The Katalyna blog
The questions everyone asks, answered straight.
Every cycle, the same worries fill admissions forums: how many schools, whether to apply early, what to do about aid. Here are practical answers, with no guarantees and no hype.
5 posts in International · Show all
TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo: English test requirements for international applicants
Most US colleges ask non-native English speakers to prove proficiency. Which tests are accepted, when a waiver applies, and how to choose between them.
Working in the US on an F-1: on-campus, CPT and OPT
The rules are narrow, the penalty for getting them wrong is severe, and one of them can quietly cost you your post-graduation work permission.
Proving you can pay: financial certification, the I-20, and the F-1 visa chain
International admits often lose weeks to one step they didn't know was sequential. What DHS requires you to document, who reviews it, and why the deposit deadline is the start of the timeline.
Applying to US colleges from abroad: the parts nobody explains
English tests, financial certification, the I-20, and the aid question that decides most international applications. A plain guide to the unwritten rules.
Put the advice to work on your own list.
Katalyna turns these answers into a plan: matched schools, deadlines, aid comparisons, and honest essay feedback.