Saturday, November 27, 2010

Meeting the English Proficiency Requirement - Standardized English Test or Intensive English Program?

Before being fully accepted to an American associate, bachelor, or masters degree program, international students must demonstrate that they have the necessary English proficiency skills needed to succeed. Most colleges and universities give students the option of demonstrating their English skills by either taking a standardized English test like the TOEFL or IELTS exams or successfully completing an Intensive English Program.
Which option is best?
Depending on your current English skills, your budget, and how much time before you want to begin your degree program, one option may be better than another. If you decide to take the TOEFL or IELTS Exam, you will have to make an appointment at an approved test center, pay for the test fee, take the 3-hour test, and wait a couple of weeks to receive your official score. Many students who take these tests spend a month or more beforehand studying in a test preparation course or studying on their own with test preparation books. If you do not get the minimum test score needed for full admission to your chosen degree program, you will need to re-take the test again until you do. Each re-test requires making an additional test appointment, paying an additional test fee, and spending additional time preparing for the test.
Although the TOEFL and IELTS exams are relatively inexpensive to study for and take, there are a couple things to be aware of. First, they do not determine how well you understand American culture or are able to effectively function in different living and social situations outside of school. Second, a great TOEFL or IELTS score does not guarantee that you will not have to take additional English classes at your college or university. Before you can register for classes at your new college or university, you must take their own English placement test. The score you receive on the English placement test, not your TOEFL or IELTS exam score, determines whether you will need additional English classes before enrolling in classes for your degree program. 
The other option, Intensive English Programs, are offered by most colleges and universities. These programs are designed by the school's professors to help students learn the English skills needed to succeed in their degree programs as well as learn about American culture and functioning confidently in everyday situations outside of school. They also help you become familiar with the school that you will be spending the next few years studying at.
A significant benefit that many Intensive English Programs offer students is "CONDITIONAL ADMISSION" to their degree programs. With conditional admission, the Intensive English Program helps you apply to the degree program and get an acceptance letter that states you will be fully accepted once you successfully complete the Intensive English Program. Students who successfully complete the Intensive English Program usually do not need to take the TOEFL or IELTS exams to get accepted to the college's/ university's associate or bachelor degree (and some masters degree) programs. Conditional admission letters give you the assurance that you will be accepted to the school of your choice as soon as you complete the Intensive English Program. Showing a conditional admission letter during your student visa interview demonstrates that you are a serious student and have a definite long-term plan to study in the USA.
If you enroll in an Intensive English Program you will usually study in class for 4-5 hours a day and have many opportunities to further improve your English skills outside of class. Depending on how much time is required to meet the English proficiency requirements of the college or university you are planning to attend, studying in an Intensive English Program may be more expensive than preparing for and taking the TOEFL or IELTS exams, but students you will generally be better-prepared for success in your degree program.

American Education Partners (http://www.americanedpartneers.com/) works closely with many Intensive English Programs at great colleges and universities throughout the USA that can offer conditional admission to academically and financially-qualified students. If you are considering enrolling in an Intensive English Program before starting your associate, bachelor or masters degree program, contact our school placement advisors at: info@americanedpartners.com for personalized assistance.  

Monday, November 22, 2010

New Programs and Services Coming in 2011

In an ongoing effort to provide international students with the most comprehensive set of services and program choices, American Education Partners (AEP) will be adding several new highly-regarded high schools and universities and introducing some exciting new services.

New Schools:
AEP is partnering with several new public and private high schools, colleges, and universities in safe locations throughout the USA. Most of our new partner universities have earned top tier-rankings on a national or regional level. 

New Services:
Getting into the most competitive universities requires expert advice and personalized support. Beginning in January 2011, AEP will begin offering the "Ivy League Pathway Service". This service matches current international high school students with mentoring services from experienced Ivy League graduates who design customized plans to help each student succeed on the SAT and ACT tests as well as prepare successsful applications to Ivy League schools. Short-term aand long-term plans can be created for each student, depending on their needs and college preparation timeframe.

Look for more details on AEP's new schools and services in the coming weeks.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Begin The New Year At An American College or University!

Colleges and universities across the USA are getting ready to welcome a new group of international students beginning in early 2011. If you were not able to begin your studies in the USA in the Fall, no problem. Classes that started in the Fall will end in December and brand new classes will start in January.
Beginning your American college or university program in the Winter or Spring has at least a couple of advantages over starting in the Fall. First, there are fewer new students starting in the Winter and Spring than in the Fall. This makes it faster and easier to get through the orientation, placement testing and class registration process. Second, you will be starting your program with more experienced international students who have already been through at least one term at the school. Their experience and knowledge about the school and its facilities and services will help you get adjusted and comfortable with your new environment more quickly and easily.

Depending on how prepared you are for your studies in America, there are many options available to you. If you still need to improve your English, there are many good Intensive English Programs that provide the kind of training needed to succeed in your academic studies and can secure your "conditional admission" to the college/ university before you arrive in the USA. If you successfully complete these Intensive English Programs, you may not need to take the TOEFL or IELTS exams.

If you are not ready to begin your program in January when most new school terms begin, there are many schools that offer later starting dates in March and April.

American Education Partners has successfully helped students from around the world find the American education programs that best meet their educational goals. We work on a personal level with each student and also work closely with each school to make sure the admission process goes quickly and smoothly.
If you are considering an American college or university program in early 2011, there is still time to apply to many schools. Contact our school placement team today to learn how we can help at: info@americanedpartners.com   

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Choosing The Right American School - What Are The Real Students Saying?

American schools spend a TREMENDOUS amount of money each year to create and maintain the image that they offer potential students a great place to live and study. To accomplish this, most hire professional marketing consultants, photographers, graphic designers to create professional, attractive-looking brochures and websites.
There's nothing wrong in doing this, but if you are an international student living thousands of miles away and have never visited the school, how can you find out if the schools claims are true and if it is really the right school for you? One good way is to find out what actual students say about their experience.
A good website to read about what real students have to say about their schools - both good and bad - is http://www.unigo.com/.* This website provides student comments about hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the USA. You can search student comments by school name, number of comments per school, or popularity. Students provide comments on such things as the school's academic and social life, and what they consider to be the best and worst things about the school.
The good thing about these comments are that they are made independently of the school. Students are not paid to post their comments and they are not edited by the school's public relations department. The bad thing is that these comments do not necessarily reflect a true overall representation of all of student opinions from the school - just the ones who felt strongly enough to post good or bad reviews.  Keeping these things in mind, it is important for any international student reading the comments to keep them in the proper perspective and to not rely upon them too heavily in your overall decision of which school to apply to in the USA.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the comments on the Unigo website are made by American students, rather than international students. Their experiences and opinions may differ from those of international students. If you attended an American college or university as an international student, adding your comments on this website will help future international students gain a better perspective about what they can expect to experience at your school.

American Education Partners makes a special effort to visit schools throughout the USA each year to gain a first-hand perspective from an international student's point of view. During AEP schools visits, we look at the facilities, programs, and international student support services they have to offer. Once we are satisfied that the school meets all of our high standards, they become a "Partner School" and are recommended to future students. To learn which schools might be a good match for your education goals and needs, contact the AEP School Placement Team today at: info@americanedpartners.com

*NOTE TO READERS: American Education Partners has no affiliation with the organization(s) behind the Unigo.com website. We provide the information about this website simply to inform future students about an information resource they can use in their school planning research.   

Saturday, November 6, 2010

How To Pick A Good Overseas Education Advisor

If you're an overseas student planning to study in an American college or university, you have many things to decide on and prepare for:
- Choosing the best school from over 4000 choices.
- Finding a safe, comfortable place to live before your arrival.
- Getting safely from the airport to your new school/ home.
- Getting $100,000 or more to earn your American diploma or degree.

With such a huge committment of time and money and so many options and factors that go into planning the best education program possible, many students seek the guidance and support of an overseas education advising service in their local area.
Choosing the right advising service is almost as important as choosing the right school. Here are some things to look for when you are deciding which education advisor to work with:
Government License - Does the advising service have a current government license? They usually have to have it displayed in their office so ask to see it. Government licenses show that the service has the necessary financial support to operate and the experience and resources necessary to provide good advising services. If the company does not have a government license, be careful!
Education Background and Advising Experience - Find out if the counseling staff you will be directly working with have the education and experience needed to give you the kind of good advice you need. Ideally, the counselors should have attended an American college or university and have at least 3-5 years of experience in helping students get accepted to American schools. They should be able to provide a long list of schools they have helped students get accepted to, especially the kind of school you want to apply to.
Office Facilties/ Location - The office should be located in a good area and be well-staffed and equipped with the necessary printed and online resources needed to get you quick answers to your school placement questions.
Type of Schools and Services - You should work with an advising service that specializes in placing students in American schools. American schools and the American school system is different from other countries so it's important to work with a service that focuses mostly on placing students with American schools rather than schools in many different countries. American school specialists will be able to provide you with better information and better preparation for the experiences you are going to encounter in the USA.
Price - Compare the service prices of at least a few advising services, but don't necessarily choose the one that offers the cheapest prices. If you try to save money by working with a less-experienced advisor, you may end up paying much more in the end if they make mistakes or your decisions are based upon inaccurate or incomplete information they provide.
References and Reputation - Don't believe the claims or success stories that an advising service states in their promotional material or tells you until you can verify them from independent sources. Try to find out the school placement results from former clients from online sources. Look at which schools the advising service is an official representative for. Most American colleges and universities are very selective in who they will allow to represent them so if you see certificates from a lot of good schools posted in the advisor's office, that is a good sign.
Pre-Departure Services - Getting a school acceptance letter is just a small part of the process of starting your American education program. A good advisor will be able to help you apply for your student visa and prepare for the visa interview, give you lessons on what to expect in an American classroom, successfully dealing with everyday living situations in the USA, making travel reservations, purchasing the necessary medical insurance, providing on-going support services, etc.

STUDENTS - What was your experience working with an overseas school advisor? Do you feel they helped you make the right decisions? Do you feel they were worth the money you paid them?

SCHOOLS -  What has been your experience working with overseas school advisors? How do you decide which advisors to work with? How important are these advisors to your international student recruiting efforts?

American Education Partners works with a number of experienced and carefully-selected American school placement advisors throughout the world. For help in finding a good education advisor in your local area, contact our School Placement staff at: info@americanedpartners.com