بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Summer 2017 is.. over. Well, almost. How fast things have flown by! I was only five weeks in as Front Desk Assistant when I wrote the first part, and now I'm a Community Development Advisor. Now, one interesting part of this current job is that I get to welcome and guide new students who come to pursue their degree in Education City. I found that unlike me, most of these new students had someone who introduced them to EC, and made them go here. Normally there would be a brother, a sister, a high school alumni, a neighbor, all sorts of strange people that made them go here. And that's great! You want to know what's not so great? Me! This kicks me hard because.. well, surprise, I barely attempted to get people here. Maybe it's not time that flew fast, it's just that I wasn't paying enough attention.
Begitulah motivasi gue untuk menuliskan bagian kedua dari seri "Kuliah di Qatar? Nih!" yang gue mulai (dan tinggalkan) 7 bulan yang lalu. Dalam bagian pertama, gue mendeskripsikan kampus-kampus yang ada di Education City, dan pengalaman macam apa yang ditawarkan oleh Qatar sebagai tempat menuntut ilmu. Nah, bagian kedua ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bagaimana lo bisa daftar di program-program undergraduate (S1) dan menjadi bagian dari Education City. Selamat menyimak!
Seperti yang sudah gue ulas di bagian pertama, Education City memiliki 1 kampus natif Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, dan 8 kampus cabang universitas asing, yaitu:
As you might have noticed, every university in EC which offers an undergraduate degree (S1) is based on the US. This means that all the requirements are in alignment with US standards. Which means I could save a lot of time typing this and just refer you here: https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/34/applying-for-admission-to-a-u-s-program
General Requirements
But well, I don't mind explaining it a little bit. In general, the following are required:
1. SAT/ACT
SAT and ACT are generally used in the US as a pre-university test. It analyzes your academic skill set: Reading, writing, and basic math. To be honest, when I attempted the test, I was surprised by how difficult SAT was. Maybe because it's designed for native English speakers, many of the vocabularies and skills tested are very foreign unless you have been using English to read and write from an early age. I heard ACT wasn't as harsh, and SAT got reformed in 2016, so maybe it's not as bad now.
Bear in mind that US universities place A LOT of importance on these tests. They generally don't care how good you are at your physics or advanced math, because they will re-teach you anyway. It is critical that you show your ability to communicate and understand academic materials, which means, to read and to write.
Usually, universities require you to take either ACT or SAT and request the examination bodies to send them your test score. Both SAT and ACT are held all over the world, a few times a year. In Indonesia, it's available in 5 or 6 large cities. It should cost $100 - $150 for each test. You can find more details in their website.
2. TOEFL
This one is much more familiar, also much easier than SAT in my time. Not all US universities require this, but I know that for one, CMU does. You have to take the iBT/PBT tests (NOT ITP). In total, it should cost you around $200 from start to finish.
The minimum requirement for top-tier universities is 577 in PBT (90 in iBT). If you want stronger chances, you should aim for 600 at least (100 in iBT).
3. SAT/ACT Subjects/ A-Level
You will need an internationally recognized tests in high school subjects. Unless you are studying in a British curriculum, I recommend you take SAT/ACT subjects. They are not terrifyingly hard. In science tests, once you have a good comprehension of a concept, you should find this easier than SBMPTN or UM. Mind yourself that they are all in English though. If you're not in an English curriculum, you should get yourself used to the vocabularies. You'll have to understand it in university, anyway.
The Application
Now, even if you have all the essentials covered, it'll be meaningless if you don't actually apply to a university. You HAVE to apply to every university you want to go to. Each university, in general, has a different application portal. You DON'T have to go to US just to apply to a US university. Every university should provide you with an application website that covers the whole application, A-Z.
According to this source-which-I-have-never-seen-before and my experience, most US universities set their deadline for January. Some of them, however, closes as early as late November. Make sure you know your deadlines. Note them down, don't miss them!
In the application, they will ask you about yourself, your motivation, your experience, your visions, all sorts of things about you. If you have been browsing the internet about admission essays, you'll probably hear the following a lot: Don't plagiarize. Don't lie. Be yourself. Prepare early. Have someone advise you on your essays. It's not cheesy, it's the reality. Don't make yourself look stupid and follow these principles.
All relevant information should be available on the university website. If you're clueless, use Google. If you're not sure about something, ask questions. Once, I sent an email to at least 4 different admission offices asking about their admission procedures at the same time. They will help you.
The period of not knowing the process to apply, not knowing what to do, and not knowing what you don't know is stressful. But, it will help you grow. Finding the right information is a necessary skill you will always value. Well, at least you find this post. I am open to helping you. Just reach out to akhyar.kamili97[at]gmail[dot]com and ask me questions. Take care!
Begitulah motivasi gue untuk menuliskan bagian kedua dari seri "Kuliah di Qatar? Nih!" yang gue mulai (dan tinggalkan) 7 bulan yang lalu. Dalam bagian pertama, gue mendeskripsikan kampus-kampus yang ada di Education City, dan pengalaman macam apa yang ditawarkan oleh Qatar sebagai tempat menuntut ilmu. Nah, bagian kedua ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bagaimana lo bisa daftar di program-program undergraduate (S1) dan menjadi bagian dari Education City. Selamat menyimak!
Seperti yang sudah gue ulas di bagian pertama, Education City memiliki 1 kampus natif Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, dan 8 kampus cabang universitas asing, yaitu:
- Carnegie Mellon University (S1)
- Texas A&M (S1, S2 Chemical Engineering)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (S1)
- Weill-Cornell Medical College (Kedokteran)
- Georgetown University, School of Foreign Services (S1)
- Northwestern University (S1)
- HEC Paris (S2)
- University College London (S2, S3)
As you might have noticed, every university in EC which offers an undergraduate degree (S1) is based on the US. This means that all the requirements are in alignment with US standards. Which means I could save a lot of time typing this and just refer you here: https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/34/applying-for-admission-to-a-u-s-program
General Requirements
But well, I don't mind explaining it a little bit. In general, the following are required:
1. SAT/ACT
SAT and ACT are generally used in the US as a pre-university test. It analyzes your academic skill set: Reading, writing, and basic math. To be honest, when I attempted the test, I was surprised by how difficult SAT was. Maybe because it's designed for native English speakers, many of the vocabularies and skills tested are very foreign unless you have been using English to read and write from an early age. I heard ACT wasn't as harsh, and SAT got reformed in 2016, so maybe it's not as bad now.
Bear in mind that US universities place A LOT of importance on these tests. They generally don't care how good you are at your physics or advanced math, because they will re-teach you anyway. It is critical that you show your ability to communicate and understand academic materials, which means, to read and to write.
Usually, universities require you to take either ACT or SAT and request the examination bodies to send them your test score. Both SAT and ACT are held all over the world, a few times a year. In Indonesia, it's available in 5 or 6 large cities. It should cost $100 - $150 for each test. You can find more details in their website.
2. TOEFL
This one is much more familiar, also much easier than SAT in my time. Not all US universities require this, but I know that for one, CMU does. You have to take the iBT/PBT tests (NOT ITP). In total, it should cost you around $200 from start to finish.
The minimum requirement for top-tier universities is 577 in PBT (90 in iBT). If you want stronger chances, you should aim for 600 at least (100 in iBT).
3. SAT/ACT Subjects/ A-Level
You will need an internationally recognized tests in high school subjects. Unless you are studying in a British curriculum, I recommend you take SAT/ACT subjects. They are not terrifyingly hard. In science tests, once you have a good comprehension of a concept, you should find this easier than SBMPTN or UM. Mind yourself that they are all in English though. If you're not in an English curriculum, you should get yourself used to the vocabularies. You'll have to understand it in university, anyway.
The Application
Now, even if you have all the essentials covered, it'll be meaningless if you don't actually apply to a university. You HAVE to apply to every university you want to go to. Each university, in general, has a different application portal. You DON'T have to go to US just to apply to a US university. Every university should provide you with an application website that covers the whole application, A-Z.
According to this source-which-I-have-never-seen-before and my experience, most US universities set their deadline for January. Some of them, however, closes as early as late November. Make sure you know your deadlines. Note them down, don't miss them!
In the application, they will ask you about yourself, your motivation, your experience, your visions, all sorts of things about you. If you have been browsing the internet about admission essays, you'll probably hear the following a lot: Don't plagiarize. Don't lie. Be yourself. Prepare early. Have someone advise you on your essays. It's not cheesy, it's the reality. Don't make yourself look stupid and follow these principles.
All relevant information should be available on the university website. If you're clueless, use Google. If you're not sure about something, ask questions. Once, I sent an email to at least 4 different admission offices asking about their admission procedures at the same time. They will help you.
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| I hope you'll receive one of these, too. |
The period of not knowing the process to apply, not knowing what to do, and not knowing what you don't know is stressful. But, it will help you grow. Finding the right information is a necessary skill you will always value. Well, at least you find this post. I am open to helping you. Just reach out to akhyar.kamili97[at]gmail[dot]com and ask me questions. Take care!
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