I remember the first time I thought about going to college in the US. I was casually chatting with a friend of mine in downtown Belgrade in August 2005 when the topic “what university are you going to enroll next year” was started.
She mentioned that one of our mutual friends would be applying for an athletic scholarship and that I should consider doing the same thing,since I was into water polo at the time. The light bulb above my head sparked,and I replied “Yeah! YEAH! I can totally do that! I’ll talk to her once the summer is over.”
Nine-or-so months later,after having been through heaven and hell and back around,the journey was over,and I started packing up to go to America.
Now when I look back at the entire process,I realize that I could have gone through it with much less frustrations if I had been more familiar with it at the very beginning. For all of you whose US college “light bulbs” have turned on,here are the most important things you should know about the application process.
1) Start early… REALLY early!
Ideally,you want to become acquainted with the system while you’re in your junior year of high school. Familiarize yourself very carefully with the institutions you’d like to apply to and their application requirements,and SAT and TOEFL tests!
I started doing all this in my senior year of high school,and let me tell you,I had been going through some nervous breakdowns while trying to manage high school,SAT preparation,and water polo practice.
2) Think outside the Harvard-Princeton-Yale trio
There are over 4,000 institutions of higher education in the USA,each with its own unique programs,environment,and student body. Urban vs rural? Small college vs big college? Average SAT score? Scholarship competitiveness? These are just some of the questions you’ll encounter while you explore different college options. For example,a small Liberal Arts school in a rural area (like my college – Green Mountain College) will appreciate international students more rather than a school in a big city,simply because you don’t see that much diversity in small towns in United States. Furthermore,you will get a 1-on-1 experience with your professors at a smaller school,which is definitely something you can’t get at big universities if you are an undergrad. I had a chance of playing ping pong and Scrabble with several of my professors,and believe me,those kind of small things really enhance your learning experience.
3) SAT ain’t no laughing matter!
SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is like an entrance exam for US colleges,except that you may take it multiple times in a year. It consists of three parts – verbal,math,and writing. It lasts about four hours (with breaks). And,it’s pretty darn hard!
It would be impossible to juxtapose and compare SAT to any English tests in Serbia. Though I studied English ever since I was six,I found myself flabbergasted and flummoxed when I first sat down to do the verbal part. I abhor the test to this day! It’s not the fact that it’s soporific,it’s just that the words in it are antediluvian and you don’t have too much time to think about them. To be quite honest,I’m still dumbfounded how I managed to get a good score on it with only a few months of preparation.
If you at any point in the previous paragraphs wondered what some of the words that I used meant,you will most certainly need help for the SAT. Start preparing for it like you would for any Serbian university entrance exam – months and months in advance.
4) Do your own research and don’t be afraid to ask questions
There’s no ignominy (extreme humiliation) in asking for help. Google or research something you’re not familiar with,read the IAC forum,read the blog,ask the bloggers,ask the staff – there are plenty of ways you can get an answer. The silliest thing you could do is assume you’re already omniscient (look up the word if you don’t know it).
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