International Academic Center

We have received several calls in the last couple of days regarding possible problems in online payments for your test dates with ETS. Once again, it is time to repeat those magic steps to establish the source of the problem.

First of all, verify with your bank that the credit/debit card you have is good for paying online and that you have enough funds on it. Be sure to add some more money on it as you may be charged some additional fees for using it for online payment.

Your browser may be problematic from time to time. In the last couple of years some users have had problems with the Firefox, Opera and Chrome in the event of paying exams with the ETS. If the transfer doesn’t go through, try the good old Internet Explorer.

After the unsuccessful payment process, call your bank and see if there was an attempt from the vendor to charge your card. In case there was no attempt, it can be anything from the browser to the web site itself not reacting to your actions.

If you try all above and still cannot pay for the exam, the only solution is to call ETS Call Center. The numbers are +1-609-771-7100 or +1-877-863-3546, but you can also call the Regional Center in Netherlands – +31-320-239-540. If you are located somewhere outside of Europe, you can check the list of countries with appropriate phone numbers at this location – http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/TOEFL_iBT_RRCs_08_09.pdf.

Our institution is not able to help you with the payment or speed up the process. Get your Skype ready and be patient – it may take a while, but it’s worth it.

Edit: There is one more option for you who cannot register from Serbia or any other country. There are certain Resource Centers for In-Person Registration where you can come and register without this hassle. However, the closest center like that is located in Hungary. Check out the list of those Centers at this location – http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/register/in_person_registration_locations.

There are some new leaflets and books in our library promoting education in the US. Feel free to drop by our office and get your copy if possible – some material cannot be taken out.

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY – SCHOOL OF FILM AND ACTING - This time a filmmaking degree in two years is the subject of the material arriving to our office. The institution offers bachelor’s and master of fine arts degree programs, as well as summer workshops.

DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE – This institution offers a lot of options at some good locations in the US and Europe. You can also see their latest edition of the Catalog with all the courses listed in details. We had the pleasure of meeting advisors from the college itself and are ready to answer all your questions about the college.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS – Updated information about scholarships, prices, deadlines, as well as the international graduate prospectus can now be used in the office. You can see why this institution has been described as “Best in the West” college by The Princeton Review.

We know that this is the busiest period at US colleges and universities. In just a few weeks there will be more info on who was accepted and who was not, as well as who received any financial aid.

In the meantime, those of you who are still preparing to take the road to college can come to our office and investigate possible options. Each month we receive promotional material you can combine with reference books in a search for the best option.

In the past couple of weeks only two new institutions have sent us their material.

Bergen Community College is located in New Jersey. Located just 30 minutes from New York City, this institution is proud to have over 700 international students representing 66 countries around the world.

University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This institution recently launched a new scholarship program for incoming domestic and international graduate students with award amounts from $3,000, $4,000 and $5,000 per academic year. We have the International Admissions Viewbook and one poster, but feel free to check their offer online as well.

Apart from those two institutions, you may come to our office and grab your copy of GMAT Bulletin for this year. We finally received a significant quantity to share with you all.

It took us some time to analyze last year’s experimental external program, but now it is final. External programs are back in town – or should I say, out of town.

We have started the external program last year to fill the void of no preparation classes outside of Belgrade. We have had some positive results with this program, but also some outcome that we did not desire to have. The whole program was a mixed bag of mostly good results.

This year we decided to commit to some major overhaul of the program. The focus will shift from sole preparation for exams with additional advising to its complete opposite. There will be books, there will be assistance with exam preparation, but our focus will be moved to prepare you to present yourself and your academic results to US educational institutions the best way possible.

How do we do it? We will work with you from August to December in a fast & furious rhythm, both on the premises and online. Get ready for it, ask us questions, enroll at this program, get your books.

Now, we just want to mention the most important thing – external programs are, just like their name, external. It means that the users of this program are located outside of Belgrade and can’t make it to regular classes. Preference for this program will be given to people outside of Belgrade – others can enroll in the regular program or use our books at our premises.

Expect more information about new external programs this week online at our web site. We will start with the undergraduate external, and then with the graduate programs. If you need more information about these programs contact us by e-mail office@iacbg.org or call us by phone. Your additional chance to get more information is to visit American Corners during our scheduled presentation hours – http://www.iacbg.org/board/index.php?showtopic=1926.

Our office has been pretty busy in the last couple of weeks. It seemed we could not find any time to sit down and write more than couple of sentences. Describing all the events in this month would take more than that, that’s for sure.

We have kicked off the month with SAT and TOEFL exams during [...]

There are two brand new institutions and one already represented in our library.

Shawnee State University – based in Ohio. We have more than several booklets, Parent’s Guides, Financial Aid Tutorial and there is one Catalog.

Northwest College – Wyoming. There are some booklets, bookmarks, and viewbooks.

University of California Berkeley Extension – We have plenty of booklets of [...]

There has been a lot of buzz about this issue and it has finally happened – the .yu domain has ceased to exist. For quite a while it was existing parallel to the new .rs domain, meaning that all the web and e-mail addresses ending in .yu were automatically transferred to .rs.

As of last week, anything [...]

Ah, the glorious month of April is almost here with us – the sun is shining, winter jackets are forgotten and there are many reasons not to study and prepare for important exams.

It would be pretty serious on your behalf to try as hard as you can to fight the urge to throw away all the [...]

There are many events we are invited to attend, but the very next one cannot be missed. This Triennial Workshop in Prague will be the perfect opportunity for us to hear something new, but also to share our growth with colleagues from Europe and the US.

You can see more details about the workshop at this address [...]