“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan”

My first advice would be to plan every step of the way accordingly. You’ve probably heard it a dozen times until now –that in order to get into college you have to study a lot and plan your errands well in advance,so it’s really nothing new. But,getting into American college is a very complicated process. Unlike getting into Serbian colleges where you have a single exam,single value for points and a ranking list,American admission system doesn’t work that simple. Of course you need points on SATs and everything,but that’s not near the end of it. Filing your application and financial aid is a process you get tangled into and confused about very easily. Luckily,there is IAC’s Open House event every week to give you all the information and advice you need. And really,learn in time how to use Open Houses,because that time is reserved exclusively for your questions (and always write your questions down so you don’t forget them when you get there). Because the applicants are so numerous in the Center,the Open House is the only time you’re sure you can get all of your answers.

And never ever rush things,or do them in the last minute. It’s the best planning advice. And the only advice an undergraduate applicant just can’t take,myself among the others.

The first step is,of course,passing through all those exams. When you look at the requirements (SAT,2-3 SAT subjects,TOEFL) there is a lot of material to cover in a way you’ve never encountered before. Your best bet would be doing both the SAT and the SAT subjects twice,personally,it did wonders for me. This is because the biggest problem for our students is the format of SAT,because it’s really nothing like our regular school testing,and you need time to get used to the question types. Also,that’s not the way we have studied English in our schools,and the questions are simply not in any way suited to non-native speakers. The problem with SAT subjects is somewhat different. You will find that the knowledge needed for Physics exam is way less than what we regularly study in school. But the problem is that,unlike our tests,where you have 90min to completely elaborate on 4 different problems,on SAT physics you have 60min to pick out answers for 75 problems. I will later elaborate on individual exams in other entries.

The second step would be filing of all the papers. That includes reports of your exams,but also the Common Application materials,like professor’s recommendations,school reports,admission essay,and so on. Majority of better colleges have the CommonApp Supplements,which can be from several question long to twelve pages,with a variety of different requests for every college. Usually,it’s one to three essays,and most frequent are topics like “Why are you applying to [college name]?”,“Why are you specifically interested in studying [field of study] ?”. Allow yourself a lot of time to write these,because copy-pasting your essays for one college to another is simply wrong and utterly counterproductive. Every college is a specific community,and through the essays,and among other things –they are trying to see whether you would fit,and whether you are sincerely interested. If your list ends up with 10 colleges,allow yourself at least two weeks to finish them up nicely.

The third step is getting the funds through financial aid,scholarships,and an objective estimate of your parents’contribution. At this moment,it is a very painful subject to me,and I’d rather not write about it right now. That’s because it is the step where I made a colossal mistake of leaving it for the last minute. Of course,I didn’t consult with anyone in IAC even when I had no clue about what I should send. I sent the paperwork in time,but I’ve sent it all wrong and I’m still covering up for the missing papers.

The fourth step is the worst. You wait for the admission and the rejection letters. There’s not much you can do.For instance,I’ve soaked myself with studying materials,basis of robotics and artificial intelligence,since I find it takes my mind completely off the waiting process. It’s really handy,because I’m writing about robotic perception for my Matura,an it’the knowledge I plan to use someday. Also,I started going to a gym and running on a regular basis. It keeps me busy. I’m already biting my nails,I don’t want to advance to chopping my fingers off.

The question I didn’t cover in the introductory post is – when to start? If you are now in 3^rd grade of high school,“immediately” would be best,especially for TOEFL and SAT. For SAT subjects you have to study,so you can put them off until September,but TOEFL and SAT take getting used to rather than studying.

Another important thing about me that influences my entries quite a lot,is that I’m not an accomplished sportsperson. I’m applying to college on a purely academic basis,and I don’t know a thing about sport scholarships – all I know is that that successful sports persons need less points in order to get admitted and financed.

My next entry will be about my own preparation outline. It worked for me,from the beginning to end;it may work for you too. In the meantime,I picked out several interesting links for you to play with.

Sincerely,

Milica Stankovic

Matemati?ka Gimnazija,Beograd

USNews:college quality ratings for engineering

PrincetonReview:more interesting college ratings –best college libraries,dorm quality,alcohol and drug use,amount of studyind needed…

CollegeBoard:I doubt you didn’t consult its search tool already,…