myUface Blog

Yesterday we talked about how the U.S. universities you’ve never heard of nevertheless offer a high quality education.  Today I want to tell you that they also have high standards for admitting students.

Why do I say this?  Because, to be honest, many myUface students didn’t put a whole lot of effort into their applications.  In many cases they didn’t complete all the parts of their application.  In other cases they completed their application, but clearly didn’t spend a lot of time on their essays and recommendations.  The attitude seemed to be, Hey, I’m a smart student, so of course universities need me.

You are all smart students, no doubt.  But remember, to get into any U.S. university you are competing with other smart students from the U.S. and perhaps across the world.  In order to choose between so many smart students, universities have created very detailed, demanding applications.  myUface bases its own online application on those created by universities.  What message are you sending a university when you don’t complete the application, or you complete it poorly?

The message you are sending is clear:  This doesn’t actually matter very much to me. Now, ask yourself, if you were in charge of a university, would you admit such a student?

Probably not.

So, here’s a realistic expectation for you:  unless you fully complete your applications (both for myUface and for universities), you should not expect to gain acceptance to a U.S. university.

We’ll talk more tomorrow about what a “complete application” means.

We’re proud to hear from many myUface users that they’ve been accepted to universities in the U.S.  Many of them, though, have a big problem:  they don’t have the resources to pay for tuition and living expenses, and the school isn’t offering a full scholarship.

We can’t offer a solution to this problem.  However, we have done a lot of work on this blog explaining some of the different options for finding financial aid.  You can find that here.

The bottom line is that finding financial aid can be very difficult.  You need to work hard and be disciplined.  You also need to look to all available options.

Good luck to anyone in this situation!  Use the myUface blog resources and let us know if you have questions!

We hear it from international students all the time:  “I want an MBA, but only from one of the ‘good’ schools – you know, Harvard, Yale, etc.’”

It’s no surprise that students gravitate towards those schools, because they are commonly listed at the top of international rankings.  We have an important message to share with you, however:  in many cases, the rankings don’t make sense. The rankings are made for the entire student population.  But you aren’t the entire student population.  You’re you.  And for your needs, sometimes a small, unheard of school will actually provide a better education, and usually at a fraction of the cost.

This article in the Financial Post Magazine delves into the issue of rankings in a wonderful way.  I encourage all of you to read it!  Money quotation:

So while any observers and even some professors are rightfully questioning the value of an MBA from anywhere, a similar question has long been asked of MBA rankings. There’s no doubt they sell magazines and newspapers, and hence, advertising. For proof, just take a look at how fat MBA issues are compared to the ones that sandwich them. That’s certainly value for cash-strapped publishers, but less certain is whether there’s any value for the people who read them.

So far, we’ve received nearly 300 applications on myUface, and we’re working to connect all of these students to universities in the U.S.

We believe we’ll be successful with many of our candidates.  Others don’t have applications that are complete enough for universities to truly consider.  You may be wondering, How can I improve my chances of getting into a U.S. university?

Two things:

1. Make sure your myUface application is complete. More tomorrow on what “complete” means.
2. Don’t only apply to universities through myUface.  Increase your chances of getting into a U.S. program by applying independently to universities as well.

Some sites want you to maintain an exclusive relationship with them and them alone.  Here, our priorities are different:  we want you to get into a U.S. university, no matter if you do that through us or on your own.

By applying independently to a few U.S. universities, you give yourself a good chance of being accepted directly to a program.  If you also apply through myUface, you’ve ensured that you have several chances for universities to notice you.

Applying to myUface alone is a great step, but we encourage all of you to pursue university applications independently as well.

Over the past week we’ve had hundreds and hundreds of new users visit the site.  I wanted to take a moment and share with you some resources we have that may be of interest to you:

First, we have two myUface guides:

1. The Advantages and Disadvantages of a University Education in the United States
2. Looking for a University in the United States

You can donwload both of these guides (for free of course) here.

Second, you should check out our Series:

1. Should you study in the U.S.? A comprehensive and honest guide to the benefits and disadvantages of a U.S. education (April 2009).
2. Looking for a U.S. University – All of the information you should consider in selecting a U.S. university – including some things you may not have thought about (May 2009).
3. Finding Financial Aid for your U.S. Education – Need help paying for a U.S. education?  Here’s a guide to how to look for and secure financial support.  It’s not easy, but it’s worth a try (June / July 2009)!
4. Preparing For A Visa Interview – A three part series on the misconceptions many students have about student visa interviews (July 2009).
5. Universities in the Fifty States – we look at what it would be like to live as an international student in each of the fifty states.
6. Writing Essays for University Applications – full of advice on how to write, edit and submit an essay with your university application.

The way myUface works is simple. You create an online application. Universities search our database and find students (like yourself) who fit their needs. Then they contact you.

But we’ve got another way of helping you contact U.S. universities. If you finish your myUface application by December 31st, we’ll take your information and send it to universities ourselves.

That’s right – your application, sent to universities in the U.S., for free – BUT ONLY IF YOU COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION BY DECEMBER 31st!

So get working on those applications!  And remember, we’re here to help.  Ask us questions about the application, we’ll answer them.

Want to know more about myUface?  GO TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Today I want to talk about the importance of completing your myUface.com profile as soon as you can.  You want to get your myUface.com profile finished quickly for three main reasons:

1. First, and most importantly, the quicker you finish your myUface.com profile, the quicker we can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and share your profile with the appropriate universities.  U.S. universities will soon be inundated with thousands of applications from students all over the world.  If you can get your information to them before the rush, you’ve got an advantage.
2. Second, if you get your profile done quickly, you have time to get feedback from myUface and from U.S. universities.  Let’s say, for example, that you have a poor essay, but that everything else about your application is great.  If you are able to get us your profile now, there’s a good chance we’ll hear that from a few universities – and we can share that with you in time for you to make changes and resubmit your profile.  If you wait too long, you won’t have the chance to have that feedback.
3. Third, if you finish your profile early, you can relax, cross it off your list, and do fun things elsewhere!!!

Please, work on those profiles!  It helps you, and it helps us.

As always, if you need help with your profile or if you have any questions, e-mail us.

You may have noticed that there are a number of services on the internet that will edit – or even write – your essay for you.  For a hefty fee of course.

So, should you ever pay to have your essay edited?

The good essay editing services can help you improve your essay by helping you check for mistakes and offering suggestions about what words to use.  However, you should not expect an essay editing service to be able to make a fair essay into a great one.  Why not?  Because, as we’ve been saying over the course of this series, a great essay is all about you. No editor is going to know you as well as you know yourself.

When you pay someone to edit your essay, the best case scenario is that they’ll clean up your work a little bit – helpful, certainly, but not vital.  The worst case scenario is that they’ll rewrite your essay completely, with the idea of telling a story that admissions officers “want” to hear.  As we know by now, that’s a mistake.

So, although it’s tempting to hire someone to do the hard work of writing and / or editing your essay, the chance that they’re going to help you say something that’s unique and positive about you is very, very small.

All things considered, there are better ways to spend your money.

Posts in this Series

1. Tell Us About Yourself: Final Advice for Essay Writing - 08 Oct
2. Should You Pay To Have Your Essay Edited? (This post)
3. The Greatest Editing Trick For College Application Essays - 29 Sep
4. How To Edit Your Essay - 28 Sep
5. The "What They Want to Hear" Mistake - 17 Sep
6. Know Your Reader, Part Four - 16 Sep
7. Know Your Reader, Part Three - 15 Sep
8. Know Your Reader, Part Two - 14 Sep
9. Know Your Reader, Part One - 13 Sep
10. Listen to an Admissions Officer Discuss Essays - 11 Sep
11. How to Write an Essay for University Applications - 09 Sep

Here’s my advice for a great way to edit your essays:

1. Pick a friend (or a few friends) who know you very well.
2. Ask them to read your essay.
3. DO NOT ask them what they thought of your essay. This is the question almost everyone asks of their friends in this situation.  “So, guys, what did you think?”  This is a terrible questions because:  a) they are your friends, so even if your essay is terrible they’re going to tell you it’s awesome; and b) what are they?  Writing professors?  Are you sure they’re qualified to judge the quality of your essay?
4. INSTEAD, ask them this far superior question: “When you read this essay, do you recognize me in it?  Can you tell I wrote it?  Why or why not?“
5. LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY TO THEIR ANSWERS.
6. If they can’t recognize you – if the essay describes a person they don’t recognize – then it’s not a good essay.  Period.  It doesn’t matter how perfect the English, how wonderful the storytelling.  If you are not sharing who you genuinely are, if you are not highlighting what makes you unique, you are completely missing the point of the essay.  Your friends can tell you better than anyone if the person they know (you) is in the essay you wrote.
7. If necessary, rewrite the essay until your friends DO recognize your voice in it.

VOILA!  There we have it – The Greatest Editing Trick For College Application Essays.

Posts in this Series

1. Tell Us About Yourself: Final Advice for Essay Writing - 08 Oct
2. Should You Pay To Have Your Essay Edited? - 01 Oct
3. The Greatest Editing Trick For College Application Essays (This post)
4. How To Edit Your Essay - 28 Sep
5. The "What They Want to Hear" Mistake - 17 Sep
6. Know Your Reader, Part Four - 16 Sep
7. Know Your Reader, Part Three - 15 Sep
8. Know Your Reader, Part Two - 14 Sep
9. Know Your Reader, Part One - 13 Sep
10. Listen to an Admissions Officer Discuss Essays - 11 Sep
11. How to Write an Essay for University Applications - 09 Sep

Today on our tour of U.S. States:  North Dakota, the Peace Garden state.  Hey, that sounds nice!  Who doesn’t like peace and gardens?

The rugged wilderness of North Dakota

Activities

Once again, we’re in a state where most of the activities involve putting on a good pair of boots and going out to see Mother Nature in all of her glory.   As this list of activities from North Dakota’s tourism site shows, there are A LOT of different ways you can experience the beauty of North Dakotan wilderness.   North Dakota offers more opportunities than most states to see nature via horseback or motorized vehicle (such as an ATV, or All-Terrain Vehicle).  The state offers a unique chance to see a lot of untouched wilderness – it is the 19th largest state, but is has the 3rd least amount of people.  This means a lot of empty space.

Extracurricular activities

Sports and outdoor activities.  That’s what you can expect the focus of extracurricular activities to be.  Of course, like every other state, universities in North Dakota will have all the usual activities too (drama, debate, etc.).  But if you go to North Dakota and fail to experience the out-of-doors, you’ll be missing out.  Expect a special emphasis on winter sports such as skiing, hockey, etc.

Social Activities

Universities in North Dakota will offer a very eclectic mix of social activities.  The universities will be in medium-sized towns with all of the amenities, so if you’re a lover of all things urban, you’ll be able to survive.  At the same time, the universities will be home to many students from rural areas.  The mix of rural and urban student populations creates a good mix of activities and perspectives.  Contrary to any stereotypes Americans might hold about North Dakota, universities in the state boast the full range of cultural facilities, including art museums, theatres and concert venues.  In short, you won’t find a lack of a social life to be a problem.

North Dakota has art museums, and don't let people tell you differently!

Tourist Sites

We’ve already mentioned the nature, but it’s worth mentioning again.  I’d also like to put a word in for the culture in North Dakota – it is at the same time the state with the largest church-going population in the U.S., and a state with a large Native American population.  As such, it really offers a very unique view into several different American subcultures.  If you’re interested in experiencing new cultures, it’s an attractive choice.  And let’s not forget Theodore Roosevelt National Park, home to some of America’s great vistas.

Wow. Enough said.

Weather

Are you by any chance familiar with the Billy Joel song, “I Go To Extremes?”

Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain’t no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It’s all or nothing at all
Darling I don’t know why I go to extremes

Little known fact:  it was written about the weather in North Dakota.  OK, not really.  But it could have been.  North Dakota, according to Wikipedia, “has some of the most extreme temperature variations on the planet.”  If, like Billy Joel, you go to extremes, this could be the place for you.  Having said that, North Dakota’s heat waves last only a day or two according to this site on North Dakota’s weather.  In fact, if you are interested in studying in North Dakota, but are scared by the weather, visit this site and it’ll cheer you up.  You can learn that

Winter is the grandest season of all to many North Dakotans. It is the season for snowmobiling in open and uncrowded fields, for such vigorous outdoor recreation as ice skating and ice hockey, for basketball, and for visiting with friends and neighbors. There is no medicine like a crisp North Dakota winter morning to put spring and vigor into the steps of old and young alike.

And also that

North Dakota’s delightful summer season is at its best in June, July and August, and is perfect for all outdoor activities. The days are warm, sometimes even hot, but nights are one-blanket cool for restful sleep.

Can I come too?

Cost of Living

Here’s some good news. It costs roughly half of what it would take to live in New York to live in Fargo, North Dakota (51.2%, to be exact). And salaries are only 24.8% lower.  Translation:  it’s a good place if you’re on a tight budget.

Source is here.

Notable Universities

Here’s a list of North Dakota’s fine universities.

Posts in this Series

1. Choosing a University in the U.S.: North Dakota (This post)
2. Choosing a University in the U.S.: Minnesota - 12 Aug
3. Choosing a University in the U.S.: Alaska - 31 Jul
4. Choosing a University in the U.S.: Utah - 24 Jul
5. Choosing a University in the U.S.: Colorado - 21 Jul
6. New myUface Guide and New Series - 20 Jul