Feedback on Table of Content on a Guide for Malaysians to Apply for US Unis

A bunch of us are trying to write an Unofficial Guide for US Universities Applications for Malaysians, and we have come out with the following Table of Content. Would appreciate any of you giving us feedback on which aspect that we missed out, which aspect that is redundant, and also if you know of any URL/article/resources that we could refer to in writing this book, please kindly share it here.

-----
Main Content:

(1) Why US?
(2) Types of US Colleges/ Universities
(3) Factors in Determining Which Colleges/Universities to Apply
(4) Timeline (from secondary school to pre-u)
(5) Application Requirements - SAT, TOEFL, CommonApp, letters, etc etc
(6) Funding
(7) Got the offers? Congratulations! What to bring to US?
(8) College Life in US
(9) What's Next After College
(10) Appendix (statistics, etc)

(1) Why US?
a. Why is U.S. education system more flexible/better?
b. Comparison with UK/Australia/NZ maybe?

(2) Types of US Colleges/Universities
a. Introduction: mention the distinction between “university” and “college” since the terms carry different meaning in the Malaysian context
b. Ivy Leagues
c. Ivy Standard Universities
d. Liberal Arts Colleges
e. Public Universities
f. Private Universities
g. Single Sex Colleges
h. Community Colleges

(3) Factors in Determining Which Colleges/Universities to Apply
a. University Prestige/ Ranking/ THES
b. Funding (write a short one here and refer readers to Main Content Bullet Point 6)
c. Size and Type of colleges/universities
d. Major/Field of Studies (mention US is NOT the place to go for medicine/law)
e. Location
i. Northeast/West Coast/Mid-west/ etc
ii. Urban/suburb/rural
iii. How happening the place is
f. Other considerations (referrals, etc)

(4) Timeline
a. Introduction: explain US schooling system and that Form 4 & 5 = Grade 10 & 11, Pre-u = Grade 12
b. Secondary School Grade 10 and 11 Preparation (Form 4-5)
c. Post SPM and before Pre-u (what to do?)
d. High School Grade 12 Preparation (explain the various common pre-u tracks)
i. STPM
ii. A Levels
iii. IB (Malaysian IB colleges, UWC)
iv. Transfer/ Twinning
v. Special Note on Uncommon Pre-U for US: Malaysian Matriculation, ICPU, SAM

(5) Application Requirements
a. Introduction: introduce CommonApp but mention that not all colleges use CommonApp, eg. MIT, UPenn, UChicago, Columbia
b. Form filling up.
c. Resume/CV
d. SAT Reasoning Test
e. SAT Subject Test
f. TOEFL
g. Application Essays
h. Secondary School Report
i. Mid Year Report
j. Final Year Report
k. Teachers’ Evaluation
l. Interview
m. Special Talent and other stuff.

(6) Funding
a. Scholarships from Malaysia
i. JPA
• Post SPM
• Post Pre-u
ii. BNM
• Post SPM
• Post Pre-U
iii. Petronas
iv. Shell
v. MARA
vi. Khazanah
vii. Not offering for US studies: SC, Sime Darby, Gamuda, UEM (need to recheck list)
b. College/University Financial Aid
i. Explain need-blind/need-based/need-aware
ii. Components of Financial Aid Package
iii. Application for Financial Aid
• College Board International Student Financial Aid Application (include a sample perhaps?)
• International Noncustodial Parent Statement
• Business/Farm Supplement
• Parents’ Income Tax Return Statement (translated to English)
• Approximate Deadline for Financial Aid Submission
c. Others

(7) Got the offers? Congratulations! What to bring to US?
a. Thank you notes to those who help.
b. Choosing universities.
c. Mailing in deposits.
d. Sending turning down offers to other universities.
e. Submit financial affidavit and Final Year Report.
f. Get I-20 and apply for visa.
g. Apply for housing and dining.
h. Pre-enrol in courses.
i. What to bring and what not to bring.

(8) College Life in US
a. Academic - Lecture, Recitation/Tutorial, Research, etc
b. Sports - Intramural, Inter-varsity
c. ECA
d. Greek Life - Fraternities & Sororities
e. Study Abroad
f. Summer – travel, internship
g. Life Online – Facebook, blogs, foruns, etc
h. Others

(9) What’s Next after College
a. Working
i. Wall Street.
ii. Silicon Valley.
iii. US
iv. Europe or other parts of Asia
v. Back home to contribute to our nation.
b. Going to grad school
i. Masters/PhD (course-based and research-based)
ii. MBA
iii. Law school
iv. Medical school

(10) Appendix
a. University Profile (I’m not too sure how this will play out, can decide on this later)
b. Rough Statistics of Malaysians Going to Top US Colleges/Universities
c. Other Resources
i. ReCom.org
ii. TinKosong
iii. Malaysian-scholarship.net
iv. We can expand on the list later
d. How to contact us?

Thanks.

-----
Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts

Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!