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zindi

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Posts posted by zindi

  1. Hi ! I'm Natalija... and i have a lot of questions for you :) And I really hope that you'll see this message...

    I would be so thankfull to you if you'll find a time to answer me....

    I'm on second year of masters studies of architecture in Belgrade, and should finish it until the end of the following summer...

    1. I'm realy intrested how you decided on which university to apply ?

    2. How mauch time you needed to prepare all those tests?

    3. Did you have a good average grade?

    4. How you succeeded to get a scholarship?

    5. Do you know anything about ours bachelor and master degrees? Are they valid in Usa?

    I have many more questions but don't want to bother you right away..... :)

    Thank you so much !!!!

    Cao Natalija :)

    I'll try to answer your questions as well as I can.

    For school searching, Internet is your best friend. If you already know a topic or an area of interest you would like to pursue further, than it only makes it easier. But, I'm had only a vague idea of the area of my further studies, but still managed to chose 6 schools that I felt would be good for me. There are all kinds of criteria to take into consideration: academics, fundung opportunities, locations, prestige, school's professional network... Also you can ask people advice, and I am here to give you some when you get deeper into school searching...

    I prepared at IAC, for GRE 3 months, and after that TOEFL is a breeze :)

    My average grade was 8.71 - not perfect, but it got me here :) you should know that you GPA is not the only admission criteria, and of course you are aware of the importance of the portfolio in our profession

    Scholarships in USA are usually given by the school, and at the graduate level most or all student get some financial aid. However, the amount can differ. My advice is to make this criteria high-up on your list when searching for schools. Also, PhD students get more funding more easily than Master students.

    To obtain a Bachelor in Architecture in the USA usually takes 5 years, so our Master, or old 5-year degree is here considered to be a professional Bachelor. However, there are no limitations regarding the programs you can apply to: you can choose a professional Master, a post-professional Master (which is what I'm doing) or a PhD...

    Hope this helps. All the best!

  2. Hi everyone!

    My name is Milena Zindovic and I will be starting post-professional master in architecture (MArch 2) at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY this fall. I didn't get a full scholarship, but the school is covering the tuition and some living expenses, and me and my family are supplying the rest.

    I'm still in Belgrade, but I'm leaving for USA in 2 months to start the program, so I can't give you any advice on college life yet. However, I did go through the whole application process, GRE and TOEFL exams, with a big help from Elizabeth and the people from IAC , so if you have any questions on that part, ask away! :)

  3. Sasa, imam jos jedno pitanje za tebe, vezano za Yale. Ne znam da li je i u tvom slucaju bilo ovako, ali Yale School of Architecture trazi da se nadoknada za aplikaciju plati cekom. Evo i citata sa njihovog sajta:

    2. A nonrefundable application fee of $85 payable to Yale University only in the form of a certified check or money order. The applicant's U.S. Social Security number, if applicable, should be noted on the check or money order. Money orders may be obtained at local banks or the post office. This fee cannot be credited to tuition or other accounts upon admission. This fee cannot be waived.

    Kako se ovo resava? Da li je neophodan cek iz banke ili postoji neki drugi nacin da se pare posalju u Ameriku?

    Hvala i pozdrav,

    Milena

  4. Cao Milena,

    Evo, upravo sam nasao njihov mail: gradarch.admissions@yale.edu

    Pogledao sam njihov sajt, i vidim da stvarno kazu da profesori treba licno da salju preporuke. Ja se sa tim ne bih igrao, i ako kazu licno, onda nek bude licno (ili makar odvojeno od ostatka aplikacije). Prosto ne zelis da te diskvalifikuju zbog administrativne gluposti. Cak i ako ne budes mogla da ih dobijes mailom iz nekog razloga, treba da ih pozoves i pitas (to nije tako strasno skupo).

    Pozdrav i srecno,

    Sasa

    Hvala puno! :closedeyes: probacu prvo na mejl...

  5. Cao Sasa,

    jedno pitanje vezano za Yale. ja sad apliciram na njihov post-professional master of architecture i trebalo bi uskoro da im posaljem paket, a imam jednu dilemu. nazalost, oni nemaju nikakav e-mail kontakt na koji bih mogla da postavim to pitanje, pa evo da pitam tebe za tvoje iskukstvo.

    naime, radi se o pismima preporuke. na sajtu pise da bi pisma trebalo pa posalju profesori licno, ali i sam znas kakvi su nasi profesori, a i kakva je nasa posta, pa sam ja mislila da pisma posaljem zajedno sa paketom, naravno, zatvorena u koverte, potpisana, zapecacena i sve sto treba... nekako mi je tako sigurnije da ce stici. Pitanje je samo da li ce skola praviti problem sto nisam ispostovala njihovu odrednicu?

    Hvala i pozdrav

    Milena

  6. I have another question, this time it's about the letters of recommendation. If it is stated that the recommender should send the letters himself, which you understand they probably won't do, can I send them instead? I understand that this means they want the letters mailed separetly, so I'll mail them for my professors.

    what do you recommend: that I use regular mail or a delivery service such as FedEx?

  7. Hey, what was your essay score on the TOEFL? That is another way you can shore up your profile. You did quite well on the TOEFL...I know the TOEFL writing is not so hard, but on the other hand, if your TOEFL essay score was quite good, there should not be a wide point spread between the two...it may have just been an off day for your writing.

    On the TOEFL Writing section I had a maximum result : 30 points! Besides, I was rather satisfied with how I did my essays on the GRE and Christopher always had nice things to say about my writing. I'm sure you can find some of my essays in my folder at the Center.

    That's why I'm so suprised. I will be sure to mention that in my personal statements. Have you had the time the read the ones I sent you?

    I hope that the Score Report will have more details..

  8. Zindi, do you remember the email communication instructions that I gave you for personal statement students? I am going to need to see your personal statement very soon - prior to an appointment. I know it has been a long time since we met on the seminar, but this is how I separate my mails so that I am aware that you are from the seminar. I have set up filters to organize my mail in an attempt to prioritize. The next few weeks are the most critical for students from the Personal Statement seminars and the undergrads that we are working with. However, without that header, your mail will not filter as a priority.

    These questions are best and easiest if they come through the forum. It is so easy for me to find new posts, just a click and there you are...rather than buried in what on some days is 100+ emails. But I did find you starred...along with other huddled masses :( However, it is important that I see your personal statement and for that you need to use the subject line for the filter.

    I can see where the Pratt application can be very confusing and even as I looked through it, I wondered how I would have filled it out prior to all this advising experience! However, there are a few very subtle clues that can guide us as we sleuth through their application :rolleyes:

    First I can tell you straight up that they only want to see your undergrad credentials. Every school reporting area has the blank for college GPA. They only ask for transcripts from undergrad institutions. Thus, they want to match what you wrote in with the transcripts and so on - American cross-reference.

    Now they are uequally "nuanced" about WES:

    Students who have studied outside the

    U.S. in an educational structure different from that in the U.S. (three

    year degrees, for example) are asked to submit a World Education

    Services (WES; www.wes.org) evaluation (or an evaluation from any

    other reputable educational evaluation service, e.g., your embassy) to

    expedite the processing of your application.

    They allude to degree programs that are different than the typical four year degree - read: "Bologna Process". Therefore, if you have the traditional four year degree - which is considered a straight across the board equivalency to the US Bachelors structure in the USA - you can skip the WES.

    I hope this helps.

    GREAT TOEFL RESULTS ! ! ! ! Our record is 119/120...but you are definitely in 2nd place....Svaki Cast!

    Elz

    Thanx Elizabeth :( I will be sure to follow your instructions next time I write you. And thank you for your encouraging words, it's just what I need right now.

    Let me just see if I got it right. Since my school lasted 5 years, just like an American architecture school, I will not need a WES evaluation. That's great!

    Next, the form, which is much more complicated. Well, acctualy, it seems that the on-line form and the paper, dowloadable form are a bit different. I will do the following, I will try to extract that one page from the on-line form somehow and send it to you by e-mail. If it doesn't work, I will wait for our meeting to show it to you. If it still remains a mistery, I will send them a paper application. I supose it won't make a big difference...

    Thank you very much.

  9. Yes, Elizabeth, I've been to advising, I've been to your personal statement seminar and the GRE course... I have received my TOEFL results and they're good: 118/120 and I'm still waiting for my GRE results. I've written to your e-mail a few days ago, but you haven't replied...

    I am not applying to only one school, but I have tried to fill in that one on-line application and encountered problems. I don't think I can send you the link for the on-line application form because it requires a log-in. However, here's a link to download the application http://www.pratt.edu/newsite/backgroundOpt..._GR_266_276.pdf

    I hope you can give me some explanations on how to fill it in. i have written to the school's admission office, but they also haven't replied

    Thanx

  10. Today I tried to fill in an on-line application form for graduate studies at the Pratt Institute in New York and I have come up with something I don't quite understand: apparently they want me to list chronologicaly all the schools I have ever attended in my life. If I have correctly understood it, they mean even kindergarten. And not only to they want the schools entered in their form, but they want each grade separetly.

    Now I do not really understand when does my education begin? I have first gone to "jaslice" when I was three years old, then moved on to "obdaniste" when I was four, "predskolsko" when I was five, and started elementary school at the age of six. Now, elementary school has 8 grades, high school has four and my Faculty lasted 5 years + "apsolventski rok". Alltogether, it makes 21 years of schooling... Their form has only 16 places... Even if I start with elementary school it makes a total of 18 years!

    In the instruction for filling the form they say we should type the names of grades and level of schools in their original and they give examples in German and French. But those that apply for Serbian?

    Those enyone have any experience with such requirement?

    Thank you.

  11. Lazar, can you write a little about what is Yale like, how does the school work and what are the people like? are there a lot of international students? is the campus big and isolated or is it close to New Heaven? is it difficult to obtain a need-based scholarship?

    Thanx :)

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