aleks

I would also add that while GRE is important it is nowadays not the main thing the admissions committee looks at when reviewing your application. More and more emphasis is being placed on your persona/goals statement and your letters of references. As much as I hate 'selling' myself in letters, you have to tell them how awesome you are and how you fit their program. it's all about me, me, me and then more about me. but really, while important GRE is only part of the application and especially for humanities and social sciences, it doesn't weight as much as we all think it does. *this is from several professors i have talked about the admissions process*

Hi guys, I have spend the past few months looking at law schools and i have to say that there is very minimal funding for law schools (columbia has some assistantships) but generally, the theory for 'professional degrees' (law, medical, dental schools) is that you'll end up making a lot of money and be able to pay off student loans. kidding, but there is truth in it. i would recommend doing a lot of research on financial support for law and then apply. if you can't fiind it for law, go to phd for econ or something else and take law related classes (but then again i don't know what kind of law interests you...) pozdrav.

Cao svima, I'm back Elisabeth! Sorry again, I've had yet another transition in life I just moved to DC to get a taste of non-profit world in the "nations capital" and start my PhD applications. (I'll write in English for Liz I wanted to thank Sasha (under PhD in Humanities) for such detailed explanations and to note that I do agree very much with what he had to say. Let me preface this by saying just very briefly that I've been studying in the US for quite a while now, BS in Psychology from the University of Florida and a MA in International Education from the School for International Training in Vermont, now looking for a PhD program in IEd. here in DC (George Mason probably). I've had the pleasure of meeting Elisabeth at several conferences here in the US and hopefully again next year in DC (you coming Liz, right?!) To add on to Sasha's experience, I would also recommend that you look at professors status on advising PhD students. Some professors already have a lot of students that they are working with and even if you try to get in touch with them b/c you are really interested in their work, they will not respond, not b/c they don't like you, but b/c they don't have interest in getting more people. This was a direct advise from somebody at George Washington when I went to an open house. This professor said that he generally gets 100 e-mails per day from prospective students. The best avenue for this would be to contact the admissions office within the specific department and write them asking about professors and their status on grad students. Of course, all of this is subjective to the institution and the department itself (some admissions offices never write). But this should be a big sign to you if you are looking at the school and you have no contact with the admissions office, something is fundamentally wrong there and you should probably go for another place. Same with the financial aid/scholarships/fellowships. I agree that there is big misconception about funding. Almost every PhD student is funded one way or another-- some through fellowships, some through being a Teaching Assistants or Research Assistants or Resident Advisers or what have you. Each dept. has it's own funding basically and depending on how much grant money they allocate for their students (sometimes depts lose grants too and it is probably one of the scariest and worse things that can happen to a grad student...) but anyhow, you have to do a very through research on funding opps and get firm info on all of it before you decide to go for a specific program/dept/university. Also, regarding the rankings, and this is from being in the field of international education and higher ed. administration for several years, we've been seeing a very interesting trend-- more and more students go for the programs that 1) give most funding, 2) have really good curriculum, 3) have diverse student/faculty body, etc, rather then "i'm going to columbia law school b/c it's one of the top schools in the country". it's actually ranked 6th overall, but if you look at other criteria, for example, "finding a job after graduation" i think columbia law school is no longer on the top 10. Princeton review gives good overview of these things so I'd suggest you look there and see what is important to you. I have personally been very much involved in higher education admissions, advising and whatnot and now looking at the PhD programs, I have a more of a critical perspective when it comes to "TOP" rated schools. There have been number of articles published on this topic as well, so I'd recommend you look at what FITS YOU the best, rather then going to a TOP school. Remember, you'll be there for 5 years, immersed into your work and you should be able to enjoy it and love every minute of it, not just be there b/c it's a top school but not the right fit for you. i tako to je to za sada. i'll try to answer some questions on other posts.

Perfect timing on both ends I think! IAC forum has been long overdue on my to do list! And Wow to you as well! You guys are doing an amazing job on here and it's so good to see how many people/alumni are helping out! So yes, besides a million and one things I am working on at the moment, I couldn't help but add IAC to my plate as well! Yes, I will be at NAFSA this year, I am actually presenting on Thursday ("Student Services for Dummies: From Theory to Practice") and I have a poster session on Friday ("World Citizenship Program") so stop by!! And let's also plan to meet up for lunch or dinner and catch up!? I'll be there from Monday-Friday. When do you think you'll be down in Florida (is it for NASPA)? If you do make it, please let me know, I'll arrange for you to meet with people at the University of Florida and Santa Fe Community College, get a tour, maybe make some connections with people and all that jazz! I'll reply to your personal e-mail regarding other things but also wants to have a short public reply here! It's good to be part of this truly great forum!

hahaha that's b/c you live in a hippie state called vermont! but you have to love it, people are way cooler then down south!

Ok drago mi je da si odlucila za community college. Sto se stipendija tice, poslacu ti spisak nakih sajtova/organizacija koje mi preporucujemo stranim studentima za stipendije (sutra posto nisam na poslu sada). Sto se stana tice, da, juzna florida je dosta skupa (kod nas ovde u Gainesvill-u mozes naci i za ispod $300 mesecno i to odlican stan!). Uglavnom international student advisors imaju liste stanova koji oni preporucuju stranim studentima, pitaj njih a ja cu da se raspitam odavde jer imam neke drugove i drugarice dole oko boca raton-u, ft. mayers-u.... Financial statement: ne to ne mora da bude u americkoj banci i niko ga ne kontolise. Ti ces izvaditi potrvdu iz banke u srbiji (mora biti na engleskom i sa pecatom banke) da imas $XXXXX kod njih. To je dovoljno da ti skola izda i-20. Jedino bi bilo pametno da ti taj novac stavis u americkoj banci, jer kad placas za casove skuplje ce biti da ides preko western union nego li da platis direktno sa racuna odavde. toliko za sada, pisi ako imas druga pitanja, a ja cu ti poslati sajtove za stipendije sutra. cao!

I totally agree with Dule on this. Try for a school that will give you more money. Also, without financial statement they may give you a hard time when issuing an I-20. What are you planning on studying??

Hey Dule, I just read your profile, are you still in Vermont?? I was there in Brattleboro for a year, I went to SIT for my Masters. I'll be going back this summer to get my thesis done. I love Vermont! So much different then Florida. And I'm sure they helped you b/c education up north is very different then down south. Nonetheless, get in touch with me aleksn81@yahoo.com, we should get in touch this summer. I go often back to Bratt but right now I'm sory of stuck here until June. Sve najbolje!

Hey there lost in space! Don't be, we'll try to help you. 1. Don't worry about the work experience. Not everyone has it and if you have good grades you can get in and you can get assistanships. Just do A LOT of research before you start applying to schools--find out how much they give in financial aid. 2. Financial statement--you can not avoid that. In order for a school to issue an I-20 for you so you can apply for a student visa, you have to show that you have money to pay for your studies. Now, you can apply for scholarships (private or through school) and they will count toward your total financial aid, but again, this is rare and usually you HAVE to show them financial statement, otherwise you can't even get a visa. I know, totally sucks, but that's higher ed in america.....you should talk to whoever is in international students and scholars office at the school you are applying to and find out from them (email them usually they are good about responding to prospective students). 3. not sure about GMAT center in belgrade, i haven't been there in a while. you should ask others. check out university of florida mba program http://www.floridamba.ufl.edu/FutureStudents/internet.asp and if you want to get in touch with someone from there let me know, i work at UF international center. e-mail me aleksn81@yahoo.com GOOD LUCK!

I would recommend doing your grad work there. First finish what you started and then apply for a grad program. Also contact them, find a professor in that departmen that is working in the area that you are interested in and contact him/her directly. Don't worry if they don't write you immidiately, they will eventually. I don't know much about UofMaine, but I lived in Vermont and it is beautiful up there! You should also contact admissions for prospective graduate students and talk to them. When you are up in Maine, go and visit the campus. Schedule a tour. Make them think that you are serious about going there and also ask every question about assistanships and fellowships! GOOD LUCK! Let me know if you have any specific questions! aleksn81@yahoo.com

Hej cao! Evo pogledaj ovaj njihov sajt sa svim informacijama, i onda mi pisi sa konktretnim pitanjima (ima ovde dosta info, mnogo vise nego sto bih ja mogla da napisem ovde). Transcript ce ti trebati iz osnovne skole, to ukljucuje casove i ocene. Mora biti na engeskom (za to ces morati da nadjes nekog profesora engleskog koji je ovlascen da prevodi transcripte). Onda isto to moras da imas sa FONa. Jel si polozila neke ispite ili ne? Sto se stipendija tice, sve zavisi od univerziteta na kojem se prijavljujes. Posto joces da studiras engelski, ja bih preporucila prvo da ides 2 godine na community college, a onda da se prebacis na university. community college je u principu isti kao i univerzitet, samo to je za nas strane studente mnogo jeftiniji. i imas vecih sansi da radis dok studiras. ja sam bila na santa fe community college u gainesvillu, i onda sam se posle prebacila na university of florida, bez problema. posalji mi e-mail kada budes procitala FAUs sajt. http://www.fau.edu/academic/admissions/Undadmissn.htm a da te pitam, sto FAU?

Tamara, go to www.gradschools.com i izaberi univerzitete koji te interesuju prema oblasti. onda idi na njigove sajte i vidi sta ti treba da se upises. idi na one koji imaju fellowships ili graduate assistantships. ja trenutno radim na university of florida, mi ovde imamo odlican MBA program, i IMBA (International MBA) koji traje godinu dana. znam da oni imaju dosta stranih studenata, ali ne znam tacno kolko if finansiraju. ajd posalji mi e-mail pa cu ti dati nekolko kontakta sa UF MBA programa koji ce ti pomoci. moj e-mail je aleksn81@yahoo.com. pozdrav!

Hi everybody! I have been meaning to get on this forum since I met Elisabeth last year!! My name is Aleksandra Nesic, I am currently a Masters student of International Education at the School for International Training in Vermont. Actually, right now, I am doing my practicum at the University of Florida working at the International Center. I also graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in Psychology. I've been in the U.S. for a while and I work with international students from all over, so please if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. Pozdrav svima, zovem se Aleksandra Nesic, trenutno studiram Internacionalno Obrazovanje (Masters) u Vermontu. Diplomirala sam psihologiju na Univerzitetu u Floridi. Trenutno sam na praksi na UF-u, radim sa stranim studentima, tako da ako imate pitanja, slobodno pisite. Moj e-mail je aleksn81@yahoo.com