Preparation for Ivies, Ivy Standards and Top LACs Application

US Applications Workshop in 2010

2010-05-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

For US Applications Workshop in 2010, do check out HERE!

It would be in Klang Valley, as well as Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

Admissions for Class of 2014

2010-04-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to attendees of this workshop who has gotten into their dream universities for Class of 2014 (Alphabetical Order):

Akira - University of California, Berkeley

Akira - University of California, Los Angeles

Brian Wong - University of California, Berkeley
Chan-Leong - Carnegie Mellon University (Early Admission)

Ching Yee - University of California, Berkeley

Ching Yee - University of California, Los Angeles

Choo Lee Lee - University of Washington

Coyin - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Daniel Khaw - University of California, Los Angeles

Daniel Khaw - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Daniel Khaw - University of Pennsylvania

Daniel Khaw - University of Virginia

Daniel Oon - Colby College

Daniel Oon - Colorado College

Daniel Oon - Dartmouth College

Edward See - University of California, San Diego
Ee Xin - University of Chicago (Early Admission)

Eileen - Wellesley College

Eugene Tan - Occidental College

Eugene Tan - Colorado College

Eugene Tan - Whitman College

Hobart Lim - Carnegie Mellon University

Hobart Lim - Columbia University

Hobart Lim - Dartmouth College

Hobart Lim - University of California, Berkeley

Hobart Lim - University of Pennsylvania

Hobart Lim - Yale University
Iswari - Cornell University (Early Admission)

Jason Leong - McGill University

Jason Leong - University of California, Los Angeles
Jason Leong - University of Michigan

Jason Leong - University of Pennsylvania
Ken-Ji - Cornell University (Early Admission)

Kevin - University of Washington

Nigel Ng - Johns Hopkins University

Nigel Ng - Northwestern University

Nik Muhammad Naim bin Nik Ghazali - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Nik Zulhariz - Carnegie Mellon University (Early Admission)

Noel Wan - Carnegie Mellon University

Noel Wan - Columbia University

Noel Wan - Cornell University

Noel Wan - University of California, Berkeley

Noel Wan - University of California, Los Angeles

Noel Wan - University of Chicago

Pauline Low - University of California, Davis

Pauline Low - University of California, Irvine

Pauline Low - University of Michigan

Rahul Trada - New York University

Rahul Trada - University of California, Los Angeles

Sean Soon - University of California, San Diego

Sean Soon - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sean Soon - Wesleyan University

Shasha Fernandez - University of California, Berkeley

Simone Koo - Mount Holyoke College

Soo Nee - University of Washington

Wen Xian - Villanova University

Yik Lun - Cornell University

Yik Lun - Harvey Mudd College

Yik Lun - Stanford University

Yik Lun - University of California, Berkeley

Yik Lun - University of California, Los Angeles

Hopefully more of the attendees of this workshop would be able to get into their dream universities during Regular Admission for Class of 2014. (If you have attended the workshop and have gotten into universities, do share with us the good news!)

Article in The Star on this workshop. Click here .

Some Good Resources on US College Applications

2009-07-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

FAQ of the Training

2009-03-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

We'll attempt to share all the most frequently-asked questions here:-

1. Does this training guarantee my admission into Ivy League?
- Nope. We do not guarantee. And we don't think that anyone could. The admission into Ivy League is a very tough process. What we hope to do is to guide you, so that you are better prepared.

2. Would you write our application essays?
- Nope. We are teaching you how to fish, but you have to fish yourself.

3. How many reviews you would go through with us for the essay?
- We promise we would do 1 review with you on Day 3 of the training. This is to get you started on the right footing. To really have a good shot at Ivy League and equivalent universities, you need an essay with multiple reviews. So, we are helping you to get a headstart, but not getting you to the finishing line. During the essay review time, we hope to spend about 10-15 minutes with each student. As you would have extra time between 10am and 3pm on Day 3, do use it to prepare yourself, discuss with other students and learn together. It is an interaction time. Don't waste it.

4. Are you guys the authoritative people from admission office?
- We are not. We are just a bunch of people who have worked hard over the years, and managed to go through the process and get the offer into Ivy League, Ivy Standards or Top Liberal Arts College. There maybe 5 to 20 of us there sharing.

5. Does the training provide food or drink?
- Nope. To reduce the cost to a minimum, food or drink would be on your own. We would try to find a venue for the training, where you can easily walk out and get the food/drink within a few minutes' time.

6. Would there be mock interview?
- Nope. There won't be any mock interview for each person. We would use the interactive session on interview workshop on Day 3 of the training to pull out people for practice in front of everyone. And we would throw out a few sample interview questions for everyone to respond in front of everyone. There will also be a panel session for those interviewers of top U.S. universities in Day 2.

7. I paid RM25, and why is it that it is not guiding me till I get into my dream universities.
- This training is intended to give you a head start, and not a full blown process to do 5-20 reviews of your essays etc. It is going to be 3 days of training, where day 1 is a lot more on seminar based, day 2 on workshop based, and for day 3 would be review of your essay/cv and mock interview. For Day 3, there will be waiting time, as thre would be a lot of you. We'll spend about 10-15 minutes per person on your essay/cv review and also 10-15 minutes on mock interview. Would advise you to fully utilize the waiting time, to share and learn with other attendees.

8. Is this training going to guarantee my SAT score increase?
- Nope. SAT won't be our emphasis. We would spend about 90-120 minutes sharing you on a bunch of hot tips on SAT, and also potential resources that you can use. But you have to work hard for your SAT.

9. Is this training profit-driven?
- Nope. We don't think that there is any seminar in the country (unless it is heavily subsidized through some grants/sponsorships) that can afford to charge cheaper than this. If we are profit-driven, we would charge a lot more. If you really count, it is slightly more than RM1 per hour, since we are covering about 7 hours each day for 3 days. We intend to charge a very nominal amount, so that you would be committed to attend all 3 days. If in any case, you can't afford RM25, do let us know. We'll consider case-by-case and grant you waiver/discount.

10. How to sign up?
- Do fill up the form on the right hand side of this page. If any question, do email us at usapps2009[at]gmail[dot]com .

11. How many students would you train?
- Total seats in the auditorium is 250. So, first come first served. We will have wait list as well, once all the seats are taken.

12. I have registered. Can I be there any time as I wish?

- For those of you who have registered online, we will hold your place until 9:30am on 1st August 2009. Registration starts at 9am. If you do not show up by 9:30am, admission is based on first come first served, till the auditorium is fully filled up.

13. How do I pay?

- Payment will be collected on 1st August 2009 at 9am.

Preparation for Ivies, Ivy Standards and Top LACs Application

2009-03-24T00:56:00.001-07:00

Preparation for Ivies, Ivy Standards and Top LACs Application

Proposed Length: 3 Days

Venue: TBA

Fee: RM 25 (3 Days of Training, payable on registration at Day 1)

Contact: usapps2009[at]gmail[dot]com

Date:- 1st and 2nd August 2009 (2 Days Training)

Date:- 15th August 2009 (CV/Essay Review, Q&A)

Day 1 (1st August):-

9am - Registration

10am - Intro

11am - Common Pre-U Programs

1pm - Lunch (Eat on your own)

2pm - Liberal Arts Colleges

2:30pm - Applications (ED vs RD, SATs, TOEFL, application fee waiver, funds for sitting SATs and TOEFL)

3:30pm - Applications (Common App, School reports, Teacher's evaluations)

4:30pm - SAT workshop (SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Tests)

6pm - End

Day 2 (2nd August):-

10am - Applications (Interview) - Panel of Interviewers

11:30am - Perspectives from Admission Office (Kevin Sim, Resident Counselor, Raffles Junior College, Singapore)

1pm - Lunch (Eat on your own)

2pm - Essays/CV (Guides on how to write essays/CV)

5pm - Characters the university look for

5:30pm - Financial Aid

6pm - End

Day 3 (15th Aug):-

10am - CV/Resume/Essays Reviews

1pm - Lunch (Eat on your own)

2pm - Interviews Workshop

3pm - Q&As with Current Students/alumni

4:30pm - Current Students/Alumni mingling with participants

6pm - End

* The schedule above is tentative.

* The RM25 charge is for 3 days (Even if you attend 1 day, it is RM25. We want to encourage everyone to attend all 3 Days).

Do help us promote this workshop to your friends and family members!!

Registration is at 9am on 1st August 2009 at Lecture Theatre 2, Taylor's University College Main Campus Subang Jaya. Your reserved place is only kept until 9:30am, after which, we will open the gate for those on waiting list.

The direction is:-

Enter the main gate of Taylor's University College Main Campus in Subang Jaya (the one opposite Asia Cafe)

Take the first flight of stairs on the right hand side to 2nd Floor

Lecture Theatre 2 is the 2nd theatre on the right.

Confirmed List of Facilitators (In alphabetical order):-

Amelia Lee - Bryn Mawr ' 13
Anand Pillai - Northwestern '04

Andrew Loh - Swarthmore '10

Charis Loke - Brown '13

Chen Chow - Cornell '05

Chern Han - Princeton '11

Dominic Lucien Luk - Brandeis '10

Emily Chan - Colby '11

Evelyn - Scripps '13

Gabrielle Chong Yong Wei - Wellesley '13

Hew Mun - Sloan/Harvard '12

Hui Juin - UPenn ' 13

Jayson Poon - Berkeley '13

Jie Min - Berkeley '13

John Lee - Dartmouth '11

Katherine - JHU '13

Khye Theng - UPenn '13

Kok Yew - Duke '09

Lali - Mount Holyoke '13

Nathaniel Tan - Harvard '03

Nellie Tan - Berkeley '13

Ngai Jin Tik - Stanford '12

Philip Loh - Olin '13

Su Ann - Columbia '12

Sue Lynn - Columbia '13

Suet Li - Mount Holyoke '11

Sui Ying - Brown '13

Tara Thean Mei Feng - Princeton ' 13

Teng Hui Li - Harvard '13

Vin Nie - Stanford '13

Yihui - MIT '13

Yin Wei - Harvard '13

Guest Facilitator:-

Kevin Sim - Resident Counselor, Raffles Junior College, Singapore

Panel of Interviewers:-

Adrian Ow - Harvard

Christine Lim - UPenn

Dr. Ewe Hong Tat - MIT

So, with that a total of 21 universities are represented, with all 8 Ivy Leagues represented for the first time in Malaysia (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, UPenn, Dartmouth, Brown), Swarthmore, Brandeis, Colby, Scripps, Wellesley, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Stanford, Mount Holyoke, MIT, Bryn Mawr and Olin College.

* This list will be updated as more facilitators confirmed their availability.

* All these facilitators will be there for at least 1 day, and most of them will be there for either 2 or 3 days.