March 6th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
eLearners.com alongwith American Intercontinental University, Walden University and DeVry University will grant $2 million in scholarships to working moms. This is part of the “Project Working Mom - Putting Education to Work” education awareness program. The project also helps working moms find an online program, provides information on financial aid, and helps connect with other moms studying online
Project Working Moms links:
Project Working Mom website
Online Application
Posted in Funding | 1 Comment »
February 28th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
While you are busy Applying to US Universities, you should get a driving license in your home country as soon as possible. And remember to pack it in your luggage to USA. Once you are settled in USA, you may not be able to buy a car during your student life, still try to get a US driving license sooner than later.
Eventually when you buy a car, you will need to buy vehicle insurance. If you have no driving history, you may be charged twice as much as experienced drivers with a good driving record. Some insurance companies will give no weight to your driving history outside USA and Canada, but some will take that into account. All companies will check how long you have held a US license.
It may be noted that driving history is based on the issuance date of your license. If you can show that you had a US license for a couple of years and had a license in another country before that, you can save as much as 50 dollars per month on your car insurance premium.
Posted in Money Matters, app2us Most Popular, Insurance | No Comments »
February 24th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
One of the complicated issues the applicants are faced with is that of the voluntary waiver of their right to review the letters of recommendation. To waive or not to waive is the question.
If the Universities do not ask you for this waiver, you have right to look at your full admission file including the letters of recommendation IF you enroll at that University. So why do they ask you to give up the right to review the letters of recommendation? Because they believe that if such a waiver is signed by you, your references will be more forthcoming.
Here are reasons why you should waive your right to review the letter of recommendation while applying to US Universities:
- The letters of recommendation shall carry more weight if it is known that you are not going to see those at any stage in the future.
- If you do not enroll at a particular University, you anyway have no right to review your file.
- Most students anyway do sign the waiver, so you do not want to stand out as a person who wants to read the letters of recommendation.
Posted in Letter of Recommendation | No Comments »
February 16th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
Unlike BS, MS or PhD applications, there are usually three deadlines for MBA applications. Applications received by each deadlines are evaluated in one batch. You are restricted to apply in one round only. A large number of admissions are offered in the first round. So the probability of admission reduces significantly in the second round, and even more so in the third round. According to Harvard Business School MBA Applications webpage , “We encourage applicants to apply in the first or second round, as space in the class may be limited by the third round.”
Third round decisions are so late that often there is not enough time for visa related paperwork or for the English proficiency classes, if required. Admissions to top B-Schools are anyway competitive. It also takes a lot of time and efforts. If you want to maximize your chances, you should only apply in the first round. What if you miss the first round deadline? Apply next year, in the first round!
Posted in MBA and GMAT | 1 Comment »
February 6th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
Some students have asked on our forum at app2us.com about working part time outside their University campus.
For international students, it is illegal to work off campus. There could be some exceptions like a University authorized internship or working at an off-campus facility that could be part of the University.
We strongly advice all our users to follow all rules when in the USA. Do not ever try to seek a part-time job outside your University. Rules are very strictly adhered to in US, and if caught, punishment could be swift. If caught in an immigration raid, you are looking at the possibility of termination from your University, deportation and even jail time. If in any doubt about what can you do and where can you work, always contact the International Student Advisor at the International Students office at your University.
Disclaimer: we at app2us.com do not claim to be experts at legal or ethical matters. However our advice is always based on what we understand is legal and ethical.
Posted in Student Visa, Job search | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
If you do not get admitted to a University of your choice, there is still hope. You can try to get into a better University after a semester or two. If you attend two Universities in course of getting your MS or PhD, you are awarded the degree from the later one (and hopefully the better one) - that is all what counts in the long run. Transfer for MBA students is less common.
Transferring to another University is a complicated process, yet the steps are very well defined on University websites and many students take advantage of the process.
A full application is needed for transfer students, although you may request a waiver on a few requirements like TOEFL. You should do very well in the first semester in your current US University, preferably all A’s. This cannot be stressed enough. In your Statement of purpose you have to give a good reason on why you want to transfer. Focus on the positive aspects of your target University rather than mentioning anything negative about your current one.
Common (and acceptable) reasons to get a transfer:
The desire to graduate from a more reputable University
Better research opportunities
Better funding opportunities
Personal reasons like being close to your significant other
Posted in Applications, Transfer | 8 Comments »
January 25th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
This post is about the bicycle which is referred to as ‘bike’ in the USA.
After you land in USA and settle down in your apartment, one of the first things to buy is a bike. You may buy a new bike in less than $ 100 at a Wal-Mart or Target store. Do not go to shops that sell only bikes those are very expensive.
You may also buy used bikes for $10 or $20 but remember that repairs can be very expensive - many times more than the cost of a new bike. So investing in a new bike is a good idea. You must buy three accessories with your bike - A helmet, a set of front and rear lights and a lock.
The helmet will save you from serious head injury, the light will save you from a serious traffic violation ticket (fine) and the lock will obviously save your bike from being stolen.
It is mandatory in most states to have the lights on after sunset. All traffic rules apply to the bikes. A cyclist must stop at all STOP signs. Fines may range from 50 to 300 dollars.
Posted in Campus Life | No Comments »
January 21st, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
150 hours of coursework is required for the CPA exam. For international students from many countries, the undergraduate degree is equivalent to 120 hours. Working towards an MS degree in Accounting is a good way to complete the 150 hours requirement. And if you want to work in the USA as a professional accountant, CPA certification is essential. Only a few top business schools offer an MS program in Accounting. Mays Business School is one such example.
The application process for the CPA exam is the same for international candidates. Prospective candidates must select the U.S. jurisdiction to which they will apply, contact the Board of Accountancy (or its agent) in that jurisdiction to obtain application materials, submit completed applications and required fees as instructed, and once deemed qualified, schedule the examination. The 54 U.S. jurisdictions include the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
The CPA exam is administered in English language only. Prospective candidates who are undecided about the jurisdiction to which they should apply may wish to review the requirements of several Boards of Accountancy before making their decisions. Contact information for all boards is available at www.nasba.org
Posted in US Education, Business Education | 1 Comment »
January 9th, 2008
Visit www.app2us.com
Even if not mentioned in the application requirements, it is a good idea to include a resume. The resume must be limited to one page, no matter how many achievements you have.
Here are some guidelines to improve your resume.
- Your name, email ID and phone number must be included at the top
- You should use simple and legible font, preferably size 11 or more. The contents should not look too crowded
- Avoid your country specific acronyms (read more here)
- List your achievements in reverse chronological order
- Avoid any achievement earlier than grade 10th, but focus mainly on your accomplishments while in college
- Divide the resume in different sections and have headings for each section
- Check your spellings
- Include a printout in black ink with your offline materials like the transcripts. Some online applications also allow you to upload extra documents
Posted in Applications | 1 Comment »
January 1st, 2008
If you are applying to US Universities, post your question at www.app2us.com. We challenge that we can beat any entity or website in the cost and quality of personalized guidance we provide. ALL SERICES ARE FREE.
New year is a good time to reflect on the year gone by. We have had a modest beginning for our website www.app2us.com and our blog.
Our focus is to help the students who apply to the US Universities and make them aware of the various opportunities available to them. We also provided one-on-one guidance free of cost to over 300 students in the past six months. Check out our forum at www.app2us.com
We have had traffic from 1017 cities in 113 countries in 2007, whcih is very encouraging.
Top Cities: Hyderabad(India), Chennai(India), Bangalore(India). Singapore, Kulalumpur, Karachi, Seol, London and Lahore also sent a lot of visitors
Top Countries: India, USA, Pakistan
Top Sources: Google Search, Direct Traffic, Orkut referals
Top Locales other than English: fr(French), de(German), ko (Korean)
This is the first year of our blog and we hope that we will bring a lot of useful and interesting information to our users in 2008
Our blog is getting so popular in the Indian cities of Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore that we may plan a physical app2us meet in one of these cities in 2008.
Our blog is currently placed 2nd in the BEST EDUCATION BLOG catagory. Please consider voting by following this link to Bloggers Choice Award.
If you would like to know more about any aspect of US Education, please post your suggestion by adding a comment on the blog. A big thank you and Happy New year to all our users.
-app2usadvisor
Posted in Applying to US Universities | No Comments »
