A helpful bit of advice for students planning to apply to top-tier MBA programs this year:
http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-strategies-for-gaining-admission-to-a-top-tier-MBA-school/answer/Dan-Bauer?srid=PJg
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Reasons To Work With Overseas Agents
For many years, there has been a large ideological divide within the American academic and academic counseling communities about the use of overseas advisors or "agents" in recruiting overseas students for American schools. Although these ideological differences will likely persist, schools that have partnered with overseas agents for assistance in recruiting students have had very positive experiences and have found them to be important, reliable and cost-effective resources for developing overseas awareness for their programs, pre-screening potential applicants, providing visa application support and pre-departure orientations.
Schools considering working with overseas recruiting agents can find reliable partners by following some specific screening steps (see last week's blog post on this topic), becoming active in international education advocacy groups like NAFSA (http://www.nafsa.org/) and AIRC (http://www.airc-education.org/), and talking with other schools who have been using overseas recruiting agents.
American Education Partners (http://www.americanedpartners.com/) is an independent, U.S.-based student placement service for international students seeking to enroll in high-quality American education programs. We specialize in helping connect American schools with a wide variety of pre-qualified international students referred by licensed and carefully-screened overseas agents throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. If your program is considering using or expanding the use of overseas recruiting agents, contact AEP at: info@americanedpartners.com to learn how we can help be your connection to the world.
Schools considering working with overseas recruiting agents can find reliable partners by following some specific screening steps (see last week's blog post on this topic), becoming active in international education advocacy groups like NAFSA (http://www.nafsa.org/) and AIRC (http://www.airc-education.org/), and talking with other schools who have been using overseas recruiting agents.
American Education Partners (http://www.americanedpartners.com/) is an independent, U.S.-based student placement service for international students seeking to enroll in high-quality American education programs. We specialize in helping connect American schools with a wide variety of pre-qualified international students referred by licensed and carefully-screened overseas agents throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. If your program is considering using or expanding the use of overseas recruiting agents, contact AEP at: info@americanedpartners.com to learn how we can help be your connection to the world.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Screening Potential Overseas Agents For U.S. High School/ College/ University Programs
If you are considering working with any overseas agents to help you recruit international students for your program, it is advisable to develop a screening process that will help ensure that your program is represented by reliable, ethical, and qualified organizations and that your partnership has the best chances for yielding the results you are seeking.
As with any partnership, it's important to learn as much about your potential partner beforehand. At the very least, an agent screening process should include obtaining the following:
1) Website address - This should be the easiest piece of information to request from the prospective agency. The quality of design and information provided on the agent's website should provide a good indication of the quality of their services and the level of investment they have made to make the overseas study process a straightforward and transparent one to the students. Since the quality of the agent's website will also be a reflection on your institution, you have to like their website in order to feel confident in associating with them.
2) Copy of the agent's business license - Most countries require overseas study advisors/ agents to obtain a business license for conducting such business. Find out what the licensing requirements are in the countries in which you are seeking agency partnerships and ask potential agents to send you a current copy of theirs. The licensed agents should be happy and proud to do so and offer no excuses why they can't.
3) Company profile - Every established, well-organized agency has a company profile in English that they are eager to share with potential overseas partner schools. At minimum, the company profile should state their history, business scope and values, membership in professional associations, financial and human capital, school placement successes, and goals. If not indicated in the company profile, request information on the breakdown of their successful school placements by country and program type to get a sense of their recruiting potential for the program(s) offered by your school.
4) School references - Don't offer any agreement or sign any other alliance documents until you have received and confirmed positive references from at least three (3) institutions similar to yours that they have successfully recruited students for within the last 12 months. Agencies that are unable or hesitant to provide at least three positive references may indicate several things, including a lack of history or experience in recruiting students for your type of program, a lack of institutions who have positive things to say about them or the students they have recruited.
This the MINIMUM information that you should obtain and review before offering any agreement to any overseas agency you hope to represent your institution. Depending on your program, you may wish to include other criteria to screen potential overseas agents. If your agreement will include any kind of upfront financial investment, an in-person visit to the agency's main offices or recruiting centers is STRONGLY recommended in order to get a first-hand view of their operations and recruiting activities and also meet the people who will be directly involved in promoting and recruiting students for your institution.
American Education Partners (AEP), a U.S.-owned and operated school placement service for international students, entails a rigorous agent screening process that includes these steps and others. Our U.S. staff provide an additional layer of advising support and applicant screening before submittting completed application packets to partner schools. This provides partner schools with the benefits of working with a wide diversity of carefully-screened overseas agents without the time and work required to screen and manage all of them. If your institution is considering working with overseas advisors/ agents, consider working with AEP first. For information on AEP programs and services, go to: http://www.americanedpartners.com/ and click on "Information for Schools". To find out more about becoming an AEP Partner School, email us at: info@americanedpartners.com
As with any partnership, it's important to learn as much about your potential partner beforehand. At the very least, an agent screening process should include obtaining the following:
1) Website address - This should be the easiest piece of information to request from the prospective agency. The quality of design and information provided on the agent's website should provide a good indication of the quality of their services and the level of investment they have made to make the overseas study process a straightforward and transparent one to the students. Since the quality of the agent's website will also be a reflection on your institution, you have to like their website in order to feel confident in associating with them.
2) Copy of the agent's business license - Most countries require overseas study advisors/ agents to obtain a business license for conducting such business. Find out what the licensing requirements are in the countries in which you are seeking agency partnerships and ask potential agents to send you a current copy of theirs. The licensed agents should be happy and proud to do so and offer no excuses why they can't.
3) Company profile - Every established, well-organized agency has a company profile in English that they are eager to share with potential overseas partner schools. At minimum, the company profile should state their history, business scope and values, membership in professional associations, financial and human capital, school placement successes, and goals. If not indicated in the company profile, request information on the breakdown of their successful school placements by country and program type to get a sense of their recruiting potential for the program(s) offered by your school.
4) School references - Don't offer any agreement or sign any other alliance documents until you have received and confirmed positive references from at least three (3) institutions similar to yours that they have successfully recruited students for within the last 12 months. Agencies that are unable or hesitant to provide at least three positive references may indicate several things, including a lack of history or experience in recruiting students for your type of program, a lack of institutions who have positive things to say about them or the students they have recruited.
This the MINIMUM information that you should obtain and review before offering any agreement to any overseas agency you hope to represent your institution. Depending on your program, you may wish to include other criteria to screen potential overseas agents. If your agreement will include any kind of upfront financial investment, an in-person visit to the agency's main offices or recruiting centers is STRONGLY recommended in order to get a first-hand view of their operations and recruiting activities and also meet the people who will be directly involved in promoting and recruiting students for your institution.
American Education Partners (AEP), a U.S.-owned and operated school placement service for international students, entails a rigorous agent screening process that includes these steps and others. Our U.S. staff provide an additional layer of advising support and applicant screening before submittting completed application packets to partner schools. This provides partner schools with the benefits of working with a wide diversity of carefully-screened overseas agents without the time and work required to screen and manage all of them. If your institution is considering working with overseas advisors/ agents, consider working with AEP first. For information on AEP programs and services, go to: http://www.americanedpartners.com/ and click on "Information for Schools". To find out more about becoming an AEP Partner School, email us at: info@americanedpartners.com
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Admissions Books To Get You Into Top American Universities
Every year sees the publication of new books aimed at high school students looking to increase their chances of getting accepted to top American universities. Many of these books attempt to provide clarity and understanding of the university admissions process. Others reveal a "secret code" used by admissions committees that promise to provide students with the advantage they need to get the acceptance letter from their first choice university.
The truth, as any university admissions director will tell you, is that there is no "secret code" and no single strategy that will guarantee acceptance to a competitive university. With acceptance rates of 15% or less at America's top universities, admissions committees at these schools necessarily have to devise and regularly re-formulate a unique set of acceptance criteria each year to accommodate the new set of applicants and the university's changing student profile goals.
After studying hard throughout high school to get outstanding grades and SAT scores, taking challenging AP and Honors courses, participating in the right sports and club activities, and doing everything else they've been told is necessary to get accepted to the best universities in the USA, it is natural that students and parents should feel that is their deserved reward. Students' chances of getting accepted to a great university and having a rewarding educational experience are optimized when they have a clear understanding of how well their goals and preferences are matched with the universities they are applying to.
American Education Partners' Placement Advisors have 20 years' experience in helping students find and get accepted to highly-ranked universities that are well-matched to their diverse goals, interests, and qualifications. If you are still trying to decide which university to apply to this Fall or need assistance in getting through the difficult application process, contact an AEP Placement Advisor today for a free, preliminary review of your academic qualifications and school preferences at: info@americanedpartners.com
The truth, as any university admissions director will tell you, is that there is no "secret code" and no single strategy that will guarantee acceptance to a competitive university. With acceptance rates of 15% or less at America's top universities, admissions committees at these schools necessarily have to devise and regularly re-formulate a unique set of acceptance criteria each year to accommodate the new set of applicants and the university's changing student profile goals.
After studying hard throughout high school to get outstanding grades and SAT scores, taking challenging AP and Honors courses, participating in the right sports and club activities, and doing everything else they've been told is necessary to get accepted to the best universities in the USA, it is natural that students and parents should feel that is their deserved reward. Students' chances of getting accepted to a great university and having a rewarding educational experience are optimized when they have a clear understanding of how well their goals and preferences are matched with the universities they are applying to.
American Education Partners' Placement Advisors have 20 years' experience in helping students find and get accepted to highly-ranked universities that are well-matched to their diverse goals, interests, and qualifications. If you are still trying to decide which university to apply to this Fall or need assistance in getting through the difficult application process, contact an AEP Placement Advisor today for a free, preliminary review of your academic qualifications and school preferences at: info@americanedpartners.com
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