美国国安部（DHS）提议延长STEM领域留美学生毕业后在美国的实习就业期，现在处于公示和收集舆论阶段，却遭到了部分极端反移民势力的阻碍！ 此提案通过需要你的帮助，请帮助中国留学生争取在美国合理合法的就业机会和时间！
留美学生实习就业延期议案需要你！(OPT-Extension) 议案下怎么写评论？我们来支招！
人民大学院长送孩子去美国读小学 感觉挨了一闷棍……
本文作者高钢，访美学者、中国人民大学新闻学院院长。本文源于其访美时将他9岁儿子送进美国小学，由此遭遇美国教育……
当我把九岁的儿子带到美国，送他进那所离公寓不远的美国小学的时候，我就像是把自己最心爱的东西交给了一个我并不信任的人去保管，终日忧心忡忡。这是一种什么样的学校啊！
美国绿卡排期重磅改革-数千万留美学生将获益！
9月份，移民局联合美国国务院对移民排期表进行了优化改革，从10月起，亲属移民和职业技术移民类型都会出现两个排期表格供申请人参考，这两份表格的出现影响意义深远，将有超千万移民将从中获益！
虽然绿卡申请人依然需要等待排期到来才能提交绿卡申请表格，但相对于旧版排期，新排期执行后很多申请人可以提前几个月、甚至几年时间拿到工（作）卡，效力几乎等同于绿卡到手！
就拿广大留学生最常使用的EB-2（即学生签证转工作签证转EB2类绿卡申请）绿卡为例：
写在开学季-学霸们的选课指南
9月到来，美国各大学都陆续开学啦！初来乍到的学子们将面临的第一个问题就是选课。课程的选择适当与否，会大大影响到整学期的成绩，甚至会影响到你的留学之路是否顺利以及毕业后的工作运气！
大家知道嘛，在美国的选课是有技巧的，灵活掌握这些技巧不但可以节省时间，而且还能修到好成绩哦。
美国法院没有取消STEM OPT 17个月的延期呢，大家莫要恐慌啦！
OPT背景
美国移民局给来美国留学的学生毕业后12个月的实习期（OPT），就是说中国留学生在美国毕业后，可以获得12个月在美国工作和实习的机会。美国是允许中国学生在当地找工作的。如果在12个月以内，雇主帮学生办理了工作签证，那么学生的身份会从F1学生签证专为H1B工作签证，下一步不就是申绿卡了嘛！
STEM 专业的学生，笼统来讲，也就是理工科的学生，在12个月的OPT用完以后，还可以申请17个月的延期。这个好处可是大大的，如果在前一年雇主没有帮忙办理工作签证，或者工作签证抽签没有成功，没关系，再给你一年半的时间！可见美国也在想方设法的留住理工类的技术人员。
事件起因
一帮美国技术工人觉得近年来国际学生抢了不少美国人的饭碗，越想越生气，有个工会组织（Washington Alliance of Technology Workers）就把美国国土安全局（DHS）给告上法庭了，说国安局在2008年颁布的这个STEM 领域OPT17个月的延期不合法，要求取消。 说白了就是只给国际学生12个月的时间，工作签没拿到赶紧走人，不给第二次机会！（太狠了）
事态经过
美国法院接到一纸诉状之后就开始调查，发现当年国安局颁布的这个法令确实存在问题呀。 按照美国法律，一项法令在颁布之前，必须按照规定走一些手续和流程，比如要经过公开听证、广纳民意。而国安局恰恰没走这个流程，自己直接制定和公布了，没有公开听证。因此，从法律上这个法令的颁布确实是无效的。
事件发展
名校录取的秘密—幕布下的审核规则
这几天深度走访了几所名校，有综合性大学也有文理学院，比如波士顿学院、威尔斯利学院、艾姆赫斯特学院、哈佛大学、芝加哥大学、西北大学等。通过和每个学校的录取委员会的成员进行访谈，深度了解了每个大学的特色、学院设置、选课制度、实际就业和本科阶段的科研机会、课程学分政策、录取标准、流程和侧重点，以及奖学金、助学金制度等。
高考后碰到专业难题?看看美国大学怎么做！
国内高考结果已经出来了，又是几家欢喜几家愁的状态，你是否也面临这样难以抉择的问题？
- 我有自己喜欢的专业，可是分数不够上…
- 如果选择好一点的学校，我就要放弃好专业；如果坚持好专业，就只能放弃好学校…
- 我其实还没想好要选什么专业、什么方向，可是填志愿的时候必须写…
- ……
那么对于专业选择的问题，美国的大学是如何规定的呢？ 入学不需要选专业，一两年以后才有“专业”一说。是的，你没有看错！
其实入学前选择专业并不重要，甚至可以说不需要。大多数美国的大学在招收新生时是不分专业的，学生入学一两年后，才根据自己的兴趣爱好决定要读哪个专业。大一大二时，可以尝试各个领域的课程，哪个方面感兴趣就上哪门课程，慢慢来摸索自己的兴趣爱好。
从美国大学的专业选择来看，中国的高中毕业生到美国读本科的话，也完全不必预先选定专业，可以在进入大学后，与美国学生一样，通过一两年的学习了解过程，再选择适合自己的专业，这样做的好处是不要给学生设定太大的压力，毕竟到外国留学，除了学业压力外，还有环境适应、语言适应、文化适应、思维方式适应以及独立生活能力适应等各种其它压力。
由于美国的大学是在学生入学后才选择专业的，一般是在大二的最后一个学期敲定，因此，学生就有了更多的选择；随着年龄的增加，学生对自己究竟将来要从事什么工作也会比高中生有更成熟的想法，这时的选择往往比较符合实际。
当然，也有一些学生在入学前已经决定好要读哪个专业，研究哪个方向，这也是学校允许的。学校有专门的学院来接收这些学生。比如说，有的学生喜欢计算机，明确知道自己的学习领域和未来的就业方向，那么他从入学开始就可以申请进入计算机科学学院。
所以，从大学新生的分类看，有一小部分是已经选定专业的，还有一大部分是未定专业的。根据大学的规定，即使是已经选定专业的学生，入学后，还是可以更换专业的。因此，入学前是否选定专业，对新生来说并不重要。美国大学对新生专业的规定显得更合理和具有人文关怀。
Admission Rates at Ivy League Business Schools
Acceptance Rates at Ivy League Business Schools
Getting accepted to an Ivy League program is no easy feat. Admissions are competitive at all six Ivy League business schools. Acceptance rates vary from school to school. Rates can also vary from year to year. For example, in years where applications are trending up, more people are inevitably turned away. In years when fewer applications are submitted…well, a lot of people are still turned away.
Acceptance rates at top business schools, particularly the Ivy League schools, tend to fall somewhere between 10% and 20%. In other words, 80-90% of the people who apply to Ivy League MBA programs are rejected. All of this data is publicly available and can often be found on business school websites. So, if you are curious about your chances, be sure to look for specific acceptance rates at your school of choice.
Perfect vs. Imperfect Ivy League Business School Candidate
There really is no such thing as a perfect Ivy League business school candidate. Different schools look for different things at different times when evaluating applications. Guaranteed acceptance is unlikely no matter what your profile looks like. Besides all other dimensions, a solid interview and a good essay play key part in your acceptance.
Thank Profs for Writing Your Recommendation Letters
Most applicants to graduate school find that soliciting recommendation letters is one of the most stressful aspects of applying to grad school. Determining who to ask is daunting. Which professors know you best? It may be easy to identify faculty to write the first letter or two, but three recommendation letters? Yikes. Even the most prepared applicants wonder how to fill all recommendation letter slots. Once you’ve identified three professors， it’s time to gather the guts to ask them. Remember: They don’t have to say yes.
Asking is Only the Beginning
Remember that your relationship and responsibility to the faculty who write on your behalf does not end with a successful request, submitting documents to aid professors in writing your letters, or even with professors submitting their recommendation letters. You are not done once your application is in. Your next task is to thank those who wrote letters on your behalf and provide them with updates as to your progress in seeking admittance to graduate school.
A Simple Thank You
Few students acknowledge recommendation letters (unless they are late and delaying an application). It is a very simple and small gesture, but it is noticed and appreciated.
Why Thank Profs Who Write Letters on Your Behalf?
Writing a helpful letter takes time and energy. The writer must consider the entry requirements for each graduate program and consider your background and experiences to determine how to write the most effective letter. He or she is not required to write a letter on your behalf and instead is going out of the way to help you.
Send a Simple Thank You Note
Acknowledge your professor’s time by sending a thank you note that expresses your appreciation. An email is a quick way to do this, but consider sending an old-fashioned thank you card. Take a few minutes out of your day to hand write a thank you note to each of the professors who wrote on your behalf.
Self-Serving Reasons for Thank You Note
Given that few students send such notes, yours will stand out. Why do you care? Because the recommendation letter for entry to graduate school is just the first of many letters that you will need over the years. You’ll need letters when you apply to fellowships, some scholarships, and eventually when you apply for jobs after graduation, as well as awards later in your career. Not to mention, you might decide to apply to more schools later on, or even next year. Also note that sometimes admissions committees call faculty who have written letters of recommendation. Make sure that your letter writers continue to view you in a positive light. A thank you note takes two minutes to write but offers many benefits.
What about Low SAT Scores?
Few parts of a college application cause more anxiety than the SAT. Those four hours spent filling in ovals and writing a rushed essay can carry a lot of weight in the college admissions process. If you look through the college profiles and find that your scores are below average for the colleges you hope to attend, don’t panic. The tips below can help you reach your goals.
- Retake the Exam
Depending on when your application deadlines are, you might be able to take the SAT again. If you took the exam in the spring, you can work through an SAT practice book and retake the exam in the fall. A summer SAT prep course is also an option (Kaplan has many convenient online options). Realize that simply retaking the exam without additional preparation isn’t likely to improve your score much. Most colleges will consider only your highest test scores, and with Score Choice, you can submit the scores from your best exam date.
- Take the ACT
If you didn’t perform well on the SAT, you might do better on the ACT. The exams are quite different — the SAT is an aptitude test meant to measure your reasoning and verbal abilities, while the ACT is an achievement test designed to measure what you’ve learned in school. Nearly all colleges will accept either exam.
- Compensate with Other Strengths
Most selective colleges have holistic admissions — they are evaluating all of your strengths and weaknesses, not relying entirely on cold empirical data. If your SAT scores are a little below average for a college, you can still get accepted if the rest of your application shows great promise. All of the following can help compensate for relatively low SAT scores:
- A strong academic record — Do you have high grades in challenging courses?
- Glowing letters of recommendation — Do your teachers extol your talents?
- Interesting extracurricular activities — Are you a well-rounded person who will enrich the campus community?
- A winning application essay — Is your writing clear and crisp? Does it reveal your passion and personality?
- A strong college interview — Let the college know you as a person, not as a test score.
- Explore Test-Optional Colleges
Here’s some of the best news on the SAT front: over 800 colleges don’t require test scores. Every year, more and more colleges have come to recognize that the exam privileges privileged students, and that your academic record is a better predictor of college success than SAT scores. Some excellent, highly selective colleges are test-optional.
- Finds Schools Where Your Bad Scores are Good
The hype surrounding college admissions might have you believing that you need a 2300 on the SAT to get into a good college. The reality is quite different. The United States has hundreds of excellent colleges where an average score of about 1500 is perfectly acceptable. Are you below 1500? — Many good colleges are happy to admit students with below average scores. Browse through the options and identify colleges where your test scores seem to be in line with typical applicants.