the admissions office wants to see your efforts in completing seminary/institute.

So far, we’ve talked the similarities in both schools and what they are looking for in their applicants. But what are the real advantages and disadvantages between LDSBC and BYU?

• Both schools require the international deposit, which is around 4,000 dollars, but at LDSBC you can use the deposit starting from your first semester to pay for tuition and other college expenses. At BYU, your money stays frozen until when you’re about to graduate, which makes things hard if you get tight on budget in the beginning, something that is extremely normal due all the fees that have to be paid for in the beginning.
  
  
• At LDSBC, starting from the third semester on, the sophomore scholarship is already available for those who qualify. This scholarship covers up to 75% of the tuition, which leaves you with a total of around $382.5 per semester to be paid. LDSBC also offers night scholarships of half tuition off.
  
  
li>BYU offers scholarships as well, but they use different criteria than those used at LDSBC. For each college at BYU, there are certain requirements that are specific for each college that offer from half to full tuition a semester. Students who transfer from other schools are not eligible for scholarship until they take at least 12 credits at BYU.


• Part of the bachelor’s degree in the US is the associates degree, which is a two-year degree in a specific area of study. For those who want to end up getting a bachelor’s at BYU, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start by getting their associates at LDSBC, even though it may sound you’re taking the wrong direction of the course. And I say that for the following reasons:
  
  
• The general classes (those that everybody has to take to have an associate’s degree) are smaller at LDSBC, and the teachers are more approachable. Having a one-o-one with your professors is always an advantage, and I say it as a personal experience, your final grade can always improve if your professors know who you are.
  
  
• The general classes at LDSBC are easier. If you go to BY right away, you will surely hear about American Heritage class, the “hardest” class according to 100% of the students who take it. Since classes are easier at the BC, it is a lot easier to keep your grades way up high, and high grades always result in scholarships, regardless of where you study. And when the time comes to transfer to BYU, those people that got into BYU at the same time you got at the BC will be in the same level than you.
  
  
• LDSBC is small (campus is only a building), BYU is big and gives you a college experience far deeper for those who always dreamt in going to school like they do in the movies.
  
  
• LDSBC is in downtown Salt Lake. BYU is in Provo. Nothing else to be said.
  
  
It is kind of useless for us to put both on the scale: both schools have specific differences for those who are applying. It is the applicants decision to know which one fits him better. General conclusion is that, either Provo or Salt Lake, going to school in Utah is a lot cheaper than most places.