Working Adult for US university

[linnraz]

Hi everyone!
I would like to seek opinion & advice on working adult applying for US university on behalf of my friend. She's 32, currently working in a bank in KL, she has only have SPM and she's very much interested in French studies. I've tried to surf on some university websites but both of us are quite confused with the procedure to apply.

Is there anyone who has been through the procedure to apply for US university? Appreciate any advice and opinions.

[IJI]

Hi, I'm iszad.

Working adult too..and currently applying US university for masters programme. Thanks God, I have been offered JPA scholarship already.

Sharing my experience so far,

If you are not from English speaking country, or not from US inst. before, definitely you need to take TOEFL. I suggest, particularly for US, take TOEFL. IELTS is easier than TOEFL, but it is not widely accepted in US.

Some of the universities in US doesn't accept IELTS, but some accept both with some minimum requirements. I got 93 in my iBT test, and it is quite tough for admission, particularly if you want to go to Business School.
Not to mention Harvard, or any Ivy League Standard, even top 30 is also quite competitive like Univ Illinois and UFL.

Second advice, book the test early. Even, the application for this year is already full, I guess. I stayed in Putrajaya, but need to go all the way to Penang for test. My friend did too. Even worse, one of my friends need to go to Hadyai for the TOEFL test since all centres in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak even Singapore are fully booked.

Then, other necessary test for the admission purposes. If you want to take econ or arts, I think you need to take GRE.

For business like MBA or finance like MSF, GMAT (some accept GRE but MBA, strictly need GMAT). GMAT is damn tough, I did badly once and will repeat it again. Luckily, it is not hard as TOEFL to find spot as the administrator for GMAT is Pearson VUE. (TOEFL is ETS)


What else, prepare your transcript to send. They are quite stingy in the way that they required the transcript, (original) must be sent directly by your university.

Prepare for your essay. Different university, different essay, but everything online together with other particulars.

Recommenders...need to find two recommenders.

Prepare some money...TOEFL easily cost you USD150 (around RM530) and GMAT cost you USD250 (around +800). University application also costly. Some university ask you to pay USD150 for application fees, some USD60. Average, i guess around USD80. If you want to prepare for 8 universities, another USD600 need to standby. You can take Test like GMAT or TOEFL as many as you want, but the hurdles is, it is too costly. I hope I can do better this time.

Since you post your msg in June, I guess you already have take your test, anyway. By the way, I am still new to this forum.

[HiddenEyes]

French studies? In that case, I think she should take the GRE. For graduate studies, there's different admission tests.

TOEFL is required only if you're not a native speaker. Some universities may waive it in some circumstances. It's better to check with the respective university. If she wants to take the TOEFL,Take the iBt. Get a study guide from the bookstore to gain insight on the general structure of the test. The free sample provided by ETS is rather helpful.