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Start out with College Finder. Before, this section was really a successful search engine, since I built and did it by hand, not by codes like other search engines on Internet. But too much demand while too little supply resulted in the fact that equilibrium point now is just a dim dot in the dust :) I had to shut down this service, though after, still so many requests came in. However, I built a little guide to college searching over Internet in this section. Some guy developed such thing called "Undergraduate Calendar" and I find it rather helpful. Download it at Archives section. And, you need to know this: Request Information Pack. I often come across some very good sites that people never heard of, maybe because "a good man is hard to find." PureAdvice.com offers Do's and Don'ts in an application, how to build good relationship with admission officers, etc. Visit: http://www.pureadvice.com/college_experience_details.cfm?CRITERIA_ID=6 There's always a way to get around anything created by human :) Why not try some tips, secrets and advice on admission process. Visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/ CollegeKey.com: Lists of top colleges/universities in America, Canada, along with their email addresses. They also have good college admission guides. Good work. How Duke admits: Take a look at how the college decision is given. Along with college admission guides. Pretty good. Visit: http://www.howstuffworks.com/college-admission5.htm The veteran CollegeBoard.org is not only a place you go for standardized tests, but also for some admission tips and tricks. Visit: www.collegeboard.org/apply/index.html "Dear Admission Guru" contains common questions and answers. Visit: http://www.mycollegeguide.org/guru/index.html. Same work was done by USNews as well, at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/articles/coappfaq.htm. When to apply you should begin the application process as soon as
you have decided which colleges best meet your needs. this usually should be no
later than 12 months before the date you expect to begin study in the United
States. review the planning calendar, available also on this website. colleges may give a deadline for applications. at selective
colleges, the deadline is the final date by which they must receive the
application. some colleges will continue to accept applications after the
deadlines, but will process those only if they do not fill their classes with
applications from students who applied on time. for late applicants, there may
be no housing or no financial aid. make a checklist of the admission requirements and deadlines from
your college comparison worksheet. set your own completion dates well ahead of
deadlines, and check off each step as you complete it. remember to send all
required documents and forms as soon as possible. U.S. colleges usually review
applications only when all the required documents have been received. Main application forms, fill them out carefully and precisely. Make copies of the forms before you fill them out, in case you make mistakes on the original forms. For the financial questionnaire, this is important, especially if you plan to apply for scholarships. Vietnamese students usually concern much about this form because they don't know how it affects their chance of acceptance. a document certifying the amount and source of income available to you for study in the US will be required. most US institutions will send you instructions and a special form to complete. the form should be submitted with your application. the documentation must show that you have resources to pay for the first year of your college program and a reasonable financial plan for paying for the balance of your education. once an admission decision is made, the college will send you the appropriate US government form so you can apply for a student or exchange visitor visa. (refer to visa information on this website). many colleges and universities that offer financial aid to
international students require applicants to complete a detailed financial aid
application form, which is separate from the college application form.
typically, these forms ask the following kinds of questions:
what is your parents’ total income?
what is your annual income?
what are your annual living expenses?
what is the value of any assets you and your parents have, such as a
house, a car, savings, and investments.
how many family members are in college?
what plans do you have for locating financial aid from sources other than
the school? ask each college to send you the financial aid application form to
fill out. some institutions use their own form. others use the Foreign
Student’s Financial Aid Application and Certification of Finances; these are
forms sponsored by the College Scholarship Service, which you may be able to
submit to several institutions. request a financial aid application when you request for an
application for admission and submit all the forms together. be sure to answer
the questions as completely as possible. most colleges will ask for
documentation of the information you provide on the financial aid application;
gather and save those documents as you complete the forms. The question really depends on the school you're applying in. If you plan to go to school by your own expenses, meaning you won't receive any scholarships or financial aids, this form can be used to decide your chance of acceptance. The admission officers then will look at your form and try to guess whether you can afford for huge college expenses or not, including a case that if anything happens to you, you will still be able to get back home yourself. If you're applying for financial aids, this form will be used mainly to decide how much money you will receive. In that case, just fill in the actual income of your family. There's no need to worry about the details since our country's living level is already much much lower than American average. This won't affect (much) your chance of acceptance. However, it also depends on what school you are applying into. Some school only accept students with certain levels of income. In most cases, you will be required to turn in the "banking records". In Vietnam, we usually don't put money in the bank, therefore, either you email and ask the school what you should do in place of that, or you can get the records of your family income certified by the work-places of your family members. One thing very important: many of Vietnamese students, when they fill out the financial questionnaire, think it would hurt their chance of acceptance if they fill in low income because the admission officers would consider you not be able to afford the expenses in America. Believe me, only when your family income is more than $40,000 a year can you yourself really afford the education expenses in a medium school in US. Most schools now have "need-blind" admission process, meaning chance of acceptance does not base on family income. In contrast, admission officers will depend on what you fill in to determine how much money you will receive for financial aids. When I fill in the financial forms, I said my family income was $2200 totally and no extra income, no workers hired, no home business, no car, no due loans, and no owned house. About the extra-curricular achievements, you should know admission officers often seek out for a rounded student, which can do well both in and outside of the class. Include those achievements you can: sports, writing articles for magazines, attend any conference/ convention/ club, play any sports, etc. Just about anything that can help you express your capabilities. DON'T include "too tiny" recognitions since those will lower the officer's valuing of your abilities. Provide pictures, proofs, teachers' comments, certifications if you can. That'll help lots! Transcripts Colleges will require a complete set
of records of your academic performance at previous schools attended. many
colleges will accept unofficial copies for their preliminary evaluation, but
will require original or official documents to confirm their review later. if
your original records are not in English, submit an official translation with
your academic records. What are transcripts? This is mechanically translated into Vietnamese as "Hoc ba." What the school implies by "transcripts" is: you send them CERTIFIED copies of your "hoc ba". You probably will need to copy the records of your high school years only, no need to copy those of your secondary years. Remember, you can't turn in just the copies, you have to CERTIFY them by getting the school's seal. Or if you live in Hanoi, I'm not sure about the address, but you may go to No 1 Ba Trieu to get them certified (bring both your original and copied papers.) Will the transcripts affect your chance of acceptance? Yes, of course. Transcripts, personal essays and recommendation letters are the three most affecting factors in application process. Usually if you apply for scholarships, you will need to be in the top 5 of the class or the top 5% of the school. When you translate your transcripts, one problem you'll encounter is the translation of the grading system. US Education System use GPA on a 4.0 scale, while Vietnam uses 10 scale. The solution is amazingly simple, just convert your "diem phay" into GPA by multiplying them with 0.4. There's actually a tool on VIETNAMERICAN homepage that can do this for you. Most of US applicants for scholarships usually have 3.7 or higher in GPA, which is 9.3 or higher in Vietnam. It's not very easy to get 9.3 in Vietnam, therefore, you should include the so-called "Vietnamese Education System" as an explanation to how you achieved that score. This is very useful for reference purposes of admission officers to compare students. What's inside a "Vietnamese Education System" should be: an explanation what kind of tests you have, how those tests are graded, how your semester points average (diem trung binh hoc ky) are graded, how your year overall point average is graded (diem trung binh ca nam), how that point average classify you to be: excellent, good, decent and weak student? And what is the average in Vietnam? Auditions and portfolios schools of architecture, film, and the arts usually require
additional information about you in order to assess your qualifications for
admission to their programs. this may include portfolios of your work of art,
architecture, and design programs, and auditions for music and theater programs.
they will often accept audiotaped or videotaped representations of auditions
from applicants who are unable to perform in person. Recommendation Letters As mentioned above, this is among the three most important factors. Each school has different kinds of recommendation letters. You will receive these forms in the forms the school sent you when you requested. No matter how different they are, we anyway still have to have our teachers, supervisors or someone write recommendations on those forms. The problem is: in most cases, we need to get recommendations from our teachers, and they are usually too busy to write the letters the way we want! Well, be
creative! some colleges require letters of recommendation from one or more
adults who know you well. letters of recommendation by themselves will not
ensure admission, and letters that do not appear to assess the candidate
honestly may hinder an applicant’s chance. the following guidelines may be
useful when requesting letters of recommendation:
letters should be honest and balanced. a letter that is unrealistically
favorable is less useful than one that explains possible areas where you need
more work.
you should request letters from two or three different sources- among
them teachers, professors, guidance counselors, and employers. a family member
or personal friend is usually not acceptable.
at US colleges, letters from people who are familiar with your academic
background are more important than letters from people in important positions or
from family members.
letters should focus on your academic abilities than on your character,
but may include helpful information about your community service, volunteer
work, employment, service to others, and leadership qualities.
admission officers reading letters of recommendation find the following
information helpful: Academic record: discussion of your stronger and weaker
academic areas; explanation of any gaps in your schooling, such as time off,
school closings, and so forth. if you are a graduate-level candidate, mention of
specific academic accomplishments, maturity, and research capabilities is
important. Achievements: special accomplishments in school, work, or
family should be mentioned. awards you have received should be described so that
the admission officer will understand their significance. Unusual talents: special skills with languages or in the
arts, athletic ability, and so on, should be mentioned.
give the person writing recommendation clear instructions for sending the
letter airmail to the address the college provides. type or print clearly. April's Madness I know what you feel after sending the forms away, Been there, done that :) Weeks of expectation, tons of emails sent to admission office asking when the final decision would be issued. Sometimes you can be notified via email in advance, but in every case you'll receive a letter announcing you're accepted or not. There'll certainly be two possibilities. If you are accepted, CONGRATULATIONS. Don't forget to read the section: Getting a visa on VIETNAMERICAN. If you are not, I'm sorry to hear that, but: don't you remember those old days when you used to think going abroad is impossible???!!! However, to cheer you up, there're several things you can do: + Email or mail the admission office, with every politeness you can have, to tell them you have received the notification, and ask them if they could explain you the reasons why you're not accepted. Why? Well, at least you have to gain something after the whole exhausting applying process. These will be the "gold" experience in your life. + Also ask them if you could be put on the waiting list (usually long) because not all admitted students will attend that school. + Learn your lessons then make plans for applying again (if you're still interested.) Well, since you've come a long way down here at the bottom, here's a little bonus for you. I don't remember where I got this stuff, but these are samples of how request letter, recommendation letter, statement of purposes should be. That's it for now. |
