US Educational Group is heading to the following countries in October 2010 with a number of US Colleges, Universities, and English Language Centers. We encourage you to register and attend the events where you will meet with international student admissions officials and speak to them about your interest in studying in the USA.

Learn about the American higher education application process, I-20 issues, university costs, housing, and more. Speak with representatives about admissions tests and test preparation including TOEFL®, SAT®, GRE®, and GMAT®. A face to face meeting is the best time to explore opportunities for higher education in the United States and ask questions about scholarship opportunities.  The Al Jamiat / US Educational Group Tour is free of charge and open to the public.

October 2010 US College Fair Schedule

Beirut, Lebanon         October 11th, 2010
Movenpick Hotel & Resort – Raouche
Fair Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia         October 13th, 2010
Effat Univeristy
Fair Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Kuwait City, Kuwait   October 16th, 2010
Marina Hotel
Fair Time: 6 p.m.– 9 p.m.

Manama, Bahrain     October 18th, 2010
Sheraton Hotel
Tour Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Doha, Qatar     October 20th, 2010
Movenpick Towers & Suites
Fair Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Dubai, UAE              October 23rd, 2010
Movenpick Hotel
Fair Time: 6 p.m.– 9 p.m.

Amman, Jordan        October 25th, 2010
Sheraton Amman Hotel
Fair Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Baghdad, Iraq        October 28th, 2010
Location To be determined
Fair Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Erbil, Iraq        October 30th, 2010
Location To be determined
Fair Time: 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

We hope to see you there! Send us a message or leave a comment if you have any questions!

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Working hard to get into your college of choice is important, but you must also consider how you are going to pay for your education. If you’re still unsure about where the funds are going to come from, there are many different resources on the web, including student loan calculators and scholarship guides, that can help. Here 20 online resources that will assist you in determining how you can bankroll your higher education.

Student Loan Calculators

Student Loan Repayment Calculator – Map Your Future, an informational site for finding college, financial aid, and career information, features a helpful student loan calculator. Simply input your loan amount to calculate your monthly payment, total interest, and the minimum salary required to repay your loans.

Student Loan Calculator – CNNMoney.com features a quick and easy-to-use calculator that estimates how long it will take to pay off your student loans.

Loan Calculator – Adventures In Education (AIE) has a free online loan calculator that gives students an in-depth look at their payment schedule for the duration of the loan. To use the calculator, you must be able to provide the amount borrowed, an estimated interest rate, and loan terms.

Chase Student Loan Calculator – This online calculator from Chase Bank allows students to estimate the monthly payments of their loan. To use this calculator, you must have an estimate of your loan term, interest rate, and loan amount.

Loan Calculator and Amortization – This loan and amortization calculator estimates monthly student loan payments. It also calculates the impact extra payments will have throughout the life of the loan.

Student Loan Calculator – College Loan has a unique student loan calculator to help students decide how much they need to borrow for college. You can use it to estimate costs for tuition, room and board, food, books, supplies, and other common items.

Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Online Calculator – Borrow Services provides a way to estimate standard and graduated repayment of federal loans. It works very well for anyone who is considering loan consolidation.

Graduated Repayment Calculator – This online calculator estimates the size of your loan using a graduated repayment plan.

Citi Student Loan Calculator – This loan calculator from Citi allows students to calculate the cost of attending college after scholarships, grants, and other financial contributions.

Edwise Online Financial Planning Guide – Edwise offers an extensive financial calculator that maps out a college budget, loan repayment, post-college budget, and summary report.

Scholarship Resources

Next Student – Next Student provides a free online scholarship search engine with over $5.9 million worth of scholarships and grants. This college funding site also features tools and resources for comparing loans and calculating loan costs.

ScholarshipExperts.com – Since 2001, ScholarshipExperts.com has been finding scholarships and grants for students. This site provides a constantly updated database with accurate information on over 2.4 million scholarships.

Scholarships.com – Scholarships.com provides free scholarship and financial aid information for students. After creating an online profile, students can find national, local, and state scholarships and grants that match their personal profile.

FinAid – FinAid offers scholarships and graduate fellowships to pay for higher education. This financial aid guide also features loan information, savings tips, and military aid.

FastAid – FastAid has been helping students find scholarships, fellowships, and grants for more than 30 years. This financial aid search engine features an up-to-date database with scholarships that can’t be found anywhere else.

SallieMae – SallieMae’s scholarship database features over 3 million scholarships worth billions of dollars. Students can enter specific information into the database engine to receive a customized list of scholarships.

Fastweb – With 15 years of experience, Fastweb is a great place to find scholarships from sources all over the world. College bound students are matched with scholarships based on qualifications, educational goals, and activities.

Federal Student Aid – The U.S. Department of Education provides a financial aid and scholarship wizard that assists you with calculating financial aid and scholarship searches.

CollegeBoard – CollegeBoard offers students a free online search engine for locating scholarships, grants, internships, and loans. The database contains over 2,300 sources, totaling almost $3 billion.

Free Scholarship Searches – This site for college bound students provides links to more than 20 sites where students can find scholarships.

About the Author

Karen Schweitzer is an education writer who specializes is writing about business education. She is the Business School Guide for About.com. She also writes about online school for OnlineSchool.net.

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We hope you will join us in Beirut, Lebanon or Amman, Jordan for the free seminar on MBA admissions and GMAT test prep.  Register for this informative free seminar now!

From the results of the poll we created this list of Five Things You Should Know About the GMAT but Don’t:

1. Your Verbal and Quantitative scores matter at least as much as your overall score. Some test takers hope that an exceptionally strong performance on one section of the GMAT will overcome a weak performance on the other section. However, MBA admissions officers care about both sections’ scores, not just the overall score, so a balanced strong performance is critical. While it is by no means a mandatory minimum score, applicants can improve their chances of admissions by reaching the GMAT’s “golden ratio,” with scores in at least the 80th percentile on both the Quantitative and Verbal sections and an overall score of at least 700.
2. You’re not doomed if you miss the first few questions on the GMAT. Many people wrongly assume that the first questions matter far more than any subsequent questions in computer adaptive exams, which present questions of greater difficulty if a question is answered correctly, and questions of lower difficulty if a question is answered incorrectly. No less than the Graduate Management Admission Council, which runs the GMAT, has publicly debunked this myth. In reality, computer adaptive exams such as the GMAT are very sophisticated, and will accurately hone in on one’s true ability by the end of the test, whether or not a student accidentally misses an easy question early on.
3. You don’t need to master difficult math concepts to do well on the GMAT. In reality, the math tested on the GMAT is high school- or middle school-level arithmetic, and does not require advanced knowledge of finance or calculus. The GMAT is designed to evaluate a student’s ability to reason (such as the capacity to recognize patterns), as opposed to gauging how well test-takers understand advanced mathematical concepts.
4. Business schools do not look unfavorably upon people who take the GMAT multiple times. Admissions officers realize that a single test sitting does not necessarily reflect a candidate’s true ability. In general, they are very open to considering an applicant’s best score among multiple scores—and many applicants do in fact take it more than once. However, taking it more than three times can be a red flag to an admissions officer.
5. Retired real GMAT questions are not the only ones suitable for studying. While going “straight to the source” to get GMAT practice questions certainly makes sense, by no means are previous questions the only questions that can give an applicant an accurate feel for the real GMAT. In fact, retired questions are only published after they have been out of use for five years, during which time the test continues to evolve. GMAT experts, such as those at Veritas Prep, constantly monitor the exam and frequently create new questions to reflect these changes, preparing applicants for what they will see on test day.

Veritas Prep offers industry-leading admissions consulting services for applicants seeking admission to the most competitive business schools including MBA programs in the US, UK, and Canada.

For more information, email admin@veritasprep.com or visit www.veritasprep.com

During the Al Jamiat US College & University Tour in Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan Veritas Prep will offer a FREE MBA seminar to discuss GMAT and MBA Admissions advice.  Join one of our top instructors for an informative discussion on MBA admissions and improving your GMAT score.  Register NOW to save your spot!

Beirut, Lebanon October 27th, 2009
Movenpick Hotel & Resort – Raouche
MBA Seminar: 3pm-5pm
(Full college fair from 6pm-9pm)
Register NOW

Amman, Jordan October 29th, 2009
Sheraton Hotel and Towers
MBA Seminar: 3pm-5pm
(Full college fair from 6pm-9pm)
Register NOW

Founded in 2002 by graduates of the Yale School of Management, Veritas Prep offers live GMAT preparation instruction in more than 80 cities worldwide, as well as interactive online classes available everywhere. The creators of the Veritas Prep GMAT preparation class have completely deconstructed the GMAT and designed the most comprehensive approach to mastering the business school entrance exam.

Veritas Prep offers industry-leading admissions consulting services for applicants seeking admission to the most competitive business schools including MBA programs in the US, UK, and Canada.

For more information, email admin@veritasprep.com or visit www.veritasprep.com.

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Here are a few questions to ask yourself BEFORE you start your search:

What do I want to study?

Do I want a college or a university?

What do you intend to study?

What is an Associate’s Degree?

Starting the search for the “right” university for you!

Remember….the more time and thought that you invest in this process, the better you will feel about your choice and the more likely you will make the “right” decision.  To learn more, watch for the next article “Using your resources to help you find the Right school for you!  We will tell you about the “resources” you have and how you can use them in your search.

Jim Crawley is a Director of University Partner Relations for ELS Educational Services.  Mr. Crawley has nearly 20 years in university admissions and was responsible for starting the international recruitment efforts at Central Michigan University and Grand Valley State University, also in Michigan.  Mr. Crawley has previously traveled throughout Asia and Latin/South America recruiting students and more recently has spent considerable time visiting campuses throughout the U.S. and making presentations at conferences to discuss international student recruitment.

Let’s look at the reasons for choosing universities that you would like to apply to.  Each person has their own reasons for picking universities to apply to and eventually the more difficult decision of which one to attend, but the first reason below should be the same for everyone:

1. They offer the academic program (for Bachelors programs, this would be your “major”) that you are looking for.  This is #1 on this list, because if they do not offer your selected area of study, then the rest of these items do not matter.  Keep in mind that sometimes we name our “majors” slightly differently than you would be familiar with.  For example…You might be looking for a Bachelor’s in Economics, and some schools will offer it by this name, while other schools might call it Business Economics.   Another good example is Engineering….some schools will offer a Bachelors of Engineering, but then you will need to look at their web site to see what specific areas of Engineering they actually offer.

2. Everyone wants their university to have a “Good Reputation”, and they want it to have a “Good Ranking”.   This is both understandable and also very interesting.  Understandable because yes, it is important that you look at a college or university that offers academic quality and very good student services.  HOWEVER…in regard to “ranking”, it is very important to realize that THERE IS NO NATIONAL RANKING of universities in the U.S.  There are magazines that list and rank some of the many colleges and universities, but these are private rankings.  They are a good resource, however it is also important to realize that 1) Not all colleges and universities choose to participate in the surveys, and 2) some universities choose to be listed in the “national” listing, while others choose to be in the “regional” listing.  If you are going to use these private magazines, it is recommended that you look at various magazines that offer different types of rankings or lists and compare what criteria they use to come up with their rankings to try and see which of these factors is really important to you.

3. Location can be very important to some of you while to others it is not so important.  A few things I can recommend to you:

- The U.S. is a very large country, so please realize that it might not be possible to live in one town and go to university in another town.  It just depends on how close they are and what transportation options you have.

- The weather can change throughout the year, depending on where you live, so location might be part of your decision.  Many parts of the U.S. offer you four Seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.  In the Southern half of the U.S, the weather does not change as much, but in the northern half, the weather and temperature changes throughout the year.  On campuses all across the Northern United States, you can enjoy the Winter months from November to February.  Many international students living in the Northern U.S. are able to try things like snow skiing and ice skating for the first time.   There are fantastic schools in every one of the 50 states, so you have many choices.

4. University education in the U.S. is EXPENSIVE.  I wish I could tell you something different, but that is the truth.  This is, again, why it is very important that you make the best decision for you.   It doesn’t matter where your friends went or if you have heard of the sports teams at a certain school.  What really matter is whether they offer what you need AND that you, or your family, or your sponsor can afford to pay for it!   You need to look at the school’s TOTAL expenses for a year.  They will usually give you that amount on their website or international student application.

5. International Student Services is not something you might think of right away as being important, but I can tell you that an international student office with well-trained and professional staff members can help your experience at the school be very good, or it can be the cause of a lot of frustration.  When researching universities, look on their web site and search for the international office…see what they have to say and what programs and services they offer.  E-mail them a question or request for information and see if they reply.  It might not be immediate, but schools that are staffed appropriately and value having an international student population on campus should reply.  A few important services that you will probably be using:

International Student Orientation, Immigration Advising, International Club, and Information Sessions on qualifying for internships and Practical Training work experiences.

Learn more tips on finding a university here.

Most, but not all international undergraduate students want to end up with a bachelor’s degree.  This can be accomplished by going directly to a college or university that offers bachelor’s degrees, or you could attend a community/junior college first and then “transfer” to a university.  There are a couple of reasons why a student might choose to attend community/junior college:

1. It can be much more economical to attend a 2-year school first, as the costs are usually lower.

2. It is generally easier to get admitted to a 2-year school.  If a student does not have the academic qualifications to get into a university, they might choose to attend a community college first to finish some of their “general” classes and to establish a good grade average, and then transfer the classes to a university in order to then take the specific classes in their academic area of study

Learn more tips on finding a university here.

-  If you are still in secondary school, or if you have completed secondary school, but have not attended any additional academic coursework, then you will applying to study an Associate’s Degree, or a Bachelors degree as a first year student, or “freshman”.

-  If you are currently attending or have attended a university, but you have NOT graduated from that institution with a degree, then you would be applying to a U.S. university as a “transfer” student in order to complete a bachelor’s degree.

-  If you have finished and received a degree from a university, it is likely that you can apply for admission into a Master’s Degree program in the U.S.

Learn more tips on finding a university here.

“College” and “university” mean the same thing in the United States.   For example, there is a Boston College and a Boston University, and they are two different institutions.  Both offer Bachelor’s Degrees and both offer Master’s Degrees, and both are very competitive with their admissions standards.  The major differences are that colleges tend to be private and not all of them offer graduate degrees.  Universities are normally larger and most do offer graduate degrees.  If the school has word “state” in the title, then you also know that is very likely to be a “public” institution.

There are also community colleges or junior colleges.  These institutions offer Associate Degrees, which are two-year degrees, and the tuition is generally cheaper that a college or university, but some community colleges do not offer on-campus housing.  Community colleges are normally public institutions, while junior colleges might be public or private.

Two important things to remember about this information:

1. There is no difference in quality between attending a “public” institution, and attending a “private” institution.   They both offer a variety of degrees and they both offer necessary and required student services.  Private or public really just indicates where the majority of funding is coming from to operate the school.  Public schools do get some of their funding from the government, so they are normally able to charge a lower tuition, while private schools depend on tuition for a large part of their income so their tuition is usually higher.

2. Most students that attend a community college or junior college will transfer after year one or year two to a university to finish a bachelor’s degree.  Most careers require at least a bachelor’s degree, but there are some technical careers where an associate’s degree provides sufficient training and education.

Learn more tips on finding a university here.

The academic subject that you end up studying is called your “major” at a U.S. college or university.  It is an abbreviation for “major area of study”.   It is difficult to know what you want to study, as it is an indication of what you want to do as a career, and you may not be sure about that yet.

If you are hoping to earn a Bachelor’s Degree, one thing to remember is that in U.S. universities, you will need to take a selection of general courses as part of your first two years of study.  You will need to indicate on your application for admission as to what subject you would like to study, but sometimes these required general classes will cause you to be interested in a new area of study.  It is okay to change your area of study (major) after you have arrived at the university, but it is important to talk with the university’s international student advisor about the appropriate way to do this.

Learn more tips on finding a university here.