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Posts Tagged ‘applying to U.S. universities’

Take a deep breath . . .

Monday, December 21st, 2009

The days before the New Year are important ones for international students and for U.S. universities.  So much work has gone into preparation – the students are preparing to send their applications to universities; the universities are preparing to sort through applications, looking for the best students to fill their incoming class.

The holiday season is like one long, final moment of peace before the hectic pace of application season.  So as you work to complete your own applications, remember to take a few moments this holiday season to relax as well.  In January things will really begin heating up . . .

How to open a student account and application

Monday, December 7th, 2009

In this video we walk you through the process of opening a myuface.com account and application.

How to Open a myuface Application on Vimeo.

What Information Do I Need to Complete a myUface Profile?

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Let’s briefly go over the different information you’ll need in order to complete a profile on myUface.  When you first look at this list, you may think, Wow, that’s a lot of information! Remember that this is generally the same information you’d need to complete an application to a U.S. university independently, so you’ll need to collect it sometime.  It’s actually quite useful to be able to keep it all together in one place, online, here at myUface.

You don’t need all this information to start a profile, but you will need it in order to complete one.

User Name and Password: You’ll need to choose a user name and password.  Make sure it’s something you can remember easily.

Field of Study: Don’t worry too much about this.  A lot of students don’t know exactly what they’d like to study.  It does hep us, however, to know what subject you’re most interested in.

Biographical information: this is the easy stuff:  your name, date of birth, citizenship etc.  You’ll also need to input your passport data if you have a passport (if not, obviously you won’t be able to do so, and that’s OK!)

Contact information: Your telephone number, street address, etc.  Basically we want to know how we’d get a hold of you.  We also ask for your Skype name if you have a Skype account.

Academic Questions: What kind of university are you interested in?  What kind of program?  We want as much information as possible, so we can try to find a good fit for you as a student.

Family Information: We need some background information on your family.  We also ask in this section questions about what percentage of your educational costs your family is prepared to support.  Try to answer as accurately as possible.  There’s no “right” or “wrong” answer, but it’s a question universities will ask immediately.  This is a good point to remind everyone that myUface does not offer financial aid, although we certainly try to provide good advice on how to find some.

Academic History: You’ll need to prepare information, usually in the form of transcripts, that show how you’ve done in school up until this point.  You’ll also need recommendations from individuals, such as teachers, that know you and your strengths as a candidate.

Standardized Tests: The kind of tests you’ll need to take will depend on the kind of program in which you’re interested.  Generally speaking, for undergraduate students you’ll need SAT and TOEFL results.

Language Information: We’d like to know about your native language, about any other languages you speak, and a self-assessment of how well you speak those languages.

Extra Information:  Here we give you an opportunity to share other information that might be valuable to a university (such as any interest you have in sports).  We’re going to be updating this section very frequently, so please let us know your thoughts.

Go BACK to “Questions and Answers.”

Podcast: Give Yourself Time To Complete Your Application

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

The podcast for today is about giving yourself enough time to complete you application.

As always, if you would like us to answer your questions in the podcast, send us your questions at podcast@myuface.com.

Other Podcasts

  1. Podcast: Asking Questions - 18 Jul
  2. Podcast: Give Yourself Time To Complete Your Application (This post)
  3. Podcast: What to Do if your Application is not Accepted - 06 Jun
  4. Podcast - The View from Albania - 23 May
  5. Podcast: University Rankings - 16 May
  6. Podcast: Timeline for Applying to a U.S. University - 09 May
  7. The Inaugural myUface Podcast - 02 May

Mailbag: Keep Your Options Open

Friday, June 12th, 2009

I received this question earler this week:  If I already know what university I want to go to, do I need to apply to more than that university?

Let me give you two answers, the long answer and the slightly-less-long answer:

The Slightly-Less-Long Answer is Yes, you should still apply to other universities, for a very simple reason:  you might not get into the university you want to go to.  It’s an unpleasant but important truth.  Even if you meet all of the requirements in terms of test scores, GPA, etc., sometimes, for whatever reason, a selection committee will reject your application.  And if that happens, you want to have a backup plan.

The Long Answer is that Yes, you do want to apply to other universities, and not only because you want to have a backup plan, but also, and more importantly, because you want to keep an open mind about U.S. universities.  You may have one university that you really like, but remember, there are over 4,000 U.S. institutions granting degrees of some kind, and chances are many of them would be a very good fit for you.  You don’t want to limit yourself to just one or two institutions!  You want to explore many different universities, with slightly different programs, perhaps in different parts of the country.  Those universities may offer different financial aid packages, different housing options, different services for international students, and all of this should obviously factor into your decision.  When you focus on only one university you lose the ability to weigh all these different factors.

Now, some good news: by filling out a profile here on myUface you’re in effect applying to a number of different universities at the same time, since our university partners will have access to your information and will be able to invite you to apply if they think you’d be a good candidate.  This does NOT mean you should not apply to other universities independently, but it will help you in the application process.

Using a Timeline or Calendar for International Students

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

A lot of international students applying to U.S. universities like to use timelines or calendars to give them a schedule of tasks they need to complete.  That’s a good thing.  Timelines are useful tools for international students.  We’ve offered Summer and Fall timelines on this very blog.  The internet is full of similar schedules – you can see two examples here and here.

These kinds of resources can really help you prepare your application for U.S. universities.  Timelines can keep you aware of upcoming deadlines and help you structure your time.  However, there is a limit to how useful these tools can be, and in my experience a lot of international students end up losing time because of them.

Here’s why:  often, international students download and study one of these timelines.  They resolve to follow it exactly. However, they are intimidated by all the work the schedule says they have to do.  As a result, they find reasons to procrastinate.  They fall behind the schedule.  Now they feel really terrible.  Not only do they have a lot of work to do, but they have a shorter amount of time to do it!  They feel even more intimidated, which makes them procrastinate more, which makes the further behind.  And so on and so forth until, at the last minute, they whip together an application.  Which is often not very good.

To avoid this situation, follow these simple guidelines:

  1. Remember, timelines for international students are guides, not rules. If you work according to a different schedule – if you start later on some tasks and earlier on others – that’s OK.
  2. If you fall behind the schedule, try to remember that it is very possible to catch up.  Applying to a U.S. university is a lot of work, but it’s not an impossible amount of work.  You can do it!!!
  3. Try to develop strategies that keep you from procrastinating.  Here are some internet resources to help you do just that.
  4. Finally, and most importantly, RELAX. Remember that you are a smart, dedicated, effective person.  Remember that you want to complete your applications.  Remember that you want to spend the time to make those applications good.  Remember that you want to finish them ahead of schedule, to reduce your stress.  Focusing on the fact that you want to do all these things will reduce any feelings you have that you “have” to follow the schedule.

In short, use schedules and timelines as a tool.  But remember that you are the one controlling the tool – the tool shouldn’t control you.