Take the time to research which universities have programs and professors that are strong in the specializations on which you plan to focus. Departmental Web sites often provide helpful detail and you can research leaders in the field by looking at who is presenting at professional conferences, who is writing articles in professional periodicals, and so forth. If possible, make a connection with professors and/or departments where you are thinking of studying, perhaps by sending an e-mail professors of interest introducing yourself and briefly explaining your goals and qualifications.

Yes, definitely. Don’t be shy about communicating directly with professors; they will appreciate your interest in their work. Discuss your own background, strengths, and plans with them. Ask questions about their views and what they are doing. Be polite, don’t demand too much, but allow them to be aware of you as someone who understands what they are doing and who they might enjoy working with They need to know who you are to advocate for admitting and funding you. The more of a positive connection you can build the better.

The statement of purpose is a short essay that U.S. graduate schools typically require applicants to write. Specific guidelines will be provided by particular universities but generally graduate programs will be most interested in learning details about your desired area of specialization, your career goals and related experience, and how you expect the program to which you are applying to meet your specific academic needs. Be sure you base your statement on a good knowledge of the strengths of the particular graduate program and that you match their strengths to your goals.

Check the instructions from the particular university to which you are applying—you may need to send information to the graduate dean of admissions, the department to which you are applying, or both. Often universities will have a general application form that all graduate-level applicants complete and also a form specific to the individual department, but this varies from school to school and even program to program.

Several types of graduate aid may be awarded or combined in an aid package. Fellowships and grants are generally awarded with no responsibilities attached, to support study or particular academic projects. Check with the department regarding sustainability of funding in future years—the department’s funding sources may be year-to-year.

Assistantships involve work responsibilities, either teaching undergraduates, providing assistance in laboratory classes, helping professors with their research, or doing administrative, computer, or other work in an admissions or other university office. For teaching assistantships especially, strong spoken English skills are necessary, and teaching experience is desirable. You may need to wait a semester or year so professors can get to know you and see how you do in your own studies before you are eligible to be a teaching assistant.

Working before attending a program is an advantage in the graduate application process assuming your work is related to your study plans, and especially in the case of professionally oriented programs. It may even be a requirement for admission.

If you already have a number of years of work experience (around five or more typically), look into whether a “mid-career” master’s program may work for you. These are common in some fields such as business administration, teaching, international affairs, and public administration, and in many cases a master’s can be completed in one year rather than the typical two—obviously providing major tuition savings.

Usually interviews are scheduled to take twenty to thirty minutes, but they may extend to forty minutes or even an hour. The interviewer is typically a professor in your chosen department. Normally he or she will ask questions first, letting you ask questions at the end of the conversation. It would be a good idea to prepare in advance one or two questions that interest you about the program or institution. However, the department will expect applicants to have scrutinized published materials about the program closely. As one Internet site on admission interviews puts it—“Don’t ask things that are on the first page of the catalog.” If your questions seem weak to you, it’s better not to ask them.

Typically it is not the questions themselves but rather finding opportunities to represent yourself fully that is the greatest challenge. Outline your positive qualities in a persuasive manner. Recall the information you gave in your essay and/or in your résumé. Explain what you are able to contribute to the program (which may mean sharing information from your practical experience, your active participation in social activities, or other facets of your life). You may want to review such achievements as your TOEFL score (if it is high), but keep such recounting of facts brief (the basics should be known already by your interviewer). If you have a response you know will be unexpected, or an unusual situation to discuss, it is difficult to know what impact it might make, negative or positive. Both outcomes are possible—you can only consider your presentation carefully and hope that the interviewer may appreciate your honesty, frankness, and independence of thinking.

Below are some of the more likely types of questions that you may be asked with some suggestions on response. Again, you need not follow these recommendations exactly—honesty in presenting your own unique situation is most important.

What are you doing now?

Describe your occupation and the ways in which it is relevant to your chosen field of study. If your current employment is not particularly relevant to your academic plans focus on extracurricular activities relevant to your planned study.

If what you say can draw the interest of the interviewer, most of the rest of the interview may be based upon what you have already said. That can eliminate the formality of the interview structure, allowing you to discuss more naturally what you have done.

What is the greatest challenge in your field of study (in your country)?

What do you believe to be root problems in your chosen field? Or, what do you believe to be the weakest point in current approaches to problems? Review such elements in advance, grounding your opinion with facts. It is good if you have a potential solution of your own to discuss. Maybe such problems relate to what you see as your own personal challenge in your field (which you may also be questioned about specifically)—also define your personal challenges for yourself and be sure to discuss them at the interview.

What disciplines in our curriculum are the most appealing to you?

You have to know details on the institution’s curriculum before the interview (and you had better have them before writing your personal statement). It is understood that you will be familiar with the curriculum from the materials that you have been provided with by the university.

Choose three (the number usually asked) areas most attractive to you among the courses. Preferably, choose areas from the core or major areas of concentration offered by the particular university. Be prepared to explain your choices.

What do you expect to gain from these studies?

This question should have been answered in your personal statement essay. Recall the information from your essay, summarize it, and add what you think is necessary. Review what the program offers you. Analyze why you have decided to apply to this program.

What skills do you expect to apply to these studies?

Again, you may have covered this question in your essay. If you have, update your response and rework it for oral presentation. If you have not, consider the skills you have. Your résumé, recommendations (if you know the information in them), and your own knowledge of your academic and personal strengths may assist you. Decide which of your abilities are particularly applicable for this particular program and emphasize them.

What specific interest do you have within your field of study? (Or, what is the probable topic of the research you hope to conduct at the university?)

Another personal essay item—you must be aware of a particular issue within your field that stimulates you and is worthy of revealing in a subsequent thesis (assuming the program requires a thesis). The topic you choose during the interview doesn’t have to be your final decision. It may be changed or elaborated on later. Making a statement simply shows your involvement and interest in the field.

What research have you carried out previously?

List any research you have previously conducted, whether at your university or for an article or other project. Emphasize research relevant to the field of application. If you have done a good deal of research relevant to the field, focus on the projects most relevant to the particular program.

Why have you changed your specialty (if you have)?

Consider in advance whether your switch was based on larger societal issues or on some personal experience that awakened your interest in a new topic. Or perhaps you changed your area of study because of recent professional experiences—now you are striving to gain academic knowledge to match what you learned in the “real world.” Any of these reasons is fine, but be ready to explain and justify why you are making the change, and to show a realistic grasp of what your new specialty involves.

Why have you decided to continue your education?

To answer, consider what reasons brought you to undertake this educational endeavor. They will vary according to your particular situation: further education may develop your professionalism, bring new opportunities, help implement specific plans, lead to a scholarly career, and so forth.

Why have you decided to apply to this university (to this particular program)?

Again, this question should have been answered in your statement essay. To reply, consider the program’s significant emphases and unusual strengths. Materials issued by the university usually emphasize such areas. Pick relevant strengths and/or special research opportunities and resources out and discuss these in your own words.

Can you discuss [a specific issue within your field]?

Be ready to answer questions about specifics concerning your field. For example, you may be asked to name some organizations in your field in your home country. Or you may be offered the chance to express your feelings about a world event world that affects issues in your field. Or you may be asked to discuss a few major problems in your field in your country. You must be well-informed about the state of your chosen specialty to show the seriousness of your application.

Here are a few last questions that interviewers have been known to pose. Consider in advance what answer you will give if asked. Choose a response that is both honest and reflects well on you.

• What have you published related to your field?

• Where do you see yourself in the next five (or ten) years?

• What would you say about your country to a person who has no idea of it?

• Can you give examples of past problems in your life and how you have resolved them?

• What books have you read (or are you reading currently)?

• What do you do with your spare time?

Undergraduates may be able to earn credit for postsecondary-level courses that they have taken Many universities do not make admission decisions until March or April. The university will not act upon your application until they have received all required documents, including any required test scores (which must be sent from the testing agency). Applying to schools with rolling admissions may help you get a quicker answer but you will still have to wait until your application is complete before it is acted upon.

Once you have heard from the different universities that you applied to (be sure to apply to more than one!), make your decision among those accepting you and write a letter to the university that you choose, confirming that you accept admission.

In addition to a formal offer of admissions, the accepting institution provides successful applicants with an I-20 form, which allows the student to obtain an F-1 or "student" visa. (Students sponsored by the U.S. government other exchange program will instead receive an IAP-66 from that exchange program, which enables the student to obtain a J-1 or "exchange visitor" visa.) You will need to take the form provided along with your letter of admission, academic records, and financial documents when you apply for a visa.

Write to any other universities that you had applied to informing them that you will not attend and enclosing the unused I-20s.

Some universities and colleges ask for a monetary deposit prior to registration. If this is the case, check whether the deposit is refundable, especially in case the U.S. visa is denied. Reserve housing if desired. Health forms also usually need to be completed prior to registration, requiring documentation of vaccinations and a medical examination.

See “Questions and Answers on Visas” for more on obtaining a visa.

Below are links to some additional useful sources for additional information on U.S. graduate study.

About.com: Graduate School. Hundreds of links to articles not only on general graduate study but also on specific fields and their requirements.

CHEA (Council on Higher Education Accreditation). Database of all institutions accredited by CHEA or U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting bodies. Please note that not all fields of study require or even have professional accreditation—however, accreditation of the college or university as a whole by a CHEA or U.S. Department of Education recognized accredit

CollegeSource Online. Thousands of U.S. college and university catalogs.

Council on Graduate Schools. Articles on choosing a graduate school and other topics. See especially Resources for Students.

EducationUSA. A great place for international students to start exploring U.S. study, with detailed information on the application process as well as preparing for U.S. life and study available to download. Also provides contact information for EducationUSA centers worldwide.

Edupass. Specifically for international students considering U.S. study, this site discusses admissions, financing, English language study, visas, cultural differences, U.S. life, and more.

Getting In: A Graduate Student’s Guide to the Admissions Process. Offers an online guidebook, options for crafting essays, and an applicant community to provide support and ideas.

GradSchools.com. Browse for program descriptions by field.

Graduate School Essays. Clear directions on considerations, from the Writing Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Peterson’s. This educational publisher’s Web site allows searching not only for collegiate and graduate programs, but also for English language programs, summer opportunities, distance education, private secondary schools, and much more.

Princeton Review. Articles on testing and the whole application process at various levels.

Tips for Researching and Applying to Graduate School. Advice about researching and applying to graduate schools, with information on resources and links to other pages.

Iranian grades awarded on a 1-4 point scale are usually considered equivalent to the U.S. grading scale. For grades awarded on a 1-20 scale, 17 and above would typically considered equivalent to an A average (at the top of the U.S. grading scale). Do not change grades to try to match them with the U.S. scale when you are translating your transcripts but leave the numbers as they are. U.S. admissions offices will evaluate the grades themselves or refer you to a credential evaluation company.

If at all possible, have your school or university in Iran send transcripts (originals or certified photocopies in a sealed, stamped envelope) directly to the U.S. institution to which you are applying. Many U.S. universities require this.  Send English translations but be sure to also send the originals in Persian.

Also send a photocopy of any degree certificates/diplomas.

By U.S. law, universities are not permitted to discriminate based on age. You will be asked for your date of birth on various forms, but this is for identification purposes rather than being part of the admissions process.  Your age will not be a factor considered in admission decisions.

If for reasons of incomplete military service you do not have a degree certificate, most universities will accept an official letter stating that your degree will be awarded once you complete your service.

Any e-mail that you send a university should have the same grammatical, punctuation, capitalization, and content quality as any formal "hard-copy" letter that you would print, sign, and send.  This may be a graduate department’s first glimpse of you as a student, so try to impress them with your clear, concise command of the English language.

Remember to capitalize the first word of all your sentences and to end every sentence with a period, question mark, or other appropriate punctuation. Get your spelling and grammar right and take a professional tone. Don’t take the chance that admissions staff will be left questioning your education, intelligence, or maturity.