now, applying for university can be a very tough decision-making task
but choosing the right university for YOU can make A LOT of difference in your university days.
1.first of all, you need to make a pick; public or private
there are a lot of differences in public and private as i have explained earlier on
if ur the more competitive type, and u like large classes, then go ahead with public
if ur the more attentive type, and u like small classes, then most probly private unis would suit u.
it all depends on the class size. that's when research is necessary.
2. take a little tour into the curriculum
some unis require certain tests to be done beforehand, or perhaps compulsory internships after graduation.
other unis might require u to take more ridiculous subjects than some of the others
and some unis might give u a bachelor in science for ur course and maybe a bachelor in business in other unis
a little research into the universities' websites might help you a lot.
3. take a look into the social life.
take into consideration the crime rates, the living costs, even transportation
for instance, drake students enjoy a free shuttle service around des moines. some unis just have more privileges than others
if ur the more fun and adventurous type, u might wanna go for public unis because these unis are more focused towards athletics and huge events. there are numerous groups that u can look up such as IVY League, and BIG TEN which are leagues in the sports department
private and small universities like RPI dont focus much on athletics (although we are number 1 for ice hockey) but on the other hand, we have a huge performing arts theater on campus which hosted the ICCA 2011(glee club stuff)
4, take a look into the job prospects
although this is NOT so important, but u have to take this into consideration as it may affect ur degree quality
statistics can easily be googled for stuff such as median salary, or types of companies the graduates use to work with
u may also look at the list of companies that come to ur university for annual career fairs
career fairs are the perfect place to find jobs!
some unis even offer collaboration with companies in certain courses
5. acceptance rate.
this might make a difference on whether you fly overseas or stay local.
overall, DO NOT apply a university SOLELY based on rankings. coz rankings just tell ya how much research they did and how many smart people go there. it doesnt decide whether ur gonna have a hard time or a superb time for the next 4 years of ur degree.
some sites u might want to take a look at :
www.collegeprowler.com < rankings and reviews of universities
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ < discussions about universities
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
PUBLIC vs PRIVATE
here's an important part of university application
before applying to your choice of university,
one of the things that you need to take into consideration would be whether ur uni choice is private or public
the rule of thumb in differentiating between public and private:
1. MOST public unis have state names. ie : IOWA state, university of MINNESOTA.
2. MOST public unis are cheapER than private unis. (obviously)
3. MOST public unis have more students than private. for instance, purdue has 15000 students while RPI only has 5000. quite a huge difference, huh ?
4. MOST public unis are really competitive. it's like malaysia. it's easier to get into taylor's then UM right ?
5. MOST public unis are HUGE, in terms of campus size that is
so why is it important to take privateness or publicness into consideration ?
first of all, public unis are highly competitive, you need to compete with the middle class citizens in the US. and the uni DOESNT CARE about how much money you have (in our terms, scholarship !)
BUT, private unis on the other hand REALLY take into consideration on money. for instance, 100%(out of 5) of RPI's applicants frm malaysia were accepted and our lowest score was 1000 and highest wud be 1200+. considering that this is one of the top 40 unis in the US, it's kinda ridiculous that they would want people with our SAT scores. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY(if ur an international student, that is)
so at the end of the day, if ur a scholarship applicant, ur chances of getting into private unis are likely to be SUPER HIGH. coz only the rich can get in, and not many US citizens can afford to pay nearly 300,000 USD for their children's education.
WHAT I APPLIED
1. RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
2. ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECH
3. PURDUE UNIVERSITY
basically i put RPI first because of it's ranking, it's facilities, it's low class size, and best of all, it's private.
i was a bit hesitant to apply to RPI coz of it's ranking and average SAT score. but then again, since we're international students, they just said YES.
i put RIT second because it's an ok university, it's class size is SLIGHTLY bigger than RPI, and again, it's private.
RIT is a safe bet for me coz it's acceptance rate is high, and it's ranking is OK.
and i put PURDUE as last, because it's public, it's class size is big, and the average SAT score is lower than mine. i can actually tell that it's easy to get in (with my SAT score) based on the average score.
ok, now u know the differnces between public and private, i hope you make the best choice between the two
at the end, private unis care about money and reputation, while public unis mostly care about the research and ranking.
before applying to your choice of university,
one of the things that you need to take into consideration would be whether ur uni choice is private or public
the rule of thumb in differentiating between public and private:
1. MOST public unis have state names. ie : IOWA state, university of MINNESOTA.
2. MOST public unis are cheapER than private unis. (obviously)
3. MOST public unis have more students than private. for instance, purdue has 15000 students while RPI only has 5000. quite a huge difference, huh ?
4. MOST public unis are really competitive. it's like malaysia. it's easier to get into taylor's then UM right ?
5. MOST public unis are HUGE, in terms of campus size that is
so why is it important to take privateness or publicness into consideration ?
first of all, public unis are highly competitive, you need to compete with the middle class citizens in the US. and the uni DOESNT CARE about how much money you have (in our terms, scholarship !)
BUT, private unis on the other hand REALLY take into consideration on money. for instance, 100%(out of 5) of RPI's applicants frm malaysia were accepted and our lowest score was 1000 and highest wud be 1200+. considering that this is one of the top 40 unis in the US, it's kinda ridiculous that they would want people with our SAT scores. THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY(if ur an international student, that is)
so at the end of the day, if ur a scholarship applicant, ur chances of getting into private unis are likely to be SUPER HIGH. coz only the rich can get in, and not many US citizens can afford to pay nearly 300,000 USD for their children's education.
WHAT I APPLIED
1. RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
2. ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECH
3. PURDUE UNIVERSITY
basically i put RPI first because of it's ranking, it's facilities, it's low class size, and best of all, it's private.
i was a bit hesitant to apply to RPI coz of it's ranking and average SAT score. but then again, since we're international students, they just said YES.
i put RIT second because it's an ok university, it's class size is SLIGHTLY bigger than RPI, and again, it's private.
RIT is a safe bet for me coz it's acceptance rate is high, and it's ranking is OK.
and i put PURDUE as last, because it's public, it's class size is big, and the average SAT score is lower than mine. i can actually tell that it's easy to get in (with my SAT score) based on the average score.
ok, now u know the differnces between public and private, i hope you make the best choice between the two
at the end, private unis care about money and reputation, while public unis mostly care about the research and ranking.
Monday, July 4, 2011
TOEFL
salam
TOEFL basically stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language
as oppose to SAT, TOEFL is internet-based (they have paper based, bt ppl rarely use that)
TOEFL comprises 4 sections :
1) reading
2) listening
3) speaking
4) writing
*for more technical mumbo-jumbo, wait for ur lecturer's instructions*
what ur lecturer might not tell you
1) it's super important. compared to SAT, TOEFL is REAL. you will come across a list containing all the universities with their SAT and TOEFL requirements. if you refer to my earlier post, i have told you about how the SAT requirements are not so real after all. for TOEFL, it's a whole different story. u HAVE to meet the TOEFL requirement for ur university before applying to it.
2) it's hard. seriously. getting a high score in TOEFL takes a lot of focus and knowledge (i didnt use practice). basically the hardest part of it is that it is timed and you have to follow strict timing. sometimes you will be given EXTRA passages and you'll be bored to death during the test. for me, the hardest part of the whole test is trying to stay awake while reading the passages.
3) your english matters. the thing about TOEFL speaking section is, it is graded by Americans. if they couldnt understand you, well you're out. as an Asian raised in a british system, i know how hard it is to get Americans to understand you. not to boast, but i have been a national ranked debater, and even been the president of toastmasters and I STILL get the "sorry i couldnt understand a word you're saying" on the phone. sometimes, you need that American accent to get them to actually understand you. my advice, talk slowly, and make sure class is pronounced as (kles) and not (klas).
4) the fact that there are a number people who actually took this test for multiple times and still couldnt pass the 79 mark should worry you. it's not THAT easy. and please try not to waste money on taking TOEFL so many times.
peace out
=D
TOEFL basically stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language
as oppose to SAT, TOEFL is internet-based (they have paper based, bt ppl rarely use that)
TOEFL comprises 4 sections :
1) reading
2) listening
3) speaking
4) writing
*for more technical mumbo-jumbo, wait for ur lecturer's instructions*
what ur lecturer might not tell you
1) it's super important. compared to SAT, TOEFL is REAL. you will come across a list containing all the universities with their SAT and TOEFL requirements. if you refer to my earlier post, i have told you about how the SAT requirements are not so real after all. for TOEFL, it's a whole different story. u HAVE to meet the TOEFL requirement for ur university before applying to it.
2) it's hard. seriously. getting a high score in TOEFL takes a lot of focus and knowledge (i didnt use practice). basically the hardest part of it is that it is timed and you have to follow strict timing. sometimes you will be given EXTRA passages and you'll be bored to death during the test. for me, the hardest part of the whole test is trying to stay awake while reading the passages.
3) your english matters. the thing about TOEFL speaking section is, it is graded by Americans. if they couldnt understand you, well you're out. as an Asian raised in a british system, i know how hard it is to get Americans to understand you. not to boast, but i have been a national ranked debater, and even been the president of toastmasters and I STILL get the "sorry i couldnt understand a word you're saying" on the phone. sometimes, you need that American accent to get them to actually understand you. my advice, talk slowly, and make sure class is pronounced as (kles) and not (klas).
4) the fact that there are a number people who actually took this test for multiple times and still couldnt pass the 79 mark should worry you. it's not THAT easy. and please try not to waste money on taking TOEFL so many times.
peace out
=D
Thursday, June 30, 2011
SAT
salam..
for writing, perhaps it's wise to read up lots of sample essays and get as many anecdotes and stories to be included in your essays.
other than that, there's nothing much to worry
you might have googled your dream university and searched for average SAT score and requirements and such
dont believe it ( not all, that is)
back then, my school's average SAT score is about 1450 (math + reading) and i stumbled across this list that says i need to get at least 1400 in order to get in.
guess what? i got a 1260 and still got in. bigger surprise? a friend of mine got 1020 and still managed to get into the same university.
here's a rule of thumb
public universities are harder to get into because you have to compete against lots of middle class people in the states paying to get their kids to cheap colleges.
private universities are expensive. thus, less people apply to these unis. therefore, less competition. and private unis focus on getting money from international students, so dont worry about SATs that much (except for cases like harvard and all the top universities)
to make things short, study hard for ur SAT.
SAT is the single most dreadful thing for students going to the US
making the cutoff for scholarship is crucial.
although i'd like to say that SAT is easy, it's not.
SAT stands for scholastic aptitude test
it's probably your only ticket to US universities.
SAT is conducted by the US and the results are used to process your uni application.
you will be competing against students all over the US and the world with your SAT score.
SAT has 3 parts - reading, math, and writing
all of those sum up to a full score of 2400.
although writing might be an important aspect of SAT, most unis focus on reading and math.
how to score your SAT :
1) FOCUS on getting a full score for math
2) at about one month before your test, go full throttle on doing as many practice tests as possible.
some might find it helpful to memorize vocabularies and such. for me, the best way is to always practice.
you might find some books talk about those joe bloggs method and all those crap. forget those. all you need is practice.
for writing, perhaps it's wise to read up lots of sample essays and get as many anecdotes and stories to be included in your essays.
other than that, there's nothing much to worry
you might have googled your dream university and searched for average SAT score and requirements and such
dont believe it ( not all, that is)
back then, my school's average SAT score is about 1450 (math + reading) and i stumbled across this list that says i need to get at least 1400 in order to get in.
guess what? i got a 1260 and still got in. bigger surprise? a friend of mine got 1020 and still managed to get into the same university.
here's a rule of thumb
public universities are harder to get into because you have to compete against lots of middle class people in the states paying to get their kids to cheap colleges.
private universities are expensive. thus, less people apply to these unis. therefore, less competition. and private unis focus on getting money from international students, so dont worry about SATs that much (except for cases like harvard and all the top universities)
to make things short, study hard for ur SAT.
So You Passed The Scholarship Interview
Salam..
first of all, congrats for passing your scholarship interview.
you have to keep in mind that not everyone get's this once in a lifetime chance.
dont blow it.
SPM - done.
Interview - passed.
ADFP - ?
ok, in ADFP, you WILL be embarking on very unfamiliar territories.
no matter what type of school you went to, or where you come from, it's gonna be different.
you will be meeting a variety of people with a whole range of skills. dont be intimidated, once you get to know them, they're kinda nice.
if you're studying in INTEC, the next big thing would be class distribution.
you will be divided into classes based on your english proficiency (to make SAT classes a lot easier).
before that, you will be given a test on english. trust me, it's a very simple test that kinda separates the smartasses from the rest.
being in the top class gives you A LOTTT OF ADVANTAGES. trust me, work for it.
i worked my ass out to get into the top class and guess what, it was worth it
in my batch, all of the INTEC debaters came from the first class, bank negara scholars, khazanah and all the kiasu jpa scholars fill up this class.
to be frank, i've never met a more skilled and talented group of people in one class.
being in the 2nd class is still great coz it's pretty much the same as the first.
not saying that all the other classes suck, it's just that the top 2 is waayyy awesome.
besides, getting into the top classes will actually give you enough pressure to push you all the way for your SAT and TOEFL. if i'm not mistaken, no one from the first class got under 3.0 gpa and 1100 SAT score.
not saying that we rock and all, it's just that the expectations that people put on us, pushes us to study hrder and become more kiasu.
what's kiasu ? google it. =D
first of all, congrats for passing your scholarship interview.
you have to keep in mind that not everyone get's this once in a lifetime chance.
dont blow it.
SPM - done.
Interview - passed.
ADFP - ?
ok, in ADFP, you WILL be embarking on very unfamiliar territories.
no matter what type of school you went to, or where you come from, it's gonna be different.
you will be meeting a variety of people with a whole range of skills. dont be intimidated, once you get to know them, they're kinda nice.
if you're studying in INTEC, the next big thing would be class distribution.
you will be divided into classes based on your english proficiency (to make SAT classes a lot easier).
before that, you will be given a test on english. trust me, it's a very simple test that kinda separates the smartasses from the rest.
being in the top class gives you A LOTTT OF ADVANTAGES. trust me, work for it.
i worked my ass out to get into the top class and guess what, it was worth it
in my batch, all of the INTEC debaters came from the first class, bank negara scholars, khazanah and all the kiasu jpa scholars fill up this class.
to be frank, i've never met a more skilled and talented group of people in one class.
being in the 2nd class is still great coz it's pretty much the same as the first.
not saying that all the other classes suck, it's just that the top 2 is waayyy awesome.
besides, getting into the top classes will actually give you enough pressure to push you all the way for your SAT and TOEFL. if i'm not mistaken, no one from the first class got under 3.0 gpa and 1100 SAT score.
not saying that we rock and all, it's just that the expectations that people put on us, pushes us to study hrder and become more kiasu.
what's kiasu ? google it. =D
MARA Scholarship Interview 2010
4/15/10
salam..
first of all, today wasnt all as expected
but hey, i expected 2 things, and they came true
1. Traffic jam
2. i was the first candidate. (haha)
pagi tadi jam namampus.. crawling gle..
but we made there on time..
so lets cut the crap
for future friday and saturday candidates, plus 2011 candidates and the years to come,
here's a little bit of what happened..
questions i expected :
Tell us about yourself.
why you choose to take IT ?
what is your career plans ?
what do you understand about IT ?
what is the current IT projects going on with the government ?
what the heck is MSC ?
arent IT grads suppose to be jobless ? why take it anyways ?
why study overseas ?
why not computer science ?
whats the diff between IT and computer science ?
how do u contribute to MARA ?
but instead..
questions i got :
well after i sat down, the first question was : 'your name is mohammad yusri ?'
and right after that they directly started asking : What uni do u want to go to ?
Why that uni ?
Why not ivy league ?
what is the ranking of that uni ?
have you done any research on ivy league uni ?
have u watched 'homeless to harvard' ?
then suddenly one of them realised that its close to 30 minutes already so they ended the interview..
haha.. anyways, i felt like i was chatting with my friends..
only that, they have less interest in me and more into ivy league universities.. haha
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Visa Interview Experience
VO = Visa officer
VO - Hi Good Morning.
ME - Good Morning
VO - So you're going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ?
ME - yerp.
VO - What course are you taking ?
ME - Information Technology
VO - How long will you be studying there ?
ME - 48 months, 4 years to be exac
VO - What does your parents do ?
ME - my dad was deceased in 2000 of cancer and my mom is a retired government worker
VO - what's does ur mom work as in the government ?
ME - she was a government officer.
VO- well ur mom must be really proud of you.
ME - *numb* err thank you.
VO - Tell me about your siblings.
ME - well my eldest brother is currently pursuing his masters degree in australia, my 2nd brother is working as a manager in malaysia, and my sister is currently a business consultant also working in malaysia.
VO - we would be happy to give you a visa. your visa will be done within 3 working days
ME - thank you so much. have a nice day !
VO - you too !
*walks away*
*came back to the counter*
ME - hi, i would like to inquire about the delivery methods. if lets say i decided to change from delivery to pickup, at what time can i pickup the passport ?
VO - usually it will be either late morning or in the evening.
ME - allright ok thanks again !
*the next day i received an email saying that my visa was approved. =D
VO - Hi Good Morning.
ME - Good Morning
VO - So you're going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ?
ME - yerp.
VO - What course are you taking ?
ME - Information Technology
VO - How long will you be studying there ?
ME - 48 months, 4 years to be exac
VO - What does your parents do ?
ME - my dad was deceased in 2000 of cancer and my mom is a retired government worker
VO - what's does ur mom work as in the government ?
ME - she was a government officer.
VO- well ur mom must be really proud of you.
ME - *numb* err thank you.
VO - Tell me about your siblings.
ME - well my eldest brother is currently pursuing his masters degree in australia, my 2nd brother is working as a manager in malaysia, and my sister is currently a business consultant also working in malaysia.
VO - we would be happy to give you a visa. your visa will be done within 3 working days
ME - thank you so much. have a nice day !
VO - you too !
*walks away*
*came back to the counter*
ME - hi, i would like to inquire about the delivery methods. if lets say i decided to change from delivery to pickup, at what time can i pickup the passport ?
VO - usually it will be either late morning or in the evening.
ME - allright ok thanks again !
*the next day i received an email saying that my visa was approved. =D
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