The success of SL2College is a direct representation of the strength of its community and the group needs your help to continue to strive forward and help other Sri Lankans in achieving their educational goals.
Selected questions posted on the sl2college.com forum by prospective students and corresponding answers posted by members of the group. Please note that they have been edited for content to safeguard personal information.
Question 1:
I am planning to do a B.Sc. in Computer Science in the US after completing my London A Levels. I have pretty good results in my A/ Levels and O/ Levels. I am considering whether to include 1 or 2 "dream schools" in my list of colleges since the chances of getting in are pretty low. Can you provide any other general advice?
Answer 1:
I am not sure why you think your chances for getting into a "dream school" are low, if you have good results in A/Ls and O/Ls. If you want it badly enough you can achieve it - so I would definitely include the dream schools in the list. But I should also add that although going to a top-ranked school for undergrad is an excellent achievement, most top-tier (top 30-40) schools will give you an equally valuable (if not more) education and will take you far in your career. So don't be discouraged if you are not offered admission to your "dream school".
Also I am assuming you selected the schools based on their rank for computer science? Please also consider their location, living costs and read through student reviews of the schools, especially those of international students.
The other important thing to consider is financing your degree. Are you planning to pay out of pocket? Otherwise research the schools to determine how much financial aid you can get as an undergrad. Some schools have a "need-based policy" - that is, if you are good enough to get in, you might be guaranteed some financial aid (based on your family income.)
Another important aspect of your application is the essay - emphasize your A/L, O/L scores, say how good they are in comparison to other students in your class, country, worldwide, etc. Say why you want to go to that particular school really badly, but also say why you can be an asset to the school and how they can benefit from having someone like you in their class.
Teacher recommendations are important too, but this is out of your control - what you can do though is make a resume and give it to the teachers who are writing you letters, so they know what you have achieved outside the classroom. Choose your recommenders carefully, making sure they are good writers. Also make sure they know you well - better than most students.
A general note of advice: you need to have confidence in yourself in order to convince the admissions committee at your dream school that you are good enough. Your essay is a prefect template for you to tell the schools why you are better than anyone else applying there, even though you might not have the highest SAT scores.
Question 2:
Do admissions officers in the US know that the Sri Lankan A/Ls are difficult and highly competitive? I have near-perfect SAT scores but my A/L results weren't very impressive. I am not sure if I should submit my results. How do you think this will affect my admissions decision?
Answer 2:
While you might not be required to submit your A/L results, it can't hurt to submit them in most cases. Based on your A/L results you might have the option of getting exemptions on certain courses. However, I wouldn't expect admissions committees to know much about the Sri Lankan system.
In this case, it helps to explain your situation to each school. Perhaps you could submit an additional document mentioning the grading scheme in Sri Lanke. i.e. >75 = ?, etc. because the scale used in the US is different. Another suggestion is to add a small note to your transcript stating that Sri Lankan A/Ls are highly competitive and that you ranked among the XXth in your class and XXth in your district. You can also include this in your essay.
Some schools require that international students get their grades evaluated by an international agency. There are two agencies that are recognized by most universities:
1. WES: The WES evaluations compare your credentials from any country in the world to the US, whether it is a certificate, diploma or degree. The WES Report demonstrates how your education compares with US studies and shows your commitment to backing up your application with the facts. Check www.wes.org for more details.
2. ECE: This agency offers a variety of services that will assist you with everyday credential evaluation issues. Check out www.ece.org.
Schools generally request for the WES/ECE evaluations if they are required and most schools require the evaluations to be sent directly to the school by the agencies. If the school requires a WES/ECE evaluation, they would let you know what evaluation type is required (i.e. document by document evaluation/course by course evaluation, etc). You would have to request the type of evaluation, send the required supporting documents to WES/ECE and pay a fee for the service. You would need to let WES/ECE know which schools these reports should be sent to as well.
Question 3;
I am a 4th year medical student in Peradeniya University. I am interested in pursuing a postgraduate program in the USA just after completing my MBBS and prior to doing my internship in SL. I plan to come back to Sri Lanka upon completion of this program.
Please let me know if this is an option and what requirements I need to meet. Also, is the USMLE and difficult exam? Does it include all areas of medicine (Paracitalogy, microbiology, biochemistry etc)
Answer 3:
If you want to do a post graduate degree, eg. Msc in Microbiology or other pre / para clinical subjects you should do the GRE examination. Also visit the web sites of the Universities you are interested and see their requirements eg. Whether a GRE subject test needs to be taken. They may exempt you from some requirements after going through your transcript and seeing the subjects you have done and the depth. You will generally have to do the TOEFL, but this also they may exempt if you prove that you have done your medicine in English.
Send your questions to us!
Please post your queries to: www.sl2college.com
Or e-mail them to: educationtimes@wijeya.lk
If you want to work as a doctor or enter into a clinical fellowship, you will have to do the USMLE.
USMLE is a very fair examination. If you get into a routine of study, you can do it. Subject details are available in the ECFMG and USMLE web sites.
|
E-mail