How to apply for an American teaching assistant

Nominally, teaching assistants only assist teachers in teaching, but in fact, teaching assistants (T.A.) play a very important role in university education, especially in some famous research universities. Because professors focus on the research and guidance of graduate students, many undergraduate courses are quietly taught by teaching assistants, nominally professor courses, but the teaching has been changed to teaching assistants, and the proportion is higher in the United States. Because of this, universities are very cautious about choosing teaching assistants, because this will directly affect the quality and reputation of university teaching. Usually, teaching assistants are excellent graduate students, especially full-time graduate students. Teaching assistants are only part-time. On the one hand, they earn tuition and fees (usually free of tuition fees and have enough living expenses), on the other hand, they accumulate teaching experience through the work of teaching assistants to prepare for teaching after graduation. Because the work income of teaching assistants is enough to meet the expenses of tuition and miscellaneous fees, it has become a scholarship project for many international students. Especially the experience of teaching assistants, will be of great help to your graduate application for university teaching. How to apply?

Here are some suggestions:

(1) Generally speaking, a graduate student in the first year has a low chance of becoming a teaching assistant, because the school can't understand his English communication ability before he goes to the United States (TOEFL scores alone are often unreliable), so he lacks confidence in being hired as a teaching assistant. But if he has confidence in his English ability, he'd better call the school overseas to let the school know his English communication ability, which is believed to be helpful for the entrance examination.

(2) We should strongly and constantly express our desire to be a teaching assistant. Even if we fail in the first year, don't be discouraged and continue to strive for it.

(3) Before you go to America, you'd better make more efforts in English conversation and communication skills, including pronunciation, so as to be accurate. Otherwise, even if you are lucky enough to be hired as a teaching assistant, if your ability is insufficient, it will not be good for yourself and your students. In fact, asking students not to listen to foreign teaching assistants has become a very acute and sensitive issue in many American universities.

(4) Besides improving English ability, we should also study the skills of western education. Remember, American society is different from Asian society, and the learning methods are also very different. Be sure to learn and absorb with an open mind, and don't close yourself.

(5) The work of a teaching assistant is usually decided by the professor who teaches the subject, so we should try our best to establish a good relationship with the relevant professors and strive for opportunities to show our abilities and self-confidence. If people haven't arrived in the United States, they can also take the initiative to communicate with relevant professors and express their willingness to be teaching assistants.

(6) Under normal circumstances, professors in graduate schools will try their best to "take care of" graduate students under the guidance, so how to choose a tutor when applying for admission has become a very important knowledge (sometimes it depends on luck). Famous and influential professors can usually provide different kinds of financial aid (including teaching assistants, research assistants and graduate students' fees, etc.). For the students he instructs, this is very important for international students.

How to apply for a research assistant job in a university?

The difference between a research assistant and a teaching assistant is that instead of teaching and guiding students, a research assistant only assists a professor in research work, or is responsible for a certain link in a research project (usually externally funded research), but the responsible professor is still responsible for the overall work. Because there is no teaching, research assistants don't need to communicate in a lot of English, so they are more popular with foreign students who have just arrived in the United States. In fact, foreign students in the first year of postgraduate study have certain advantages:

(1) One-year contract, not afraid of being fired in the middle.

(2) The salary is reasonable, and there is no need to be afraid of being exploited (generally according to university standards)

(3) High added value, learning by doing, and establishing a good relationship with professors (it may be published jointly with professors and benefit for life)

(4) Good working environment and no closed crowd.

The methods and steps of applying for a research assistant are similar to those of applying for a teaching assistant (often the application is unified, and the school decides which one to award), but experienced international students will tell you that you might as well "exaggerate" your expertise when applying, such as emphasizing your computer skills, being good at typing, being good at sorting materials, having good language skills, etc., and realize that you will increase your "chips" in the competition with others, but remember that if you really

Students who have got the job of research assistant should do their best to do this job well, because the professor in charge of research projects will evaluate your performance every semester and every year. If you don't perform well, I believe that not only can you not renew your second academic year, but you may also affect your chances of applying for other scholarships. You must not be careless. However, if the responsible professor is unfair to you or racist, it will affect his evaluation of you. You must fight for it and not give up, otherwise it will affect your future.

For more information about the application conditions in the United States, please click the relevant links.

The United States has introduced a number of preferential policies for studying abroad. Faced with the stimulus of favorable policies, students and parents should be more rational: on the one hand, don't blindly disrupt students' study and further education plans; On the other hand, it is not too late to apply for admission this fall. We should prepare the application scientifically. At the same time, in view of several matters needing attention in studying in the United States, remind students not to? Enter? Misunderstanding.

Superstition? TOEFL +SAT= prestigious school+scholarship?

Generally speaking, language scores such as TOEFL are the basic conditions for applying to American colleges and universities, and SAT is a scholarship? Stepping stone? But now more and more students are too superstitious about TOEFL, IELTS and SAT scores, and even compare high scores with each other. Experts say that many American colleges and universities provide international students with no or low language scores? Language+major? Double admission, for example, China International Import Expo(CIIE) attended California Baptist University and Long Island University this time, so students who haven't achieved language scores don't have to give up their application plan for admission this fall because of their language scores.

In terms of scholarships, generally speaking, American universities do require students to have SAT scores, but schools will also decide whether to grant scholarships according to students' comprehensive ability. It is reported that attending March 13? 20 12 American University Expo? Loyola Marymount University offers scholarships of up to $33.7 million a year, and john carroll University also offers scholarships of up to $6,000 a year for international students. Experts studying abroad emphasize that students and parents must fully understand the admission information of institutions, so as to enter the target institutions more easily and effectively.

Ignore some professional advantages of universities

? Many students and parents often apply to the top 50 or even the top 20 universities when they choose to study in the United States. ? There is nothing wrong with choosing the school with the highest comprehensive ranking, but students should choose colleges and majors according to their hobbies and career plans on the basis of considering their academic performance and comprehensive ability.

On the other hand, the rankings of almost all institutions are not official, and even some powerful institutions do not participate in such rankings. Like Rutgers University, you can hardly find it in some university rankings, but it is one of the nine earliest institutions of higher learning in the United States and is famous for training politicians and entrepreneurs.

One-sided exclusion of community colleges

When choosing colleges, many students and parents equate community colleges with domestic junior colleges or higher vocational colleges. In fact, although they are similar, they are quite different. Community colleges in the United States offer university credit transfer courses, and the effective credits obtained by students after two years of study can be transferred to their peers' four-year universities. For example, the best community colleges in the United States-Ford Hill and De Ansa College, san mateo College in Silicon Valley, etc. Every year, most graduates successfully enter the University of California and Stanford University, and US President Barack Obama transfers from community college to Columbia University.

This kind of college is the first choice of many native American students, and its teaching characteristics are very obvious: from shallow to deep, teaching in small classes, strong practicality and low tuition. Experts said that students with poor study abroad budget, weak academic performance but good practical ability can consider applying to such institutions first, and then transfer to universities for undergraduate studies two years later.