Further Studies to US

[AaronLo]

I have always wanted to study in the United States. Just like my bunch of friends.

Now the reality check: We faced a lot of problems pertaining to getting our foot prints to the land of opportunity and most importantly, help is limited.

I am 17 this year and will be sitting for SPM real soon (in 1-month's time).

I need to know how do I get myself from HERE to USA, from admission forms to SAT and from financial aids to gaining admission.

If there's anyone from Stanford University out there, I certainly hope you can give me a tip or two on gaining admission, cos' I wanted to get in so very very badly!!

[chenchow]

Welcome to ReCom~! I would say that the first ingredient of getting into top universities, as you mention, Stanford Universities would require you to take self initiative. Take that first step to search around and find information.

There are tons of resources available online, as well as in ReCom. There are various threads/discussions on US Admission. So, you should start from there first. There are a lot of discussion on SAT, application processes etc.

After you have found out what you can find out, post questions here to seek fellow ReComers' help to respond. There are quite a number of ReComers who have gotten admission to Stanford, as well as a number who have studied there, as well as many other top universities in US.

Admission to those top universities do not come rolling. You need to work hard on it, be it from application essays, recommendation letters, interview etc.

Try to find first, and we will guide you along, ok? Good Luck~!

[eslite]

Actually there is no standard path to get into Stanford. I believe a few years back someone got in through STPM though A-levels and INTEC seems to be the 2 most common route.

Stanford has a Malaysian student group (http://www.stanford.edu/group/mas/) if you want to contact ex/current students though I think the website is abit outdated.

[lyzzy]

Recom has a thread filled with some 73 pages worth of (some good, some not so good) advice for applying to US universites. Check that out first! There are some good links on the last page. http://recom.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1283

Also, you could try Googling some of the terms that you used. Especially about the SAT.

Only after you read them all, you can ask questions! Like Chenchow said, self initiative is very important in the process of applying to top US univs.

and stanford is very stingy with the financial aid for international students, compared to other equally-prestigious universities i.e. yale/ harvard/ princeton/ mit

[hhhcce]

Only after you read them all, you can ask questions! Like Chenchow said, self initiative is very important in the process of applying to top US universities

I think for you the whole process would be easier, because there is a new added feature which you can navigate from page to page very easily. By the way, are you planning to do prepartory courses, such as A level, IB, SAM, CPU? It is required for most of the universities. But, when I asked the admission officers, they said that preference will be given to those who are willing to take a more challeging course.

If there's anyone from Stanford University out there, I certainly hope you can give me a tip or two on gaining admission, cos' I wanted to get in so very very badly!!

Stanford is not that generous in giving scholarships. BTW, are you looking for finacial assistance?

[AaronLo]

Hey it's me again.

To hhhcce, I am indeed looking for financial aids, though I've read alot about Stanford providing limited financial aids, especially for international students.

In Chew Chow's article "Tips on US Applications" in http://tinkosong.com/2006/04/10/tips-on-us-applications/, he mentioned the posibillity of a pre-SPM student submitting application for an American University.

If I am to start applying now, which academic year are we talking about? Is it for 2007 fall enrolment?

If so, is this compatible with the Malaysian education system?

[chenchow]

Esssentially, applying by Dec 2006, would mean for admission for Fall 2007 (August/September 2007). You would know whether you manage to obtain admission by April 2007. To apply, you would need to take SAT1, SAT2, TOEFL by December this year. Remember that SAT is offered only once in Oct, Nov, Dec, and you have to take SAT1 and SAT2 in different month. As it is end of September already, so you might need to take for November and December for SAT1 and SAT2 respectively, if you wish to go for Fall 2007.

If you haven't started preparing for SAT, then I would personally suggest that you try for admission for Fall 2008, by applying end of 2007. This would allow you to do some sort of foundation program, A Level or STPM. If you are doing STPM, you would apply by end of 2008, and enter universities in Fall 2009. Basically, it is compatible with our education system.

There is no set syllabus that you would need to have to be in these universities. Each courses within each major of each universities function on its own. The professors set the syllabus according to the situation, needs and their expertise.

While I had mentioned that those universities do accept students with SPM qualifications or even pre-SPM, the reality is that there are very few who are able to do that. Each of these top universities are very selective. For instance, Stanford and the rest of top universities only admit about 1-5 Malaysians every year (There is no specific quota, but the number varies usually within this range).

So, some of the credentials that you would need to build will be on some achievements at national or international level. You would need to prove that on the overall, you are one of the top few Malaysians, although essentially you are being compared against the rest of the world. These aspects are some that you have to build on.

[eslite]

US Universities do accept people after SPM though for the elite ones the numbers are rare.

If you are applying now (meaning this year), you will be applying for Fall 2007 or Class 2011.

Here are two blogposts by someone who got into Berkeley after SPM. http://euchoon.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-journey-to-berkeley-part-1.html
http://euchoon.blogspot.com/2006/08/my-journey-to-berkeley-part-2.html

[chenchow]

Moderator Action: Thread is locked. Redundant thread.

Please continue discussion at:- here (http://recom.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=94496#94496)