I'm the Absolute Outsider

My personal TOEFL experience

2011-03-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Now that I've already applied to all of my desirable colleges, it's time to look back at my experiences, identify mistakes that I've made and new things that I've found out.

I began my preparation for TOEFL long before, sometime after the summer of 2010. I used Longman's preparation book which is really extensive, but its main flaw is that it's unofficial and it doesn't even bearly represent the real hardness of the exam. Unfortunately, I found that out after I took the exam the first time in December. On the day of the exam, I entered an examination room with confidence, being quite sure that nothing could go wrong. I strove to at least a 100/120 result. However, texts in the exam were incomparably harder that those in my preparation book, and they were even longer. Also, many questions were ambiguous with a couple of nearly the same answers, so I had to guess answers to those questions. In the listening part I got the weakest score of all, which was totally unexpectable.

My final result of my first take was quite a disappointment for me (94/120) : Reading (25/30), Listening (21/30), Speaking (23/30), Writing (25/30).

So I decided to retake the test in January. In order to prepare myself better I lent an official study guide from ETS, used some time reading the passages, I worked on my speaking by speaking English in my non-English speaker family, which was rather awkward, but it was worth the effort. My second result was 9 points higher than the first one (103/120) which was very satisfying: Reading (26/30), Listening (27/30), Speaking (23/30), Writing (27/30).

To sum up, if I were to do it all over again, I wouldn't take so much time to prepare for the exam. I would take no more than a month and make an intense preparation, which has worked out for me on the second take of the exam. My advice is also to use that valuable time to prepare for the SAT, which certainly needs more time to prepare. Additionally, I would try to use an official study guide published by the ETS.

TOEFL is not a hard exam if you know how to prepare for it. Spending some money on the preparation courses isn't a bad idea at all. Taking a good, intense preparation course will surely be cost-effective, if you're not a fluent English speaker and if you need serious preparation. For example, in my case for taking the TOEFL twice, which is a result of bad and amateur preparation, I spent more than 450 $. Test fee is 180$, and additional reports to the colleges are 17$ each. A little bit of simple math and there's the cost. I hope that my experience is helpful.

L.

Financial aid help Part 1 - Need-blind colleges

2010-08-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

I suppose that most of you relies on the financial aid when considering a U.S. study. Since the scholarships for undergraduates are said to be more rare then those for graduates, to compete for those scholarships you'll need to have excellent competences. That includes a high GPA score, high TOEFL and SAT score, good extracuricullars, etc.
In most cases, your financial situation could also be taken into account. So the applicant with better financial situation has an advatage over a less-wealthy applicant. Nevertheless, this isn't the end of the tunnel.

The solution are need-blind colleges which do not consider an applicant's financial situation when deciding admission. Those colleges are backed finacially by great endowment or source of funding. Need-blind admissions systems are rare in the private sector where institutional funds often make up the bulk of financial aid awarded but virtually all public institutions are need blind. Most private universities cannot afford to offer financial aid to all admitted students and many will admit all students but cannot offer them sufficient aid to meet need. . Many schools who admit all U.S. citizens or resident aliens without regard to need do not extend this policy to internationals or to transfer students. Therefore schools, especially private ones, which are need-blind and full-need for all applicants, including internationals, tend to be much more selective as they have relatively more applicants than other similar schools.

Need-blind admission does not necessarily mean a "full-need" financial aid policy--where the school agrees to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all its admitted students. Indeed, the two policies can be in tension because need-blind admissions and full-need financial aid together commit the school to spend an undetermined amount of money regardless of other budgetary constraints. Thus, some need-blind schools will admit students who will nonetheless not be able to attend because of deficient financial aid awards.

U.S. INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE NEED-BLIND AND FULL-NEED FOR ALL APPLICANTS

There are currently only six U.S. institutions of higher learning offering such admission policies for all applicants, including international students.

For U.S. applicants there is a much boader range of whether need-blind or full-need institutions.

Some of them are:

Boston College
Duke University
Georgetown University
University of Notre Dame

GPA calculator for non-US students is here.

2010-08-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

I frankly doubt that something like this already exists. GPA calculator was no problem only to US students and those 'foreigners' who had straight A's in their school reports. Until now.

GPA calculator calculates your grade using:

your US grade equivalent
credit hours

You can find your US equivalent grade on http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/germany.htm. On your left side there is a menu where you can choose your counrty.

Credit hours refer to the importance of a particular course with regards to the other courses.
If you have every single week the same courses schedule, then your credit hours for particular course mean the number of classes you have this course during one week. E.g. in your weekly schedule you have 5 classes of mathematics, but 3 classes of biology, and 2 classes of foreign language. Then your credit hours are: mathematics (5), biology (3), foreign language (2).
If you have a two-week pattern in your courses schedule, then count the classes during two weeks.

You can find GPA calculator on the left.

What is more you can calculate your GPA by yourself on a sheet of paper. Want to know how? Please subscribe, or stay tuned until the next post.

Leo

Step 3 - Determine whether you meet admission requirements

2010-08-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

What are the most common admission requirements set up by US colleges?

Your GPA (Grade Point Average) is an average assessment of your knowledge for a particular school year calculated from your grades. It ranges on a scale from 0.0-4.0.
Standardized testing includes TOEFL and SAT or ACT (not both of them) - maximum number of points for TOEFL (120 iBT), SAT (2400), ACT (36). A great deal of universities require two more SAT Subject Tests. e.g."When applying for admission to Princeton, you must submit official scores for either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT (with Writing, where available). All applicants must also take two SAT Subject Tests."
Most of the colleges commonly require a TOEFL score of 80/120 iBT or higher.
extracuricullar activities - social activity, membership in clubs, doing sports, anything you find useful to mention.
Just to mention 12 years of education so far.

All colleges and universities have different admissions requirements. The best way to compare your credentials to the requirements is to consider average SAT scores of the last-year enrolled students and acceptance rate.
.

What is eCPM?

2010-08-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

Many users of Adbrite and other similar advertising programs may have wondered what eCPM means, or how it is calculated? If you encountered a question: 'What's the price to beat?', when installing Adbrite, and stood still without knowing what to write in, here's an answer.

Effective cost-per-thousand impressions (eCPM) is a useful way to compare revenue across different channels and advertising programs. Essentially, effective CPM represents your estimated earnings for every 1000 impressions you receive.

Effective CPM doesn't represent how much you have actually earned -- rather, it's calculated by dividing your estimated earnings by the number of page impressions, then multiplying by 1000. For example, if you earned an estimated $0.15 from 25 page impressions, then your page eCPM would equal ($0.15 / 25) * 1000, or $6.00. If you earned an estimated $180 from 45,000 ad impressions, your ad eCPM would equal ($180 / 45,000) * 1000, or $4.00.

From Google Adsense Help

Leo

Step 2 - Define what field you want to study in.

2010-08-06T04:20:00.000-07:00

This is a very important step that defines your future career. Consider it with regards. You must have wished already to work in a certain field in future. If so, look the facts about that field up in the Academics section on every university's webpage. Intoduce yourself to your wishing field of study. Use the internet, magazines or else.

For example, I was interested in studying in the field of economics or business. Firstly I wanted to find out the difference between those two. I have been reading magazines like The Economist, croatian business magazines like Lider (Leader) and Business.hr. It was helpful to get to know what those fields are about. In brief, economics is a study focused on the theory of economic systems, while business administration foucuses on applying those systems in business enterprise. I chose eventually business administration.
It's a good way to include lots of factors to support your choice. Thus you won't be able to regret in future. Take your time. Consult with your parents, friends, relatives or acquaintances, who you admire or find successful. It has taken me a lot of thinking to make my decision and also a lot of time; a couple of months. I still revise my choice from time to time.
So, visit some university's webpage, go through the schools, departments, programs, courses and define your career path. For example, http://www.gonzaga.edu/Academics/Colleges-and-Schools/default.asp, or http://academics.usc.edu/.

Step 1 - Start preparing for the TOEFL and the SAT

2010-08-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

You should start your preparation immediately unless you speak English fluently. The TOEFL (Test Of English As Foreign Language) examination is one of your passes for entering U.S. university. TOEFL test-taking is usually offered by the advising center in your country. The test is offered in two formats: iBT (internet-based) and PBT (paper-based). IBT format is more convenient because it's offered 30-40 times a year and in 4,500 authorized test centers across the world. The cost of the test ranges from 150-200$.

To find out what is the closest location where you can take the test visit
http://www.ets.org/bin/getprogram.cgi?test=toefl.
Test-taking is usually provided by higher education advising centers.

How to prepare for the TOEFL?

Again, advising center in your country should be providing materials for preparation and/or preparation courses.

I'm currently using LONGMAN Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test practice book which I bought at the center in Croatia, and it's very useful. It's a book of almost 700 pages covering all 4 sections of the test: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. The book is also accompanied with the audio CDs, a handful of tests and answer key. Great book all in all. If you're interested in having one, I suggest ordering at amazon.com. It costs about 100 $. Nothing compared to what you get by using it. Of course, you can buy the book separately from the audio CDs, or even without them. Then it costs about 50$.

Here's the direct link to save your time.

http://www.amazon.com/Longman-Preparation-Course-TOEFL-Test/dp/0132056925/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280924665&sr=1-11

And for other TOEFL preparatory books visit

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=toefl&ih=2_2_0_0_0_1_0_0_0_1.172_97&fsc=2.

What about the SAT?

Concerning the test-taking, the procedure is the same, which means contact the advising center. However, it's important to consider that the SAT test-taking is offered more rarely, usually once a month. So start planning your test date right now. The pages of CollegeBoard(http://www.collegeboard.com/student/index.html?student), which administers the SAT, could be very useful to you. There you can find the test-taking dates, free preparation materials, such as the question of a day,

and The SAT practice booklet.

Free materials will probably not be enough for you, so for an extra practice try The Official SAT Study Guide 2nd edition which includes 10 SAT tests. Here's the direct link if you want to order it from the amazon.com for only 12.49$. Usual price at CollegeBoard webpage is 21.99$. So give it a try.

http://www.amazon.com/Official-SAT-Study-Guide-2nd/dp/0874478529/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280926184&sr=1-1.

Feel free to comment and ask any questions or concerns you have on the topic.
I will be pleased to answer.

Leo

Make money with VigLink

2010-08-04T04:20:00.000-07:00

If you already have a blog or your space on the internet (webpage, or sth.), you have certainly tried in finding your way to earn some money. Basically, all the concepts are based on marketing and selling stuff. You might have tried many different programs for making money on the internet, and it's possible that you've missed this one. VigLink (viglink.com) is an affiliate marketing program that helps his users to generate revenue from the stores and products they link to. So, when you create a link to a certain product or service, and your user clicks through to this product or service, and buys it, you earn a commission. VigLink covers over 12,500 merchants.

So give it a try!

10-step guide through the process of preparation for the study in the USA

2010-08-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just as I announced, on this pages you will be able to inform yourself thoroughly about the study in the US. I'm going through this just like you, so I believe that it will be mutually beneficial to share our experiences and knowledge with each other, and thus help each other.

I'm beginning this subject simply with an introduction to the process of preparation. I devided the whole process into 10 steps, which I'll be explaining in detail with a lot of valuable and important information.
So let's go.

10-step guide through the process of preparation for the study in the USA

Start preparing for the TOEFL and the SAT, unless you speak English fluently.
Define what field you want to study in.
Determine whether you meet admission requirements.
Evaluate your ability to finance US study. (Don't let this item discourage you, because there are countless possibilities.)
Arrange to take the TOEFL and the SAT examinations.
Select 10-15 appropriate institutions for enrollment.
Prepare your applications for universities.
Prepare your applications for financial aid - scholarship(s).
Send your applications. (Try not to eat your finger nails while waiting ;)
Other: student visa, ...

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11. (arbitrary) Consult an advising center. (That may be a good idea.)

Anyway, anyone who wants to study in the US next year, needs to start sorting this things out immediately. It's not neccessary to follow this order. Some things will have to be dealt with parallelly with the others. All in all, the most important thing is that you're dealing with them.

By the way, any comment, question or concern is wellcome.

Leo

Captain's log 0001 - entering blogosphere

2010-08-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm a Croatian (http://croatia.hr/en-GB/Homepage) high-school attendant who probably just like you wishes to study at one of the american universities. By the time of publishing my first posts, I've trodden down deep into my preparations for study in the USA. I'm starting this blog wishing to help, in terms of advice and experience, those who share my desire to study in the USA. Also, the another purpose of this blog is that you share your experiences and thoughts with me and the rest of the followers.
Let this blog be a kind of a reference book and a first-hand advisor related to the study in the USA.

Stay tuned until the next post.
Leo