international students

Should a learning-difference child have a 504? Or an IEP?
Take Maria, for example. She can't listen to her teacher unless she's surfing on the Internet at the same time. Or Li, who needs to know at the beginning of class that he's going to be asked a specific question so that he doesn't panic when he's called on.

Aristotle Circle expert and college admissions counselor Rod Bugarin gives US students advice for applying overseas.

Aristotle Circle expert and author Pam Procter discusses some global trends in college admissions that are effecting all college applicants today.

The TOEFL is an exam that tests your mastery of the English language, and it is separated into four parts: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The best score you can get is 120, but if you score 100 it means that you understand and speak English well enough to follow college level classes. This may seem very easy, but in reality, it’s not that simple because much of the listening goes very fast and involves lots of technical language, simulating a college lecture, some of it a college science lecture. Most of my friends have gotten between 100 and 112.

Two views on a commonly debated issue.

It's a Must:

Everything you submit to a college should be the best that it can be and your essay is no exception. By having your essay edited for grammar you are showing the admissions team that you care about the details and take the application very seriously. Having your essay edited for perfect grammar also prevents any potential confusion over the content of your essay.

It's a Myth:


By Karen Gilbert
Do international students have a more difficult time getting in than Americans?

The number of cases of students submitting falsified transcripts, letters of recommendation, exam scores and plagiarized essays is growing. This year in a highly publicized case Adam B. Wheeler pled guilty to forging documents to gain admission to Harvard University.

You work very hard as a high school student. It is one of the most demanding jobs you will have-balancing rigorous course work, community service, extra curricular activities and often part time employment. The last thing you want to do is RUSH the college process. By beginning the process as a sophomore in high school, you can be sure you have devoted all the time necessary to working toward your goal of the best possible college that you can attend.

During an expert panel with Unigo.com and The Wall Street Journal, we asked Rod Bugarin, former admissions counselor at Columbia University, to share some tips on applying to US schools for overseas students. See what he has to say about TOEFL exams, applications and finding the right cultural environment for you.