The Digital Challenges of Applying to US Grad Schools as an International Student
(This post was written as an assignment for MLD671M, a course at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government)
You would think that the most difficult part of applying to grad school in the US is presenting yourself as an attractive candidate. Most prestigious schools ask for short essays, recommendations, bespoke CVs, and a deluge of personal information about your background, interests, and ambitions. However, the preparation of these materials pales in comparison to the logistical challenges of navigating the online systems required to actually submit an application and register on day one.
From the moment you choose to apply, online systems are clunky. Given 2017 was not my first round of applications, I was hoping that I could amend my personal information from previous years — yet a number of systems would only accept one completed application per email address. Once in the application, many websites did not filter options based on your responses to previous questions, leaving me to navigate entire sections about my (non-existent) US tax status or potential relations to wealthy families that may qualify me for legacy admission. Once I had submitted the application, some portals immediately directed you to separate application processes to be considered for scholarship funding, which did not pull any information from the original application.
The frustration got worse, not better, once I had received an offer letter. At this point, I was introduced to a number of different online systems for gaining my visa, passing financial certification, finding housing, registering for classes, gaining immunization authorisation, and other administrative hurdles. While there was a centralised checklist that linked to some of these sites, with deadlines indicated, information was often contradictory and outdated. This was not helped by the number of different systems that sent automated confirmations or reminder emails, meaning that my inbox quickly became cluttered with emails consisting mainly of block caps and chunks of text highlighted in neon-pink.
Ultimately, this made what was an already challenging period even more stressful. When applying, the anxiety caused by putting together the application is made even worse when the latest version of one of your answers is somehow deleted by the system. After being offered a place, the dislocating experience of leaving family and friends and wrapping up a job was made significantly harder by having to navigate multiple outdated web pages and critically analyse contradictory guidance.
The experience ultimately gave me a perception that grad schools didn’t really care if I applied. The clear lack of investment in these systems, made obvious when comparing application portals to the grad school website’s homepage, left me questioning whether their goal was genuinely to encourage a high number of applications. Once accepted, the multiple complex systems also made me nervous about the decision I had made. It left me thinking: is this just the beginning of two years of consistent administrative battles as an international student? Having worked in the UK public sector, I thought that I was relatively competent at navigating bureaucracy, but endless lists of drop-down menus with vague and unhelpful language left me exhausted.
Ultimately, I think US grad schools struggle with this for a couple of reasons. In terms of applications, there may be a problem of limited and skewed feedback. Presumably grad schools don’t have full access to the relevant counterfactual in considering upgrades to their application systems — many of the students who begin applying but then give up out of frustration will likely not share their experience. Grad schools may rightly conclude that there are a number of reasons prospective applicants may discontinue applications, but lack specific data about how many gave up because of the online system. Given the time pressures on people who are applying to these courses while working full-time jobs, it seems that any burdensome technology could be a disincentive.
In terms of international students that are accepted, I think that it’s difficult for the administration as a whole to get a handle on the multitude of agencies and departments that individuals are dealing with. No one part of the system takes accountability for mapping the international student journey — they simply offer advice on how to go about dealing with each constituent part. Clearly a grad school couldn’t take on the responsibility of navigating every countries’ visa system, but they could work with internal departments to synchronise notifications and reduce the amount of times individuals need to re-enter their personal details. This would require grad schools taking on some risk, and investing in their systems, but could ultimately result in a much more content group of students arriving in August.
Overall, the online systems supporting international students who enrol at US grad schools are fragmented, outdated, and labyrinthine. Ironic, given they are usually for institutions who pride themselves on innovation, diversity, and student-focus.
