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Generally, yes, but in some terms, they're unavailable. They are offered along with the Reasoning Test in Belgrade regularly, as well in some surrounding major cities (Ljubljana, Skopje, Budapest, Zagreb...). But there are terms when neither Reasoning nor Subject tests are offered in Belgrade (Zagreb follows the same pattern); this school year it is October and January. To be sure, while registering for the exam, check the list of test centers, because not all cities are available in all terms. Also, close to deadlines, some test centers become full and therefore unavailable (do not appear on the list).

Hello, It's me again, this time considering secondary school forms. First of all, the class rank. Though there is an option in the forms filled in by counselor to indicate the rank, there is a field which says to estimate the rank in deciles if no precise rank is available. Does this apply to schools that do not rank as well (in Common App it seems it does, but some specific forms like that of Brown, MIT, etc., are not really helpful in clarifying the things)? Talking with admissions officers at the College Fair and reading on websites I found that many high schools from USA do not report ranks. However, are they obligated to report the estimated ranks? Since the rank is not a practice in Serbia, what would be a standard and right approach to this issue? Furthermore, since science and math courses in my school are very advanced compared to those in other high schools in Serbia, how should that be indicated in the Common App form? The problem is with finding an American equivalent, it is something like AP, but it is still not the same as AP. Common App form does not ask for the content of courses, and only listing the name of the subjects does not help much in presenting the rigor of the program (that would make a lot of difference). Is there any solution to this problem? Thanks in advance. Best regards, Janko Ilic

There is always a moment of chance, but chances are unlikely according to all the data I have found. According to this data, 2% of enrolled students receive financial aid. It means several times more applicants are competing for the same resources. Do you have some other data that show financial aid at Cornell is not that scarce? How large is the margin of error you mentioned? I'm asking this because of the strategy, just like you said . There are similar universities to Cornell, and if there are better chances of both being admitted and receiving financial aid, then I think there would be no point for me to apply where the competition is as fierce as it can be. I am aware that I am not the only one, but one of the many with awards from competitions, lots of extracurricular activities and so on. Of course, if there are no certain indicators for aid at Cornell, then I'll have to take the risk probably. Or would it be a better solution to apply to a university that is more competitive, but has vast financial resources for foreigners as well? I'm speaking of Harvard and Yale for instance. Janko

Following our talk on Friday, I am posting a message to signalize the previous post.

Hvala na odgovoru. Ovo za Minesotu nisam znao, mada apliciram na Carleton (Northfield, 50-ak km juzno od Mineapolisa) koji je jedan od top 5 liberal arts koledza. U svakom slucaju ne apliciram na anonimne (mada u Americi malo koji je opste poznat - svi se upoznaju sa tim tek kada upisuju undergraduate studije, jedino su veliki univerziteti kao drzavni i najpoznatiji privatni poznati). Sa drzavnim je problem jer je stipendiju za undergraduate moguce dobiti samo ako si sportista ili osvajac zlatnih medalja po olimpijadama. Need-based pomoci nema za strance. Brown je privatan i imaju solidne izvore finansijske pomoci za strance, pa apliciram i tamo, mada je tu potrebno i dosta srece, jer je konkurencija ogromna.

Thanks for the previous response, I'll see if it works. However (as usual ), I have another question, this time considering teacher recommendations. MIT asks for one teacher evaluation from a humanities/social science professor. Is it OK if I ask my English professor to fill it in? I am asking this, because perhaps the admissions office would not treat the recommendation seriously because of the level of English taught here. Or, maybe, that would be fine, as it would use as another mean of certifying my English knowledge.

Zdravo, Sto se tice nasih studija problem je sto na PMF-u se uci dosta matematike koja kasnije i ne koristi mnogo, i sto dobar deo kadra zavrsi u prosveti. Sto se tice ETF-a, on prolazi kroz turbulencije vezane za Bolonju, a i nije kao u svojim slavnim danima. Ovakve ocene sam dobio od profesora - bivsih studenata ovih fakulteta i sadasnjih studenata, ja nemam bas mnogo iskustva sa nasim fakultetima sem prica drugih i uvida u programe (kao i svaki srednjoskolac). RAF je za sada se cini OK, mada ono sto me najvise interesuje kod studija u SAD je mogucnost obrazovanja iz vise oblasti sto daje vise mogucnosti za postdiplomske studije (plus prirodno veca prohodnost za studente sa SAD univerziteta). Mene bi vise zanimale kasnije profesionalne postdiplomske studije (mozda MBA), za koje mi se cini da nisu toliko dostupne za studente iz inostranstva. U vezi stipendija sam se informisao opsirno, i iz nekoliko primera ljudi koji su vec tamo otisli znam da nisu potrebne bas medjunarodne olimpijade (mada imam i nagrade sa najvisih rangova domacih takmicenja i medjunarodnih takmicenja poput Turnira gradova iz matematike). Ono sto mi je jedina nedoumica je koliko su ti programi zapravo kvalitetni: kakva je prohodnost na dalje studije, kakvo znanje donose ti studenti na kasnije skolovanje, itd. Za Macalester, mislio sam na taj - sto se tice stipendija su OK, i postizu solidne rezultate na ACM takmicenjima, program im je dovoljno opsiran. Da li mozda znas nesto vise od toga? Lehigh sam otpisao, a Rensselaer sam jos ranije zato sto daju malo stipendija za strance. Sada sam manje-vise zakljucio listu, pa onda jedino ako nesto znas o nekima za koje nemam sigurne informacije: Carleton, Middlebury, Oberlin, Grinnell i neki koji mi sluze kao rezerve (ako neki ipak iskljucim): Vassar, Colgate, Haverford i Williams. Hvala sto si mi odgovorio i pozdravljam te do sledeceg puta. Janko

Unfortunately, I have another question. This one is considered with the Current Year Courses field on Academics page in Common App. There is space only for 8 courses, but now in my senior year I am attending 15 courses (typical for Serbian high schools). I thought that the best solution for this and all the similar problems (the lack of space on forms) is to put the missing data in the Additional Info area with an appropriate comment. Am I right, or is there a better way?

Regarding Cornell... I found this on intenationalstudent.com and it is everything but nice: School/ College Total Annual Cost # of Int'l Students # Awarded Aid Average Award Cornell University $47,502 1092 20 $36,230 This makes Cornell the stingiest Ivy. Far in front of Columbia and Penn, that are also at most times reluctant to give aid to foreigners. It's a pity... Now, my question. Are the information and my conclusion above true, or Cornell has some secret funds? I know of the discretionary right of universities and colleges to admit someone to funded schooling, but who would do so for hundreds of students? There aren't that many alumni children in a generation... If this points true, what would you advise me? Thanks in advance. Edit: The site which data I brought might be unreliable, some statistics on financial aid do not agree with those published on collegeboard.com. Which site should be trusted more? I am afraid, that with so many contradictions, it is impossible to make a list of colleges with certain predictions of financial opportunities... Even that I have finalized the list, I am still going over the whole decision again and again. Anyways, I shall make only minor changes to the list: I've got several substitutes ready to jump in if any of the presently chosen options fails. Would it be better if I inform you of the list here or at the IAC? Best regards, Janko Ilic

I forgot something I came across during filling in Penn application. I was asked to find the ETS code for my school so I queried the search engine to find all schools from Belgrade. I noticed that the schools' names that were on the list (3rd and 5th Belgrade High School) were written in Serbian (Treca and Peta beogradska gimnazija). In all my applications I've put the English version of the name (Mathematical High School) instead of the Serbian one (Matematicka gimnazija). Should I have written it in Serbian?

I remembered another one, for the SAT scores sending. I have checked with several institutions and they told me that only the report from the last test taken is needed (since every report contains results from three previous Reasoning tests and five Subject tests or so). Now, in order to avoid a disaster I would like to be sure that there are no colleges that require reports from each test separately. I might have several questions yet to ask, so is it OK that I post them under this topic and not to open new topics for every single of them?

Thank you very much, I'm going straight away to fill in those missing fields in my application, since January 1st is approaching... Well, this American honor code impresses me. Here in Serbia, some (and to say they are quite numerous) people would cheat about the awards even if they knew it is likely to be caught; they would make up some excuses afterwards.

Sorry for the load of questions these days, but I thought it would be easier and more useful for everyone to ask them here than at IAC. Anyway, here are some things I would like to ask. First of all, are the preparatory lectures for competitions (some kind of advanced curriculum) in academic disciplines (in my case computer science, maths and physics, the areas of study most emphasised in my school) considered extracurricular activities or academic activities? Would the membership in a national debate team be rather an extracurricular accomplishment? Is it OK if I attach (in the additional info area) short descriptions of the competitions to help the schools know more about their significance? Then, what is the difference in terminology between the occupation of a parent and the position/title? It seems to me that these two terms overlap. Do I have to inform colleges if my parents' positions change? Also, my friend that has many awards from competitions like me and who applies to the US universities told me that copies of these diplomas are not necessary. I saw such information on Harvard's site, but I would like to know whether this is a generally accepted practice? On the Common App website (in the FAQ section) it is stated that teacher evaluations and school forms can be copied, so that the professors would not have to write them several times. Do the copies have to be signed by the professor or otherwise verified? That would be it for now. Thanks in advance.

That is Cornell University (I forgot about Cornell College - I did not think of it at all). However, here is the quote from their site: "Cornell University maintains only a very limited program of financial assistance for international students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States, Canada, or Mexico. Those who do receive funds have exceptional credentials and demonstrate financial need. This information is not intended to discourage you from applying, but to give you a realistic understanding of the nuances for receiving financial aid to attend Cornell." How exceptional these credentials must be? According to your instruction, I talked with Vedrana about the Canadian universities, and she suggested me to address to the admissions offices of those I would like to apply to. I will do it probably today, and I hope they will reply in a reasonable time. I say this because some universities maybe do not even read messages - like Harvard, my friend had an unpleasant experience with them. Since McGill and Toronto are giant universities, they might do the same. Thank you for your reply.

I should have put this topic in the Scholarships section... Sorry for that.