elz

Gosh Nik, That is a good question. As I remember (and I will check up on this), you send in your FAFSA (the free application for student financial aid) along with your application. This is because the amount of financial aid is geared to the cost of the school. I am almost certain about this, but let me check this...it has been a long time since we worked with anyone who was eligible for this kind of assistance.... However, let me check further, I am 99% this all goes together, but you know that 1% always scares me. Elz

If you are considering going to the USA for your final year of high school and even remotely considering trying to attend college/university in the United States, there are a few things that you need to know. First of all, students in the United States begin to prepare for university admission during their junior year of high school. This is because most universities in the United States require students to submit their applications, complete with their SAT scores by December or January. If you are a truly great student, you can apply even earlier and thus increase your chances of admission and financial aid. Becuase the SAT exam is scored about six weeks after you take it, this means that international student in the United States need to arrive in the United States ready to take their SAT exams by September, October, or November at the latest. In addition, students should also have an idea of the universities that they intend to apply to and which of these schools offer financial aid for international students. Not a year goes by that we do not begin to get e-mails from students in the United States wanting assistance in finding schools and financial aid, but these e-mails usually arrive in December...by then the students chances of finding a financial aid package are not so good. We recommend that students who are planning to go to high school for their final year of studies and look for universities, sign up for an undergraduate advising session at our center at least six months prior to departure. We can help students research for schools, prepare for SAT exams, and advise students of the financial aid opportunities before they go to the United States. Planning and strategy are key to successfully preparing for the university admissions process in America and it can be very hard for students to face this amount of paperwork and understand all the requirements, especially when students are far away from families and their support network. Students that are in the United States during their senior year of high school have great advantages - they can visit schools, receive university catalogues, work with high school counselors - but if they are poorly prepared, these opportunities are lost. In addition, our offices are often swamped working with students here in Serbia that do not have all of these advantages, but they took the time to prepare themselves. Also it is much easier for us to work with students that we have had an opportunity to meet with prior to their departure to the USA. We are aware of their abilities, their goals, and ambitions, so dear students, please think ahead before you go on that high school program. It makes it so much easier for us to help you.

Dear Nemanja, In this case you wish to "defer" your admission. You need to check the school to see what their policy is on deferments and follow that policy. In addition, this 25% is actually a pretty generous offer from the New School, which does not have a track record of offering full aid packages for international students. You can attempt to negotiate for a better financial aid package and see what happens. In the event that you are not able to collect enough funds or negotiate a suitable financial aid package, you can always look at other schools since 44% of all international students have their graduate studies fully paid for by the institution that they attend. Of course applying to those universities that are generous to international students, encourages other universities to be generous as well....My philosophy tends toward the idea that if a school truly wants the diversity and enrichment that international students can bring to its program, then a school needs to be aware that since international students do not have access to the same financial assistance that citizens and eligible non-citizens have. Thus, in order to be serious about providing a diverse campus and not just from countries with booming economies and lots of cash, but from other parts of the world as well, schools need to forumulate the most attractive financial aid packages possible in order to attract the best and the brightest throughout the world. Best regards, Elz

Dear Marko, For students that send their documents via Federal Express through our office, we include a document check. This can be done by anyone on our staff and you just need to call prior to your arrival and make sure that someone will be there to process the federal express paperwork and go through your application package and answer any questions that you may have prior to sending it. Best regards, Elizabeth

Well this is a very complicated procedure and there are many factors that you must consider. First of all, the American education system, like all educational systems is not exactly free-rather it is paid for by tax dollars. Now, these tax dollars come from specific taxes - property taxes. Thus, neighborhoods with expensive housing tend to have much higher property taxes, so as you can see, some schools tend to have more money per student to spend on education that others. This is important because exchange students must pay their share of this fee rather than have American taxpayers subsidize the education. So, this is one reason why these high school year in the United States programs tend to be set in small communities - the property taxes there are not so high, thus the cost of enrolling an exchange student will not be so high. (For example, I would shudder to think what it might cost to enroll a student in a neighborhood full of millionaires.) This is the first issue, finding a school that has an affordable price tag. The next part of the problem concerns the paperwork. The agency that handle these programs have J-1 visa sponsors. However, a student that is financing this high school program independently will apply not for a J-1 Visa, but instead for an F-1 Visa. This visa is most commonly used for students attending college/university in the USA. In order for the student to apply for an F-1 visa, the school must issue an I-20. This is usually where the problem is going to begin. In order for schools to have the authority to issue I-20 forms, the schools must go through a rather lengthy and costly procedure. Often the school does not understand this procedure. Schools will often welcome a prospective international high school student with open arms only to find out later about the actual paperwork required. You can learn more about how a school can go about doing this at the following link: http://www.ailc.com/howdoi/hdiforeign.htm Once you have visited the link, you will begin to understand that this is a lengthy process. In general, if the school has not already received this approval and bear in mind that there is a substantial cost to have this done and the school will need to be inspected by the appropriate officials in order to be approved-this can take a very long time, it is best to locate a school that already has the authorization to issue an I-20 form. Once a school is located that is authorized to issue an I-20, the process becomes a bit simpler. The student/parents will need to pay the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of education for the intended period of study. The school will need to issue a receipt to acknowledge the payment and this will need to be presented at the embassy, along with all other required documentation. For the most complete and up to date information on this, you can visit the embassy website: http://belgrade.usembassy.gov/consular/nv/student.html This is a link to the US Embassy in Belgrade and will contain the most up to date information. Best regards, Elz

Dear Marko, One of the first things that medical students in Serbia must recognize is the difference in educational backgrounds between an American medical student and a Serbian medical student. In order to enter medical school in the United States, a student must first obtain a Bachelors degree. Generally this diploma will be in a life science field or perhaps in "Pre-med". Once the Bachelors degree is firmly in hand and the four years of education completed, the student then sits for an examination to determine if the student has a level of knowledge that is acceptable to any medical school in the United States. Thus, medical school transfer is not an option. The absolute easiest way to do this is to complete the diploma in Serbia and then begin to attempt the process of completing a program for International Medical Graduates tp receive approval (licensing) tp practice medicine in one of the 50 U.S. states. For more information on this, please view topic "Kako radite kao lekar" or something like that. On the other hand, just like other students studying at the undergraduate level in Serbia, medical students can transfer. Now transfer can be a tricky process even within the United States. Students must be willing to do a great deal of specific research. One of the first steps is to find programs of study in the United States that "match" the background of what the student has studied thus far. Each school in the United States sets its own program as to how transfers are handled. Some schools will accept nearly an entire course of study. Other schools will limit how many of the "courses" or "exams" that will be accepted from another institution. Think of this logically for a moment - Suppose a student attended one school and had nearly completed that school, then decided to transfer to another school for the final semester - the second school would issue the diploma and it would appear that the student had complete credentials from that school. That is really not a valid assumption, is it? For example, why not attend a rather cheap school that is not very academically competitive...make a bunch of easy "A"s, and then enroll in a very expensive and elite school for the last semester and leave with that diploma? Thus, the first step is to explore the wide range of programs and determine what the transfer policy is of each school. Many students here look at less competitive schools for transfer options because they do tend to be more flexible as their diploma is not "branded". Remember the school has other students that have invested and committed and these students are not going to be so wild to see someone jump into the program that has not been in a program with equal standards. Once a transfer student finds a program that is compatible the next question is usually financial assistance. This can be tricky for transfer students. The general rule of thumb is that a student needs to have a nearly stellar GPA in order to get financial assistance as a transfer student. The GPA needs to be good enough to attract the school to provide resources to a transfer student. It is very difficult for a student with a dismal academic performance to convince an American school to provide financial aid. I hope this helps. Elz

Dear Marina, First I have one question for you. Is that Bachelors of Science coming out through the Bologna Process? Are you in a department of the University or are you at a Visha School? (I ask that because I am currently working out some information on how the Bologna Process will be viewed by US admissions officials) Yes, it will be good if you come to the library, but the first step that you really need to take will be to sign up for the graduate advising session. These sessions are usually held at 3.00 p.m. on Wednesdays, but you need to call (334 5227) to place your name on the list and to confirm the date of the next session. At that time, you are provided with an overview of the process, the role that we play in assisiting students, and a tour of the library and information on resources. It is basically mandatory in order for us to work with because it gets every on the same page. Otherwise eveyone is zipping around in all different directions....and then there is CHAOS.... We do have some wonderful reference books. Also have visited our Scholarship section on the forum? I believe their are some offers in your field. Most important of all: 44% of all international graduate students are funded directly from the departments or universities where they attend. (Open Doors 2006)

First of all, Dule thanks for minding the store during the holidays. Well, my guess would be that the folks down under have not updated their website since the CBT has been completely phased out in most of the world. Almost any testing center that has computers is now administering the iBT. The PBT is being used primarily for emergency back up in places where they do not have proper networks to set up computerized testing. Thus, I think that this situation definitely merits a student contacting the admissions office for clarification. In general these admission requirements refer to exams that are, for the most part, no longer available.

Depending on whether you are in Italy or Serbia, you should determine the hours of the advising center nearest you and based on that (remember this is the holiday season, so hours may be quite different than usual) you can visit and use the reference books there for a university search. As I said, the first step for our center is to have you sign up for a graduate advising session. That is more or less a complete orientation session to introduce you to the process, our organization, and provide a Q & A session for you. There are reference books on advising center libraries that can provide information to you about graduate school departments.

Dear Skywalker, First the cost varies, but you would need to be prepared to pay for the tuition, books, and of course living expenses. In general you would need to be prepared to look at 25,000 USD per year minimum. In my opinion, it is going to be closer to 35,000 USD. Remember that 44% of all international graduate students are funded by the university that they attend. That is why research is so important. Students need to search for a department that has funding and also where the student and department will both benefit from the arrangement. As for Italy, there would be no special procedure. Also there is an advising center in Italy, much like the one here in Serbia. When you are in Serbia visit us and of course, please use our forum, but you can also check out the advising center near you in Italy. You can find it on the website www.educationusa.state.gov. In a way you are in a very fortunate position. First of all, it will be quite interesting to a graduate program that you have the Italian component in your background. Also you will have an opportunity to visit two different advising centers. Have you been to group advising for graduate students? If not, you should call our office (334 5227) and sign up for a session. Generally, the sessions are set for Wednesdays at 1500. You just need to call to confirm when the next Wednesday session will be held and put your name on the list. Elz

Well Marko, we have the preparationm courses for GRE here at the Center. Now about the GRE....the first problem is that the exam is going to change and the new exam is scheduled to roll out October 2007. The only problem that you need to foresee is that implementing an entirely new exam around the world is pretty complex undertaking. Thus, I would not set my sites on an all new exam for October 2007. For example, when the new TOEFL iBT was introduced, the change was gradual. If I recall correctly, the new exam was first tested in the United States, then for one year or so, it was introduced in two countries, France and Germany I believe. Then it was introduced into other countries on a set time schedule. However, the exam is not going to change drastically. The analogies will go off the exam and the antonyms section will also vanish. There will be more reading passages instead. Thus, the new exam will still draw hard on vocabulary but it will be more in context. As far as the Math goes, there will be less geometry, but more reasoning and word problems. There will still be sentence completions and the essays. We are recommending that students be prepared to take either exam if they are testing sometime on or after October 2007. Of course as time marches on, we will have a better picture of the exam. The good news is that we will most likely be a testing center for GRE, just as we are authorized to administer the TOEFL iBT. So first of all, you need to seriously determine about university deadlines for admission. Your GRE preparation should have you tested with scores reported prior to application dates. Also be very careful if you are looking for a financial aid package because often those requirements need to be met prior to the admission deadlines for sending in your application. It is important to bear in mind that each school has its own system of admissions. The earlier you begin the research, the better organized you will be. One thing that often puzzles students here is the need to comply to the deadlines and regulations. These systems are often quite complex and it is not a good idea to attempt to bend these regulations and deadlines in order to customize the entire admissions system to meet the needs of one student ;-) Although I have seen some people quite determined to do so, ha ha. Another important thing that we recommend is to begin to create a sort of intellectual journal about yourself and your academic experiences. This will come in very hand when you begin to contact professors or write your personal statement. As we say during the graduate advising, the personal statement can be a strong factor in determining who gets the money, so you want to begin to think about this matter in depth. We also offer personal statement seminars to assist with this or we have books that can be used in the Center for reference. The important thing for now is that you begin to develop a strategy. Also start to research various departments and decide which schools have departments that seem to be working on areas that are of interest to you. I hope that this helps somewhat. If you are interested in GRE courses, we will be starting a new course after the holidays and you can call our office (334 5227) and ask to be put on the waitlist. When we start the courses, we can call you to let you know that we are starting new courses and you can decide if you wish to sign up or wait for another round. Because of your background in English Language, it might be good for you to take the GRE course as soon as you can, then you can continue to build on that foundation by reading a great deal. One of the most important factors in the course is that it changes the way you read and think. It teaches you some other skills so that each time you read a work of literature or an academic journal, you approach the text in the same way that you approach a GRE text. In other words, almost everything that you read in English becomes a GRE practice exercise. I hope this helps. Happy Holidays, Elz

Dear E-voan, First of all, svaki cast on the great marks and the moot court. We generally have the advising on Wednesdays at 15.00, but we ask students to please sign up by phone (334 5227) in advance because sometimes we have conferences or other events. Also when you sign up, if you are not here by 15.00, we call to confirm with you so that we do not start without you. Your chances for the USA are very good, but for lawyers, you might want to check our scholarship forum and see what is available for L.L.M students. These degree programs have scarce funding, so they are very competitive. However, there are other options for you as well. International Relations programs are one route. There are other programs that could be interesting as well. It would probably be best for you to visit the scholarship forum to get an idea of the many programs that are out there and make an appointment to attend the advising for graduate students. It lasts about an hour and a half, but it gives a broad overview of the process. Best regards, Elz

First of all, you will have to transfer your records no matter what. Even if you plan "to start all over", the university requires that you submit all past records of university work. Generally, you will visit your university, get a copy of your records (following whatever the procedure is for your faculty), get as many copies certified by the Opstina as you need, then have a translation made. The cost will be any charge that your faculty has and the translation fees. And once again, university policy in the United States does not allow you to start over. If you put the name of your school down to receive your scores, yes they will be sent to your school. Also schools know what to do with TOEFL scores that arrive prior to application. Question 3a, the answer is yes. Question 3b, the school will probably not require you to take an ACT as a transfer student. However, if they do, you must write to them and explain that there are no ACT testing centers in this region and request permission to take an SAT instead. However, I would first see if it was necessary for a transfer student. Qustion 4a. You need to read the requirements and instructions, since each school in the United States has their own policy. However, you most likely need to submit this along with your application. I do not believe that the school will admit an international student without sufficient funds. Furthermore, schools are generally required to see proof of funds prior to issuing an I-20 form. Question 4b. Real Estate is not considered as something that you can use to pay for your education. The schools wants to see cash amounts that can be used to pay for your education. Question 4c. The cost of your education is based on tuition, books, fees, and living expenses. My guess is that living expenses at a junior college in New York will exceed all other expenses. These costs are unique for each institution. I recommend that you contact the school that you wish to apply and inquire what they consider to be the cost of your education as an international students. If your friends are willing to complete whatever paperwork is required by the school to prove that you are staying with them, then the amount of money that you are required to show from your own personal funds will also decrease. However, sometimes the paperwork to show this is complicated and it must all be in order and meet with the approval of the school officials. Also the US Embassy may want to see these same documents to be certain that everything is in good order. Having a sponsorship by a friend is considered a formal legal arrangement and these friends must be willing to submit a formal legal documents along with proof that they have the funds to actually support you. Question 4d. See answer above. Question 5a. There is no way to answer this question. That depends on how many applications the school receives and how many people they have on staff to process an application. Perhaps you could find this information on their website or contact them to ask. Question 5b. Once you have the I-20 form and other admission documents which are necessary for your student visa in your possession, you should schedule the visa interview. For more information on student visas, you can visit the website of the US Embassy in Belgrade and look under student visa information. (http://belgrade.usembassy.gov/consular/nv/student.html)

Well like all American programs of study, dentistry programs are decentralized. The first thing that I can tell you is that financial aid is going to be very tricky - perhaps dismal. Also because this a professional program, each state will set its own standards. Some schools accept students after a few years of undergraduate work, others may accept a student directly into dental school, while others approach dental school as more of a graduate studies program. One link that can help you look at wide range of programs is: http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/programs/search...h_ddsdmd_us.asp I would encourage you to visit this link and begin to explore the various programs and develop of vision of which one most meets your needs. I hope this helps you get started. Elz

Dear @lex, My first concern is that the BBA+ program will have to meet fulltime student status requirements for visa purposes. Have you had an opportunity to check on that? Did you visit FIU when you were in the USA? I am interested in the schools that you visited, who you met with, and what you learned. We have recently gotten a new addition to our library, The Best 282 Business Schools. You might want to visit us and peruse it. About Strayer - I would take a very serious look at Strayer. Although the school may not seem to jump right out at you, be sure to look at the professors listed, read their bios, see what the course guides say. As I understand it, Strayer has a history of serving a very mobile community and could be a perfect option for a transfer student. I believe that as a transfer student, Strayer is a very sound choice to explore. Also, before you put too much faith in rankings, it is important to realize that often the criteria for rankings, especially Business schools often has little to do with the overall educational experience. For example, Princeton Review's Best 282 Business schools gives a rather in depth profile of these schools. The rankings on the other may be based on criteria such as starting salaries of graduates - not always a good indicator of success on down the road. As I said, I would like to know more about what you learned during your visit, where you were able to visit. A great deal of your decision as a transfer student is most likely going to be based on how transfer-friendly the administration will be to your previous coursework. Also since you mention working, it is important that the school you attend be able to provide you with the authorization to work during your studies, whether it is a work-study program, OPT, or some other program. If you can find a program that meets your needs, join that program, do well, and at the same time try to look for a good graduate school - this would be a great opportunity for you. Another option for graduate studies would be Huron's MBA program in London. This is just an option that I would like to mention early on because all students can work while in London and Huron helps students find jobs. I hope that you will visit us and look through our new treasure about 282 Business Schools. Elz

Well first of all, you should realize how your GPA is viewed. First of all, the evaluation of your grades is probably going to be a bit different that what you think. To the uninitiated, student results in Serbia can appear to be dismal when compared with students in the USA that hold stellar 4.0's. However, the grades are evaluated in terms of how difficult the program of study is. Thus, as you begin to deepen your self assessment, you need to look around you and determine if you are in the top 5 or 10% of your class in terms of grades. This more or less can help you begin to understand where your grades fall on the spectrum of graduate school applicants. Now from this point onward, you want to head fast and furiously toward every 10.00 that you can get. The next step is to begin to prepare for the GRE. You will be assessed by any poli-sci department in terms of your linguistic foundation. They will look for that as means of bringing really strong diversity to the department. You need to really show them a very strong verbal and written component from the GRE. You need to begin to "workout" every day on this. What other languages do you speak? I would also recommend that you take a very in depth look at the University of Oklahoma where they have a strong graduate program that is more or less the history department and the poli-sci department combined. It is a great program. You can also consider Brandeis. They have a wonderful program on coexistance and conflict resolution. During this time you should be doing the following: 1) Self assessment, including starting a journal to trace your intellectual development and personal growth 2) GRE preparation steps 3) In depth research of at least 20 programs You time target should be that you have GRE scores in hand by September/October 2007. Also a list of 10-20 programs with bios of the professors and program overviews. The reason for this is because we want you ready to initiate contact with the departments by September/October. It is helpful if you have GRE scores to present to your correspondents in the department - this way they can tell you if you need to retake the exam. Also if you have the stellar scores that we are hoping for, it will get their attention when you write. One mistake that can be here is that students want to have this contact with the department before they do anything. In other other words, there is a tendency to expect the department to encourage and say..oh yes, please apply and then go take the GRE, and so on. However, I think having GRE scores and in depth knowledge of the department program creates the kind of energy around your correspondence that makes the department sit up and take notice. Otherwise you can come off as just another shopper, samo gledam, hvala....but when you have already taken steps on your own...well it is the equivalent of "flashing your cash ". You are committed, prepared, and ready. I hope this helps. It sounds like you are very focused and working quite hard. Already you seem to be on your toward becoming a good graduate school candidate. You could also be ready for Kokallis when it rolls around next year. The real key is to get yourself in position, so that you are ready to roll with whatever offers come your way.

Dear Srdjan, Well 7.50 is not exactly setting the world on fire so you need to really look at those grades and evaluate your strengths. Some schools require a certain GPA, so you will want to get an idea of where you fit into those type of profiles. On the other hand, you may be able to offset the GPA with: 1) Outstanding performance on GRE/GMAT 2) Outstanding performance on TOEFL 3) Writing an incredible Statement of Purpose 4) Strong letters of recommendation 5) A good portfolio of activities outside of the faculty that reflect well on you. Once again, there will be certain schools that require that students have a certain GPA, such as 3.0 and so on. These are schools that you will not be able to apply to. Also as far as the scholarship opportunities go, you will probably have to share some of the costs yourself, especially during the first year. This is really rather difficult to be specific about because I have no idea what other activities you are involved in. For example, if you are also working fulltime - that is another side to you. It is important to assess yourself as a "whole person" in terms of graduate school. I hope that this helps. Elz

Do you mean to attend university? I am sorry but when you say high school students, I am not sure what you mean. There is no high school for dentistry in the USA. However, there are Dental Schools throughout the USA at university level. The not so good news is that financial assistance is going to be quite challenging for dental school.

Dear Nevena, Please allow me to answer this question as Dule is an undergraduate student and your questions is about graduate studies. The first thing that I did was visit the website of University of Washington - then Seattle specifically. I found a link for graduate students, then a link for international graduate students. I went further into a questionairre for prospective international students and learned that you are eligible but and you will need to do this for yourself to see the complete information, found that they recommend that you apply before 1 November as an international student to ensure that all documentation arrives on time. Why not try to make a trip up here and review the Petersons book for grad students in Public Affairs, find some schools with deadlines for February and see if you interested in their programs. This sounds like a better plan for Fall '07. Best, Elz

First and foremost - what I teach students in all our test preparation seminars - There are only three kinds of words in the world: 1) Words you know 2) Words you kind of know 3) Words that you do not know There is nothing like an SAT exam to make you aware of these three classes of words. Well there are several ways to go about learning new words. Memorizing 4000 new words is something of a non-starter for most people. Here is what we suggest in our SAT courses here at the Center: 1) Read as much as you can at an academic level. One very helpful option is to register for free at the New York Times : www.nytimes.com Use the learning network option, which you can find on the left side of the main page, go to the article of the day, click to turn on the vocabulary, and the highlighted words have their definition when you click. 2) Begin to check out books from the nearest American Corner, keep a notebook close by and begin to note down unknown words to look up later, then go back and reread. 3) Go down the typical SAT frequent word lists, become familiar with these words and notice when you see them in the course of your reading. 4) When you read, become more aware of the vocabulary. In general, we all read a sentence as a whole. It is a rare case that one word that we do not know, causes us to miss the meaning of an entire sentence. That is why many SAT test takers become bumfuzzled during the exam. People who were good readers did not realize that there was a word in a sentence that they did not understand...they understood the sentence, but not each and every word in it. Continue to read for meaning, but at the same time, think about each and every word in the sentence. 5) Another thing that we teach in the classes are ways to divide words up when it is a word that you "kind of know". Is it a positive word? Is it a negative word? Even if you are not 100% secure with the word, can you use it in sentence? 6) With your dictionary, keep track of each time you look up a word. For example, make a little tick beside the word. When you have a word with three ticks beside it...you have a major problem with this word. You need to write the meaning down on a piece of paper, carry it around with you and drill that word to death. Unless you want to look it up a fourth time I hope that helps a bit with the vocabulary building part.

Dear Senta, Sorry for the delay...I decided to use your topic to provide general information on Community Colleges and wanted to have a chance to look through the recent guide that I received from the American Association of Community Colleges. Now Dule is correct that Community Colleges are not for graduate level studies. On the other hand, as a graduate student, please bear in mind that 44% of all international students receive full funding for their graduate studies from the university where they are enrolled. Thus, you have really good opportunities. Now about community colleges. In general, community colleges offer three types of programs: AA degree (an associate in the arts - 2 years) AS degree (an associate in the sciences - 2 years) Vocational training cerftificates or licenses (1-2 years) Most students look at a community colleges as a way to obtain the first two years of university education, "called undergraduate courses" in a smaller and less expensive environment that will lead to an opportunity to transfer to a four year institution in order to complete a bachelor's degree. Thus, most international students are interested in the Associate Degrees. This is a system referred to as 2 + 2. There are currently more than 75,000 international students attending community colleges. Thus, although referred to as community colleges, most of these 2 year institutions have a global perspective. In addition to the economic advantages, community colleges often provide a more intimate learning environment. This can provide international students with the opportunity to get more personalized attention as they adapt to the American education system. Many community colleges have agreements with certain four year institutions so that transferring can be very easy. However, a student who is planning to study on the 2 + 2 program needs to be sure that the community college of their choice has these working agreements in place. Some community colleges will actively help international students during the transfer process and will do all that they can to assist outstanding students in obtaining financial assistance at a four year institution. Therefore, it is important that students find community colleges that are very pro-active in this. I hope that this provided a broad overview about community colleges and we would welcome any further questions on this matter. Best, Elz

Another good question and often a point of confusion - even for me sometimes! Okay, the school will examine your application and of course it is quite obvious that you need funding Then, the school will determine whether they will provide the funding. If not, then you might be accepted conditionally upon proof of funding, but no I-20 will be issued to you. On the other hand, if you are provided with an assistantship or some other source of university funding depending on whether you are a graduate or undergraduate student, then you will be issued an I-20, which in turn you take the embassy as a key document for issuing your visa. One word of caution...when it comes to the amount of contribution that you can make toward your education, please do not write zero. First, anyone who writes zero would technically be dead because that means you have no money for food, shelter, or clothing. In addition, it appears to the graduate committee that you are unwilling to make the slightest investment in your education and puts your application in what I refer to as the "Steerage Section" of the application piles. However, even a modest contribution transforms you into an investor. The good news is that international students from here...do get into universities in California...with FULL FUNDING..... It is important in advising you that we know whether you are graduate or undergraduate. That can greatly shape your chances and we can also advise you on schools that are financially friendly to undergraduate students on a case by case basis. As to your comment as to whether it is a coincidence that these are California schools, the answer is that it is no coincidence at all. In fact, the state of California has a very coordinated system of higher education. The rules and regulations tend to be somewhat more centralized from school to school than in other states - New York is also like this. In addition, California is a top choice for international students and most likely the institutions got tired of issuing I-20s to students that were simply refused visas because they had no funds from the univeristy or any other source...the ability to pay for your education, whether through a scholarship, external funds, or personal funds, is a fundamental requirement for the visa interview.

Well to a great extent you have grasped the process...however, there is one thing that you are overlooking - namely that professors are humans and thus unpredictable. Each professor most likely has his/her own way of handling these inquiries. Thus, there are no hard and fast rules. I think the timing is good if you have your application package ready to go. It is also helpful if, at the time of writing, you have taken the necessary admission exams and can report very good scores. This makes you a more realistic candidate and provides the professor with an objective evaluation of your abilities. You will be surprised at the varietiy of responses that you will most likely receive. Question 1: But is the professor some significant factor at the admission process? Is he there to lobby for me if he or she is interested? Answer 1: Remember group advising? The admissions offices organizes your application and then sends your application to the department where it is examined by the committee. In general, the Chair, professors, and other graduate students will sit on that committee. So yes, indeed the professor can play a significant role in committee. Question 2: My question is what should I ask professor except that I would like to work in his research group? Something about available funding? Assistantships? Answer 2: In my opinion, the best way to approach the funding issue is to combine the ideas that as an international student you would be interested in working in his/her research group and are there assistantships available. Issue: I've seen at web pages of college faculty that they don't like to be molested with admission questions, but respond only to research related questions. Answer: Remember that there are two types of questions, admission questions and departmental questions. However, asking about the availability of research assistantships or teaching assistantships is a departmental question. However, if a professor states that they will only respond to research related questions, then take the hint and ask about the research going on in the department. You would most likely be surprised at some of the inappropriate questions that students ask. It is ridiculous to ask a professor about admission standards. Also some students try to have the standards of the admissions office changed in order to suit their profiles, which is quite unacceptable. These are not questions that are appropriate to ask a professor. More than anything, students need to use common sense when contacting professors. Be tactful and thoughtful. Show that you are focused on the program.

hmmm. Well Darko...this is a most unusual question...but I can understand how different and bizarre the system may sound..No there is no difference in the quality or your ranking or anything else that is based on whether you began in the Fall term or the Spring term. I think that maybe the programs here in Serbia are based in some kind of order or something, but that is not generally the case in the United States. (Notice I said generally). You will have a list of certain courses that you must complete in order to receive your degree. As you get into graduate studies, those courses may not be offered as frequently. What I mean by that is that it is pretty easy to get into a US History to 1877 class at anytime, but it may be harder to get into a History of the Russian Revolution course. However, you will have plenty of courses to select from for your first semester so this should not be a problem for you. Does this answer your question? I am sorry if it seems a bit unclear. This is an interesting question and I can certainly see why you asked it and I am doing my best to say...it does not make a difference.

Dear Darko, Grad Schools each set their own admissions standards. What this boils down to is research on a case by case basis. In general, the grad schools that have very specific programs require that you enroll in the Fall semester so that you begin the program and pass through each step in a certain order. Some schools even accept applications throughout the year and then admit you at alsmost any point. We have had several graduate students that were accepted for the January semester. On the other hand, there have been others who started in August. Bear in mind that when we say the US education system is diverse and decentralized, we are not a-kidding Our reference material in the library has a list of each program of graduate studies, which schools have departments in each area of specialization and what the deadlines are, as well as the entry points. I hope this helps somewhat. Elz