College Life in America by Teacher Wayne

How can a High School Student gain admission to a college in the USA? College-bound students take one or more standard tests during their junior year in H.S. The ACT Type Skill Areas Time Limit Main Multiple- English, Math, 3 hours choice Reading, and (4 hours, includes Science instructions & breaks) Optional Essay Planning & 30 minutes Writing an Essay

The SAT Type Skill Areas Time Limit Main Multiple- Mathematics, 3 hours, 20 mins. choice Critical Reading (mostly) Writing Optional Multiple- History, Sciences,Varies choice Languages, etc. One of the Optional Tests is Chinese, with Listening Comprehension!

The TOEFL® Test Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Type Skill Areas Time Limit Main Written, Reading, Writing 4 hours, 30 mins, spoken Speaking, and plus 10 min break Listening (Internet-based) The cost is 1370 RMB !!!

Please note that standardized tests are not the only determining factors for being admitted to a university. Several other factors are considered, which we will take a look at later.

Application Filing Period for High School Seniors who want to attend the University of Illinois Admission Notification There are two admissions notification dates: mid-December and mid-February These are the dates when students find out whether they have been accepted to attend the university of their choice for the following school year.

What happens if no school will accept you? OR You could consider going to a Community College.

Most public universities in America are affiliated with a state government. However, Community Colleges are affiliated with local county 1 governments. Community Colleges are typically 2-year schools. Students can receive an Associate’s Degree, not a standard 4-year Bachelor’s Degree. 1 A county is a government unit that consists of a group of cities.

Advantages of a Community College 1. The cost of attending is quite low. Community Colleges are heavily supported by the taxes of local citizens. 2. Almost anyone can be admitted. If a student did poorly in High School, he / she can still attend. 3. The schools are very convenient. Community Colleges are close to home. Students do not live on campus, saving a lot of money by living at home. Many classes are offered in the evenings and on weekends. If a student has a job, it’s easy to arrange a class schedule around the job. 4. Transfer to a university after 2 years is possible. Do well at a Community College  get accepted by a university. Classes at the Community College count towards a Bachelor’s Degree.

Freshman Admission Requirements at the University of Illinois at Urbana Each year, over 20,000 high school seniors apply for 7,000 available seats. That means that only 35% of applicants are accepted! So it’s a good idea for a student to apply to more than one school !!!

Evaluation Factors for Admission High school coursework: strength and rigor of curriculum High School Grade Point Average (GPA) ACT or SAT tests (or TOEFL, with a score of at least 550) Application Essays (300 words or less) Essay 1 How do your personal or academic interests relate to your intellectual or professional goals? Essay 2 Choose one extracurricular activity, work experience, or community service project and explain: 1.why you initially chose it 2.why you continued with it 3.and how you benefited from it. Activities, service, and work experience

Academic Calendar Let’s take a look at the calendar for a typical school year at the University of Illinois.

Fall Semester Classes Begin Monday, August 25 Labor Day Holiday Monday, September 1 (no classes) Thanksgiving Vacation Begins Saturday, November 22 Classes Resume Monday, December 1 Classes End Wednesday, December 10 Reading Day Thursday, December 11 Final ExaminationsBegin Friday, December 12 End Friday, December 19

Spring Semester Classes Begin Tuesday, January 20 Spring Vacation Begins Saturday, March 21 Classes Resume Monday, March 30 Classes End Wednesday, May 6 Reading Day Thursday, May 7 Final ExaminationsBegin Friday, May 8 End Friday, May 15

Estimated Summary of Expenses for 2011 – 2012 ResidentsNon-residents Tuition & fees$14,414 – 19,238$28,556 – $33,380 Books & supplies$1,200$1,200 Room & board (20 meals/week)$10,080$10,080 Other expenses 1 $2,510$2,510 TOTAL COST$28,204 – 33,028$42,356 – 47,170 1 Other expenses include allowances for transportation, clothing, recreation, and other living / miscellaneous expenses.

Typical class size Class sizes vary, depending on lecture vs. discussion format, and advanced vs. introductory level. Lectures can have 200, 300, or even more students! 66.5% of Freshman-level classes at the University of Illinois have fewer than 30 students. Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 16 to 1

Now let’s take a look at how much time students spend in class each week. Class length and credit are measured in hours – although a 1-hour class lasts only 50 minutes. The minimum full load is considered to be 12 credit hours per semester. However, most students take around 15 credit hours – sometimes more than that, sometimes less. A student might take the minimum number of hours, for example, if he / she knows that one or more classes will be especially difficult, requiring as much attention as possible.

Actual Credit Class Hours Hours CS CS English Rhetoric Total 14 19

University of Illinois Campus Size 272 major buildings on 1,458 acres (6 km 2 ) About 2,000 faculty-scholars teach at Illinois.

By the way... on campus – within the boundaries of a school, hospital, or other institution “Teacher Wayne lives on campus in the International Student Apartments.” off campus – outside the boundaries of a school... “I had dinner off campus last night with my friends.” Don’t say: “I had dinner outside the school last night with my friends.”

Enrollment Statistics All values are approximate Undergraduate 31,000 Graduate 11,000 Total Enrollment42,000 Students come from all 50 states in America, and more than 125 nations around the world.

Student Enrollment Demographics How many students are enrolled at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign? MenWomen Total White13,96112,54926,510 Non-Resident Alien 3,146 2,136 5,282 Asian / Pacific Islander 2,544 2,020 4,564 Black 1,022 1,571 2,593 Hispanic 1,264 1,249 2,513 Native American Indian Race Unknown ,153 Totals22,64820,09042,738

Asian Americans at the U. of I. Illinois has one of the largest and most vibrant Asian American university communities in the Midwest. The campus has 4500 Asian American students, representing 11% of the total student population, and over 650 Asian American faculty / staff. Asian Americans have a strong presence on campus and a long history of student activism since the late 1980’s. Over the past fifteen years, the U. of I. has developed many resources to address the needs and interests of Asian Americans and those interested in Asian American issues.

Best Engineering Graduate Schools TuitionTotal Graduate Engineering Enrollment 1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts Full-time $38,940 per year Stanford University Stanford, California Full-time $41,220 per year As ranked in 2011, by U.S. News & World Report magazine

TuitionTotal Graduate Engineering Enrollment 3. University of California Berkeley, California In-state, full-time $9402 per year1759 Out-of-state, full-time $15,102 per year 4. Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia In-state, full-time $8636 per year4607 Out-of-state, full-time $26,204 per year 5. University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois In-state, full-time $14,932 per year2711 Out-of-state, full-time $28,198 per year

University of Illinois Library Second only to Harvard and Yale The largest public university collection in the world! More than 22 million items, including: 10 million volumes more than 13 million print and non-print materials over 90,000 periodicals & journals in the main library more than 40 departmental libraries and divisions

For next week, please read: Part 3 Culture Chapters 2 – 4, pages 184 to 203 (Media, Sports, Science)