Various admission questions

[Marko Kovacevic]

Dear Elizabeth,

Today you told me to write down all of my questions, so here goes:

As a reminder: I am planning to apply for a community college in New York for the fall semester 2007. I have previously attended university in Belgrade, but I dropped out after I stated working. I?ve had the idea of going back to school and after some years of saving I?m finally in a position where it is possible. Recently, I went to New York and visited some candidate schools I found through Petersons.com and selected one which suits all my needs ? La Guardia Community College.

I could not get a completely clear answer but as far as I understood the application deadline is March, but it is advisable to apply as soon as possible. I therefore need your help to be as efficient as possible. I also need your opinion on whether it is wise to apply only for one school?

1) Local documents

a) What is the procedure for transferring my university records in order to get some credits? How is that done? How long does it last and what does it cost? Since I didn?t pass that many exams, and I will have to start from the beginning anyway, I am perfectly willing to file a freshman instead of a transfer application if it will simplify things. Can this be done?

High school diploma - I will have it copied and translated officially. Do I also need records of individual years in high school or not?

2) TOEFL

a) I will open an account on the TOEFL website and register for the next available test (hopefully January 19th) tomorrow.

Will the results be mailed directly to the school, and what if my results arrive before they receive my application.

3) Majors

a) The college offers several degree programs I?m interested in. All of them have a total of 60 credits. If I understand correctly that applies to two years of study?

What is an ACT placement test and will I need to take one?

c) I am interested in a couple of these programs. Should I list them all in the application?

d) Can I take additional courses from other unrelated programs?

e) Can the Academic center help me in filling out my application?

4) Funding

a) Do I have to submit proof of being able to support myself during the studies with the application or after it has been received and processed?

By the start of the fall semester I will have saved up enough money to cover maybe a year and a half of tuition. My parents will also provide additional funds. However, I am not sure whether I can provide proof of sufficient funds now. Does transferring real-estate to my name count?

c) How much exactly is sufficient funds for application standards? I have friends in New York. They can send me a statement claiming that I will be staying with them during my studies. That reduces the amount of money required, but to how much?

d) I also have other friends or family who could agree to co-sponsor me. What type of proof would they need to send? Is there a template for these sponsorships (either financial or providing accommodation)?

5) Application

a) How long does it take colleges to process applications? Is there a chance of me not being accepted even if I do well in TOEFL and file all documents by, say, February?

Do I apply for a student visa, only after being accepted to the college?

Finally, sorry for such a long list of questions. I am eager to get to work on preparing whatever is needed, so I would appreciate if you could answer my questions soon. I am willing to work very hard at this, so could you estimate how much time is needed for filing this application, and in your experience am I running late?

I hope we could meet before the holidays to discuss any further issues you think I should know of.

Thank you

Marko Kovacevic

[elz]

1) Local documents  

a) What is the procedure for transferring my university records in order to get some credits? How is that done? How long does it last and what does it cost? Since I didn?t pass that many exams, and I will have to start from the beginning anyway, I am perfectly willing to file a freshman instead of a transfer application if it will simplify things. Can this be done?  

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.  

2) TOEFL  

a) I will open an account on the TOEFL website and register for the next available test (hopefully January 19th) tomorrow.  

Will the results be mailed directly to the school, and what if my results arrive before they receive my application.  

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)

[Marko Kovacevic]

Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you for all your help. I got my university records (a certificate on the course of studies and a certificate on exams passed), I?ve made certified copies at the municipality and these are being translated. I applied for the TOEFL exam which I will take on February 10th.

I have also written to the school that I chose, and they have been very helpful as well, and clarified a lot of issues.

I will need to take the ACT test but only before starting classes at the college. As for the financial data, I have been told that I will only need to send it after I receive the I20 form.

All in all, I will be ready to file my application by the end of this week and I would very much appreciate going through everything once more with you just to make sure I didn?t forget anything. Do you have half an hour to spare anytime during this week?

Thank you again

Best regards Marko

[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