| Can I start at Edmond’s Community College and transfer to University of California, Berkeley? Why not?
Did you know that 46% of Americans with a bachelor’s degree (at least 4 years) started at community college (usually 2 years)? Including me! But what about the visa? Some Indonesian students say they’re worried about getting their F-1. Will US immigration officials give me an F-1 visa for a community college or two-year college instead of a “real” university. You shouldn’t worry about that anymore. A community college isn’t a fake university. Perhaps in the past the community college — also known as a two-year college –was a “secret weapon” for American students. At least that’s how a US Embassy official described it to me recently. But now the secret’s out and everybody knows that a community college (CC) is a great place for international students, including Indonesians. The community college strategy is even being promoted within Indonesia by the US State Department which manages official US immigration and education matters. Q: How can I get my F-1 Visa to study at a community college in California, Washington, Texas, Massachsuetts or another state? A: If you have legitimate documents to show that you have completed your education in Indonesia; and you have a legitimate community college chosen in the United States; and you have the funds to pay for your education — then you will get your F-1 visa. Here is a link to learn more about a few community colleges that are already reaching out to Indonesia. However, in total, there are more than 1100 community colleges in the US. Sometimes the name includes “City College” or — in New Jersey –“County College”). Typically a community college offers a two-year program and you finish with an associate degree. Then you transfer to a 4-year university. That’s the idea, anyway. However, in practice the transfer process is not standardized. So you will need assistance in deciding how to design a successful strategy for transfer from a college >> 4-year university.
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The last post features the brand-new culture center at Pacific Place Mall in Jakarta. It’s part of the brand-new US-Indonesian “comprehensive partnership” which is funding educational and cultural cooperation.
The fact is, edu-cooperation between these two countries is at an all-time low. Keep that in mind as you watch friends of America like Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Julia Suryakusuma, Dr Irid Agoes and Slank work together on this problem in the video.
Dr Irid Agoes
♣ Pusat budaya Amerika yang terbaru di Jakarta adalah @America. Infonya dalam Bahasa Indonesia ada disini.
The new culture center in town is called @America (At America). There are two ways you can visit. Either go to Floor 3 of Pacific Place mall in Jakarta. Or click here (hope your browser works better than mine : -)
The brand-new @America center is a free, high-tech public diplomacy project concept that opened last month. The motto is “explore, experience, express.” The mission is to wow and woo young people in Indonesia with wrap-around media, Apple iPads and opportunities to study in the US.
In fact, if you visit in person you’ll get an iPad when you walk in the door. BUT, you have to give it back when you’re finished exploring and experiencing the center. If you visit the website you can sign up for free, meet people, and contribute discussions about undergraduate and graduate study in the US, among other topics.
What will you see if you visit @America at Pacific Place mall? Recent themes and features include oceanography and African-American history. Tomorrow — 1 March 2011 — from 7-9 pm you can catch a free jazz show.
The center and website are sponsored by the United States of America, with guidance provided by the US Embassy in Jakarta.
Any secrets? Well, @America is looking for people and ideas to help connect US and Indonesia. Click here to participate in the discussion now. If you have specific expertise or experience with American culture — anything from religion to reggae, you may wish to directly submit your proposal for collaboration. Or, you can even become involved as a a paid employee, such as a guide, AV specialist or even assistant site manager.
explore, experience, express,
By way of background, many US universities don’t feel they have the budget for web video right now. But students in Indonesia shopping “belajar luar negeri” get tired of reading lists of facts and figures. So click a few times to say “thanks.” You can learn about US belajar di luar negeri options — and practice your English listening skills at the same time.
As regards the last school on the list — ternyata di NY lagi disediakan gelar urut – n- jamu. Check it out!
Berklee College of Music (Massachusetts)
Academy of Art University (San Francisco)
Savannah College of Art and Design (Georgia)
California State University, Chico (American Langauge and Culture Institute)
Here’s the good news about the revised general test. Why is it good news? Because this means there’s still seven months to take the old test. Please note that seven months is enough to study for the test and do a good job. I would suggest that you start now.
Why is the old format GRE better than the new one? Because no one is sure what’s on the new test. It’s brand new! But here at Strata-G we know exactly what’s on the old GRE. And there aren’t going to be any changes until August. That means that, if you take the test before August, you have the benefit of years and years of research by GRE experts like Mark Stewart.
But if you wait until the new GRE, then it’s too late to use any of the vast body of research and study materials that have been created over the years. You’re literally on your own.
If you do have to take the new GRE, then — if you can — wait until there’s a good stream of feedback about what’s on it.
What’s the GRE?
Graduate Record Examination: Tes standar yang diambil agar dapat masuk ke graduate school (S2) di beberapa negara termasuk Amerika Serikat, Canada, Australia, Singapore and China. Seperti TOEFL, GRE adalah produk ETS (Educational Testing Services).. Ternyata bentuk-bentuk soalny mirip juga, kalau bagian Reading Comprehension (RC).
Materi GRE (general test) apa aja?
Ada dua jenis GRE, tetapi yang paling relevan untuk tujuan akuan S2 (seperti MBA) adalah GRE General Test (kurang lebih 3 jam). Umumnya, hasil kita ada 3 Komponen: Hasil “Verbal” (kosakata Inggris), hasi “Quantitative” (matematika) dan Analytic Writing Assessment (“AWA”) (harus menulis 2 karangan dalam 75 menit).
Belajar GRE gimana caranya?
Latihan soal, jawaban standar untuk menghadapi tes apapun. Kalau cerdas sekali, tiga atau empat bulan cukup untuk latihan soal. Kalau merasa kemampuan Bahasa Inggris dan matematika dasar masih perlu dipoles, persiapkanlah diri selama mungkin. Latihan soal bisa dilakukan sendirian atau mengikuti prep course khusus. Untuk December 2010 dan Januari 2011 kursus AWA Short Course disedia di Kuningan, Jakarta.
Info lebih lanjut Email/FB strata.g.indonesia@gmail.com
Dimana dan bagaimana tes GRE di Indonesia?
Untuk sementara ETS hanya ada satu mitra yaitu Indoensian International Education Foundation (IIEF) yg belokasi di Kuningan, Jakarta melalui Tes Dengan Komputer/Computer Based Test (CBT). GRE dapat diikuti sepanjang tahun setiap hari Senin – Kamis, pukul 9.00 dan 13.00 WIB) di Menara Imperium, Lt. 28, Jl. Rasuna Said, Jakarta Selatan. Biaya ujian cukup besar: US$170 dan MESTI DAFTAR DENGAN AWAL DI WEBSITE ETS. Pembayaran juga online, gunakan kartu kredit.
Siapa yang perlu ikut tes GRE?
Ya tentunya mereka yang perlu melampirkan skor GRE di suatu aplikasi, misalnya MBA (bisnis) masters/PhD (beberapa bidang seperti ilmu bisnis, politik, ekonomi, insinyur, IT). Kalau S2 hukum biasanya kena LSAT sedangkan kedokteran pakai MCAT.
What’s the GMAT?
Graduate Record Examination: Tes standar yang diambil agar dapat masuk ke business school (MBA) di beberapa negara termasuk Amerika Serikat, Canada, Australia, Singapore and China.
Dimana dan bagaimana saya bisa ikut tes GRE di Indonesia?
Untuk sementara ada dua pilihan 1) Universitas Indonesia (UI) yg di Jkt pusat 2) Informatics (Surabaya). Tapi daftar duluh di www.mba.com, situs resmi untuk GMAT (www.gmac.com resmi juga). Masih ada dudukan untuk bulan Maret 2010 tapi lama2 penuh. Tesnya tersedia tiap hari (Sen-Jum), kecuali pusat testing sudah penuh.
Berapa harganya GMAT?
Ternyata tes ini lebih mahal dari GRE atau TOEFL: USD 250.
Saya dengar ada program MBA yang menerima GRE maupun GMAT?
Betul. Dimana2 “top school-nya” malas memaksa calon-calon yg sudah mempunya hasil GRE bagus daftar dan ikut GMAT karena dua2nya tes ini cukup sama. Program-program golong biasa belum berani berubah adatnya (MBA = GMAT). Sedangkan Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Wharton, University of Melbourne, University of Hong Kong, dan Seoul National University termasuk program2 MBA yg menerima hasil GMAT maupun GRE.
Apa bedanya GRE & GMAT?
a) banyak program MBA yg belum terlalu dikenal GRE
b) harga (GRE = USD 165; GMAT = USD 250)
c) bentuk soal sedikit beda (kecuali bagian reading comprehension dan AWA)
d) soal quantitative (matematika) GMAT lebih sukar drpd GRE
e) kosa kata ingris yg punya GRE lebih sukar drpd GMAT
* Info lebih lanjut perbedaan GRE / GMAT.
Belajar GMAT gimana caranya?
Latihan soal, jawaban standar untuk menghadapi tes apapun. Kalau cerdas sekali, tiga atau empat bulan cukup untuk latihan soal. Kalau merasa kemampuan Bahasa Inggris dan matematika dasar masih perlu dipoles, persiapkanlah diri selama mungkin. Latihan soal bisa dilakukan sendirian atau mengikuti prep course khusus.
Kami memberikan jasa persiapan tes/ujian.
Kalau tes TOEFL/ IELTS benar-benar tes apa?
TOEFL dan IELTS adalah ujian yg mengevaluasi potensi seseorang mengerti dan menggunakan Bahasa Inggris; sedangan GMAT / GRE / LSAT merupakan “general aptitude” tests (kemampuan umum) — bukan hanya Bahasa.
Dalam kata cukup jelas Syafril Hernendi:
Orang yang sanggup menaklukkan bagian verbal dari GMAT, pasti sanggup menaklukkan TOEFL. Kebalikannya tidak berlaku. Amat sangat jarang sekali saya melihat seseorang yang memiliki nilai GMAT diatas nilai TOEFL. Jadi, jika Anda mendapat nilai TOEFL hanya 500, ini berarti tanda bahaya buat Anda. Kemungkinan besar nilai GMAT Anda tidak akan mencapai 400! Berapakah nilai yang Anda dapatkan jika Anda hanya duduk saja, tanpa mengerjakan soal, sewaktu ujian GMAT? 200!
Tes TOEFL/ IELTS memang untuk apa?
TOEFL dan IELTS adalah ujian Bahasa Inggris yang diambil agar dapat masuk ke universitas di luar negeri. Walau GMAT / GRE / LSAT memang hanya tersedia dalam Bahasa Ingris, tes-tes itu merupakan “general aptitude” tests (kemampuan umum) — bukan ujian Bahasa.
* Mengapa TOEFL/ IELTS dan Michigan test sangat mirip?
Persaingan saat ini cukup kuat antara beberapa grup testing seperti ETS (yg memiliki TOEFL) British Council/Cambridge/IDP (yg memiliki IELTS) dan Pearson (yg miliki tes Michigan. So, tes2 ini sementara ini pasti cukup similar.
*Saya pernah dengar TOEFL khusus untuk belajar di Amerika Serikat?
Banyak program program S1 di negara seperti Belanda, Jerman, Hong Kong, Prancis, Singapore, Kanada, Korea, Jepang dan Zelandia Baru yg memakai TOEFL.
Ada berapa macam TOEFL di Indonesia?
Di Indonesia hanya ada 1) yg Internet based (TOEFL iBT) 2) yg Institutional TOEFL
*Apa bedanya TOEFL dan “Institutional TOEFL”?
Institutional TOEFL, masih “paper-based” (belum menggunakan komputer). Selain itu, kuantitas dan format soal berbeda dan sistem poin juga berbeda. Yg institutional memang TOEFL asli. Berguna sekali juga, sebagai metode untuk mempersiapkan diri untuk ikut iBT. Tetapi untuk universitas luar negeri harus pakai TOEFL iBT (yg memakai tata cara keamanan lengkap dan harga USD 165). Harga institutional TOEFL tergantung institusinya, tapi bisa jadi Rp 300,000.
This is a case study about one guy who built an overseas study bridge to the USA. We’ll call him the Random Scrawler.
Every bridge is different but there are some commonalities.
- You need to take a language aptitude test like the TOEFL or IELTS
- You need to practice taking scholastic aptitude tests (tes potensi akademik), such as the GRE and GMAT
- You have to make sure your Indonesian passport’s up to date
- You have to stand in line at US Embassy
And, of course, you can’t give up when things don’t go right the first time. As Dr. Seuss has it:
And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.
So now you have links to some of the Scrawler’s most wildly popular scrawls ever. They are on the topic of how he succeeded within the company scholarship program in Indonesia and went on to academic glory overseas. I recommend them.