College Visit - Delhi, Nov. 4-5, 2011

College Visit - Delhi, Nov. 4-5, 2011

1. How important are personal essays and teacher recommendations in the admissions process? What do you look for in a personal essay?
2. How can I improve my chances if my GPA and/or SAT scores are not perfect?
3. What services or financial aid does your school offer international students?
4. What do you personally love best out the university?

University of South Pacific, Fiji:

1. This university does not look for teacher recommendations nor does it look for personal essays.
2. If your GPA and/or SAT scores are not perfect, one would have to work towards more extracurricular and leadership roles. But for those who feel like they can’t score well on their SATs don’t have to worry because SAT scores are not required and the minimum GPA requirement is 2.5.
3. He didn’t talk much about scholarships but did state that students with GPAs greater than 2.5 are automatically enrolled for some financial aid.
4. The representative said that he loved the fact that all other students were extremely engaged in learning about the culture of the school and their surroundings. The students were keen and there were around 200 students who are learning the traditional dance of Fiji.

Susquehanna University, Pennsylvania   

1. Personal essays and teacher recommendations are extremely important in the admissions process at Susquehanna University. If one’s GPA is below than the minimum requirement then teacher recommendations, preferably two, are stronger and looked at more carefully. Personal essays should have connections to real life situations and the outcome and what you learned from the experience. The representative also stated that it should be around 250 words MAXIMUM because she is the one who has to sit there and read them.
2. This university looks at the whole picture. So in order to “make up” for bad grades or SAT scores, one would have to have good leadership skills, frequent involvement in extracurricular activities and show interest in what one does. One would also have to have a couple of good recommendation letters from his or her teachers.
3. At Susquehanna more scholarships are given as merit based scholarships rather than need based. But grants are given to students who need them and the school helps them get jobs in campus part time to pay through schooling. This applies to both international and national students. 
4. She stated that the love people have for studying different things at once and wanting to learn more and more makes her want to stay at Susquehanna more. She also stated that the interaction between students and teachers are something that she loves best about the university.

Ohio State University

1. Personal essays and teacher recommendations are not needed in the admissions process of this university.
2. GPA and SAT scores are accounted for in the admissions process but are relatively the same as many universities in North America. Students need to score around an 1100 – 1300 range focusing in on Math and Critical Reading. But if these scores are not high, Ohio State looks at teacher recommendations, involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership positions, and so on.
3. This university offers scholarship based on merit.
4. The representative stated that although Ohio State is a great university academically it is also one of the places you wouldn’t want to leave because of the amazing friends you find in both your classmates and in your professors.

University of Brunei Darussalam

1. Personal essays and teacher recommendations are not required but interviews with the admissions council are highly important.
2. SAT scores are not required and if student GPAs are not good and don’t quite meet the requirement then the interview is what they look at.
3. There are multiple scholarships which international students can apply for. These are called Graduate Research Scholarships, Brunei Government Scholarships, and ASEAN Scholarships.
4.  The representatives stated that they enjoyed the location of their university and the residences in which students lived in the most. They also enjoyed how amicable diverse groups of people could be towards each other.

University College Cork

1. Personal essays and teacher recommendations are not required for this university.
2. SAT scores are not required in the admissions process either. GPAs are not considered either.
3. International students are not legible to apply for financial aid or scholarships.
4. The representative loved the generosity of the students at his university as many are always eager to go out and do community service and help people.