miao9

Hi Dasz, sorry for the late reply;) NUS has a majority of Chinese students, just like its country Singapore. the other minorities are Indian & Malay...and increasingly, PRC students (from mainland China)...mostly in the engineering faculty there are international students around as NUS is now encouraging exchange students (who study for a sem or 2). I did 1 cross-faculty business module (meaning external to my field of study which is Arts) and met great German frens who were there for 1 sem. one of them liked S'pore so much he even stayed here to work!! I just bumped into him a couple of days. I also met other nationalities like Dutch, American, UK, Indonesian..I helped to organize several foreign-local student outings back then..it was fun!! its not difficult to fit in as long as u're open to other cultures...if u stay in the hall (dorm), u mght meet quite a no of fun-loving pple. many of the internationals like S'pore cos its convenient to visit other parts of Asia eg thailand, vietnam, bali during the hols. I would say, yes, u generally do need a good academic background :p the S'pore students who are selected to do exchange studies in other c'tries are likewise required to have consistently good grades. but it really depends on the individual faculty. perhaps the business faculty may have a more proactive student exchange system where they welcome the cultural mix and injection of new ideas. most of my foreigner frens like S'pore, its small (just a tiny dot on the map) but its unis enjoy international standing. and pple here speak English, the young r very westernized, u'll find all the shops really familiar (imported form overseas :) and its a stopping place for other Asian hot-spots. hope this helps! feel free to ask me more u can email me at miao9@singnet.com.sg too. where do u come from? perhaps I can introduce u to my German fren in S'pore via email.. laura

hi all, came across this link: http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/student_info/prospective.html by Phil Koopman, Associate Professor (Carnegie Mellon University ECE Department & Institute for Software Research International) hope its useful to know what's on the prof's mind! laura

hi, my university sent me a Certification of Finances form along with my acceptance letter, where I had to prove sufficient financial resources for study. I sent it back to them and just recently, my university sent me the I-20 form...they printed all the details on the form. now, I have to send the necessary documents to the US embassy in my country to secure an interview. usually takes abt 5-10 working days to process F-1 student visa hope this helps! laura

hi David, how do the Australian MBAs compare with the US? my friend is going to Macquarie university for MBA studies next yr...would like to know your take on that university (esp in terms of future job prospects)...oh yes, my fren had 5 yrs working exp in Singapore Airlines thanks! laura

hi, I graduated from NUS....arts faculty thaiva's right, u need to contact the school directly try this website: http://www.fba.nus.edu.sg/ they give out a list of contacts for enquiries (see "contact us")

came across this website...regarding fellowship interviews & other related stuff reg applications http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/FS/interviews.html happy reading! laura

hi Ritendra, thanks for 1-20 info! I haven't received it yet and my university said June is the latest mth to get all the visa stuff done. am I behind schedule? as most of the international students seem to have this settled already... laura

hi Sushmita, thanks 4 yr reply to me regarding Chicago's living cost. i'm just wondering if you've settled yr housing at UIC? cos i'm currently sourcing for room mates and the college park apartments (http://www.collegeparkweb.com) are located east of UIC. thought u might want to consider. if u have other contacts for roommates, please let me know :p btw, r u planning on arriving early b4 yr term starts? thanks! laura

Hi Sushmita and Thaiva, thanks for yr info! I haven't gotten my 1-20 form yet cos have just sent my certification of finances form. hope that there'll be no prob with visa! can see the value of sharing accomodation...do u usually settle housing before going over to the US and then find a roommate, or is it better to ask the university to source for potential students interested in shared accomodation 1st? I definitely want to settle this housing issue b4 I go...and banking btw, is it advisable to get a computer/laptop in US or in my home country? some of my frens said the systems might not be compatible so better to get it when i'm there. just wondering whether students carry laptops around campus or they just use the computer lab in school? laura

Hi all, i've been checking up on chicago housing & living expenses. my university recommended an apartment complex (college park web) near downtown Chicago but its $825 per mth!! that's pretty steep.... does anyone have better suggestions like which neighbourhoods are safer or cheaper for grad students to rent? btw, anyone going to Chicago for grad studies this fall? would be great to link up with u! laura

hi, mrscreixell (who's been around in this forum) might know abt Tufts. she was recently accepted into one of their masters programs.... hope this helps! laura

hi all, just wanna share that Erikson Institute (grad sch for child devt) offered me a fellowship just this last weekend!![bounce][banana][bounce][banana] its full tuition waiver and US$10K living stipend per year for 2 yrs (which pays for housing, I guess). its abt 2/3 of total cost and i'm really overjoyed! Erikson is at downtown Chicago, but I dun mind staying further away cos costs are really high near town.are any of u familiar with Chicago living costs and housing/ room mate issues? please advise. tks! Laura

Hi Milli, I hope things work out for u. If you're going to Northeastern university in chicago this fall 2004, do contact me at miao9@singnet.com.sg I've been accepted into Erikson Institute (downtown chicago, near Northeastern uni) and am scouting for housing and room mates now. I know that living costs can significantly plunge when sharing apartments. Erikson just gave me a contact for student housing http://www.collegeparkweb.com. This is a new apartment complex that is being converted to student housing. Many students from universities in the area already live there. they help with roommate selection--and they are very nice apartments. The prices are reasonable. so do contact me if u're indeed going. laura

hi guys, a little ray of hope....the course coordinator just emailed me to say that scholarship decisions begin in mid-late May...i think, that's when the local US candidates apply (their deadline is April) and the school can finalize the pool of accepted applicants. cross my fingers...hope this works out. laura

tks, ketan. Erikson will keep my place if I choose to defer (for a year), no need to reapply. my lecturer is asking me to go now, instead of later....becos u never know what may happen in the future. basically, carpe diem! (seize the day!) she advised me to check for TA positions, or ask the university to direct me to alternative sources of funding. Other frens are suggesting writing to govt organizations in my home ctry...which means there'll be bonds to serve upon return. or make my need known among the chwww.urch.community and who knows, a miracle mght happen. of course, this masters wld prove valuable when I return to spore. very few highly qualified pple in child development field. but i'm also realistic. if there's no funding alternatives, then I would have to look for a child-related job n Spore (and its unlikely that I wld invest the time & $$ to apply to US unis again...unless someone sponsers). its once in a lifetime thing. guess I have to liaise with Erikson re this dilemma. they are my main hope of funding.... laura

Hi Viva, Oh, that explains why English is yr 2nd language. usually unis who have a long history of admitting spore students will waive TOEFL (esp if student can provide proof that English is their main language of instruction throughout all the school years) however, in your case, they may require u to take the TOEFL. it really depends on the university. for the one I applied to, they insisted that I take TOEFL, cos I am not a US citizen, and i've not attended an American school b4. laura

hi all, I just got accepted into Erikson for M.S. in Child Development in Chicago, Illinois!!!! BUT, no funding given!! there's supposed to be a fellowship offered by the school and considerations are made during the general application review process. obviously I was not selected for it [V] the costs of studying in Chicago are sooo exorbitant, esp for an international student. What shall I do? defer for another year in the hope that I can secure funding later? appeal to the uni? or forego this chance and treat it like it never happened? quite in a fix, laura

hi viva, its me again, Laura from Singapore. to answer yr qn....yes, most probably u need to take TOEFL + SATs.. although in recent years, some major unis have waived the TOEFL requirement for S'pore students...cos they realize that our language of instruction is mainly English + their international students fr Spore have proven that they can write and speak well. and why do u say that English is yr 2nd language? I wld put it as my 1st language and mandarin as my 2nd.

wow!! [:o)] dat means u're choosing Harvard over Tufts?? that's wonderful news!

hi viva, that depends on which university u go. I believe university of melbourne and latrobe have quite a good reputation! and also which field u're specializing in. i have a friend doing his Phd in university of texas at Austin. he said that singapore students do perform quite well in the US system, perhaps the drilling in singapore earns us a reputation of being hard workers!! so take heart, one step at a time and u'll get there. when I was in jc and nus, I recalled changing my professional aspirations so many times...cos the truth is, not many pple know what they really want to do in life and during that volatile stage in yr journey, u're still discovering yr interests and what u're good at. and now's the time to start saving money for a US education, unless u're on mummy & daddy scholarship!! laura

Congratulations, Miren!![bounce][banana] hopefully, if I do get accepted into the child devt Masters at Erikson, we can keep in touch :) btw, have u heard of play therapy? i'm pretty interested in it, but professors are telling me that a child devt masters does not qualify me to earn a play therapy credential [V]. its only for mental health professionals (counseling, social work, psychology, nursing etc) do u know what jobs are available for child development specialists? in the US and abroad? laura

hi, mrscreixell Congrats!! am so happy for you!! did u apply for the sydney fellowship by any chance? sharing yr joy, Laura

hi Viva, I'm from Singapore too. I suspect you need to take the SATS and TOEFL if u want to enter Bachelors level at US unis. and the unis u quoted are the top top few!!! competition's stiff. u need to do extraordinarily well. alternatively, u can go straight for Bachelors in Australia and apply to US from there. a lot of my frens studied in Aus unis at age 16, 17. another option is to work yr way up the Singapore system, prove yr worth thru graded transcripts and then apply to US. hope this helps! laura

Thanks, Tim!! strange, the pressure of waiting seems to be off after the interview regards, laura

hi Vinay, can you tell me what Chicago is like? cos I applied to one of the grad schools in downtown Chicago. any info that might be helpful for an international student...housing, living costs, safety issues. tks! laura