1. GRE's Role Far Outweighs TOEFL
A high GRE score can almost guarantee access to various graduate and business school programs abroad. At the same time, GRE scores are an important reference factor for universities in awarding scholarships. A low GRE score might lead to rejection, though students with a perfect GRE Math score have an advantage in admissions.
Generally speaking, a high GRE score greatly helps applicants, especially when facing schools that the admissions committee is unfamiliar with. Because the committee doubts the quality of such unfamiliar undergraduate institutions, even a high GPA from such schools might be questioned if the GRE score is too low. Conversely, an excellent GRE score can prove to the admissions committee that your high GPA reflects your true ability, not a fluke from a non-competitive university.
If all three GRE sections are weak, it can be a major disadvantage in your application. However, if the applicant excels in other aspects, a weakness in one section, especially Verbal and Writing, can be overlooked.
The role of GRE is often underestimated by online comments. After all, those admitted to top schools typically have high GRE and TOEFL scores. It's not surprising—those with high GRE usually also have high TOEFL, as both are English tests and complement each other. Therefore, GRE is not as useless as some forums suggest; for top 50 schools, a GRE score above 320 is necessary.
Admittedly, many U.S. institutions do not set a clear GRE cutoff, seemingly requiring only that you take the test, as if they have no GRE requirement at all. But in reality, many schools maintain statistics on previously admitted students, which clearly show the range of GRE scores among those admitted. This data is what truly holds strict reference value. So, for students aiming for top 50 schools, GRE is of utmost importance—do not neglect it.
2. Different Focuses in the First and Second Rounds of U.S. Graduate Applications
The first round mainly looks at hard qualifications: GPA, TOEFL, GRE, CV, personal statement (PS or SOP), recommendation letters, awards, and internship or work experience.
While the second round emphasizes lab work or research experience and paper publications. Having conducted experiments and obtained research results is key to securing scholarships. Lab experience is mainly evaluated by the proportion of lab work in your major courses and the number of hours of hands-on experiment training. As for papers, as long as they have some technical substance, any type of publication is beneficial.
3. Most U.S. Schools Highly Value GPA
Generally, a GPA above 3.5 (equivalent to 85 out of 100) is considered good. Once you cross this threshold, scholarships are much easier to obtain. If you hope to apply to decent schools, a minimum of 3.0 (80 out of 100) is required, or else your school choices will be limited. If your average is below 75, your options for U.S. graduate schools will be severely constrained. Below 70, it may be very difficult to apply.
Additionally, many admissions officers trust class rankings. If you are in the top 3 or top 5, consider obtaining a class ranking certificate and send it along with your transcript to the schools. Also, even if you don't reach 85, don't worry too much—only some scholarships may be out of reach, but assistantships and tuition waivers are still possible.
Some Chinese schools, such as USTC, BUPT, Beihang, and Jilin University, have certain majors where grading is inherently strict, so even excellent students may struggle to achieve very high scores. In such cases, if possible, we can use class ranking to demonstrate excellence. For instance, a student with a 3.0 GPA but ranked 10th out of 100 still proves strong academic ability, despite low grading.
4. No Need to Boast About Grades in Your PS
In your PS, focus on highlighting difficulties you encountered and how you overcame them. Showcase as many of your strengths as possible, present your unique qualities and advantages. You can slightly embellish, but don't go overboard. You can write about things that happened, but never fabricate.
5. Future Plans Don't Need to Mention Returning to Serve the Motherland
When writing about your future direction, focus on your personal and career plans for the next few years. There is absolutely no need to say 'After graduation, I will return to China to serve my country.'
6. Recommendation Letters: Try to Get Native Speakers
Try to get recommendation letters from native English speakers, but preferably your own course instructors, and emphasize that they have taught you for many years or multiple semesters. Getting a big-name person with no direct connection is unnecessary. But since there aren't many foreigners around us, you should still prioritize your course instructors and ensure the quality of the letters.
At the very least, having a recommender with a U.S. education background is better. When writing the recommendation, be sure to specify which school the recommender graduated from and the closeness of your relationship. A recommender from a prestigious school carries more weight in the U.S. Admissions officers will definitely read it carefully. So finding the right recommender can be turned into an advantage.
7. Supplementary Materials: Optional to Send
Some supplementary application materials don't need to be sent. Admissions officers generally trust your statements—if it's listed on your resume, they'll accept it. However, if some award certificates or supplementary materials strongly support your application, you can mail them; most schools will consider them. For example, internship certificates: if the internship is closely related to your field, getting a certificate is fine, but if it's too troublesome, just describe it on your resume. There's no need to obsess over not having a formal certificate.
If the school needs them, the admissions officer will ask. But at some schools, such materials might be intercepted by the admissions office because there are strict rules about who can review what materials; their admission process is very standardized.
8. Mailing Times Can Be Adjusted Based on the School
Mailing requirements vary. Some schools have a "first come, first served" admission tradition, so students need to mail all required materials before the first-round deadline.
But for some institutions, you don't need to send materials early at all; they'll just be locked away in the admissions office safe. Professors reviewing materials are strictly prohibited from accessing student applications beforehand. After the application deadline, all reviewing professors arrive on campus, unseal the files, exchange them for review, and a batch review process proceeds in an orderly manner.
9. Many Admissions Officers Are Aware of Chinese University Rankings
Regarding the rankings of Chinese universities, admissions officers are not completely in the dark. Before reviewing applications, they have lists ranking schools from various countries, and they do check the ranking of your university.
But in China, except for a few schools like Tsinghua, Peking, USTC, Zhejiang, Fudan, and Shanghai Jiao Tong, most schools are quite similar in level. However, for certain strong programs, some universities have distinct advantages. For instance, Communication University of China's media program, Renmin University's finance and statistics programs, Beijing Normal University's math and psychology programs—these are recognized as renowned by them. So when applying, it's best to find schools in the U.S. that are a good match for your university, which can greatly boost your chances of admission.
10. For Academic Programs and PhD Applications, Professor Outreach is Highly Effective
Professor outreach is highly effective, but mainly for research-oriented master's programs. For business, media, education, arts, and social sciences, its significance is less pronounced.
PhD applications almost always require professor outreach; you contact professors before applying. Early outreach generally requires students to present their academic background, research the targeted professor's background, read some of their works and publications, and then ask questions. For PhD applicants, the main purpose of outreach is to inquire whether the professor is currently recruiting students and if funding is available.
