STEP 3: PREPARE APPLICATION FORM
3.1. Obtain and Complete Application Form
After selecting schools that you want to apply, while preparing for your test, you should start working on your application form. Even if you have selected one school where you are sure you want to study, you should still apply to other schools. You are competing with international students from all over the world for a limited number of spaces in each entering class. It is possible that your "first choice" school may not accept you. Generally it is wise to apply to several schools.
Since application preparation process normally takes rather long, you should request application form as soon as you decide to apply to any school.
After you have selected those schools where you want to study, write to them for more information and an application form. The addresses of schools are listed in several university search engines. Most of schools will send you Application form or Preliminary Application Form after your E-request (E-mail or Web-based request). If you are applying to graduate (postgraduate) school, contact either the Admissions Office of the graduate school or the chairperson of the department in which you intend to study, such as the Physics or History Department.
Preliminary Applications
Some colleges require international students to complete a preliminary application. If this application is required, it will be included in the materials they send you. This is an attempt to find out whether your goals, abilities and general background are compatible with that of the college. The application will request basic information about you and may also ask for a brief statement of your goals. Your statement should indicate the reasons why you feel the school would be a good place for you and what contributions you can make to life on campus.
If the admission officer feels that your goals, abilities and background are compatible with those of the college, you will be sent the final application to complete. On the other hand, if the admission officer feels that you may not be an appropriate candidate, you will be notified of this decision, and you can concentrate your efforts on the other schools you have selected. You can expedite this process by returning the preliminary application as soon as possible.
The Admissions Office or school department will send you information about the school's programs. This will probably include an application form. (You might be able to obtain a specific school's application form at your local educational advising center.) The application form usually asks for:
- Personal application form,
- Certified transcripts,
- Essay / Statement of purpose,
- Letters of recommendation,
- Proof of Financial Ability,
- Admissions test report(s), and
- Application fee.
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b.Tips for a Good Application Form
Don't Miss These Basic Steps! Some of these tips may be obvious, but they are worth reiterating, and remembering.
- Follow Direction! Be sure to provide everything that is required, down to very final bit of information. But beware: don't go overboard and supply things that they don't ask for.
- Start by making a couple of photocopies of all the forms that you receive if you have not got used to filling application forms. Use the copies as working drafts as you develop your application packet. That way your final copy can be perfect, or as close to perfect as you can make it.
- When you are finished, go back and make sure that your entries are neat and accurate. Proofread the entire application form carefully. When you're done, go out and find someone with good English skill - your English teacher, a native speaker - to proofread it again. And don't trust your spellcheck! Lots of words that are wrong won't show up on your spellcheck (way/weigh; their/they're/there, etc.).
- Watch all deadlines! Impose a deadline for yourself that is at least two months prior to the stated deadline since you still need time to proofread, and mail your application form. Even though other people are supplying parts of your application (transcripts, letters of recommendation), you are responsible for making sure that all parts of the application arrive on time. So make sure everyone who is contributing to application has ample lead-time.
- If worse come to worse, you've done everything you are supposed to do, and you still can't get your application on time, send your application form with most important parts first. The sooner the college receives your application and all the required supporting documents, the sooner they will be reviewed and evaluated. An application submitted early can only help a candidate's chance of being offered admission and will give you extra time to supply additional information if it is requested.
Now, let's work on each part of your application form.
Apart from your name, address and citizenship, the Admission Officer will want to know something about your background, your character, your goals and academic ambitions. Their Applications for Admission forms are designed to gain this information from you. After you have read the literature in guides or in catalogues sent to you by the institution, you will understand in some way, their philosophy on life and education and what kind of students they are looking for. While obviously you should never give any incorrect or false information, you will now have a good idea of what aspects of yourself you should emphasize in your application.
Present yourself in a clearly-written (typewritten is best) manner, stating your background, awards, achievements, interests (academic as well as general), sports trophies, hobbies, and life objectives.
If you have any academic achievement and/or honor, a certified copy of the certificate will be a very good support for your application form. If the original certificate is not in English, a translated version should be included.
Common Problems and Solutions
- If you have more than one department in the same school you want to apply for. Although you can obtain more than one application form from a school, you will have to send all of them to the same Admission Office. Since for each student, U.S. schools only accept one application form for one department. If you are an undergraduate student, you will be automatically eligible for admission to another department in case the department you apply for does not grant you admission. If you are a graduate student, don't do this. The reason is as a part of your application form, your Statement of purpose should express your interest in that specific field. More than one application form will bring you trouble, then. Choose the department that you like most and apply for it.
- If you have to choose a degree to apply for. As a graduate student, your final target will be asked (Master's or Ph.D.'s degree). Yet you have not decided whether to stay for a Ph.D. in that school or not, state that your target is Ph.D. This will help increasing your chance for professors that interest in you normally want to have a student to stay with them for a long time. If during your Master's degree you do not want to obtain Ph.D. in that school, you can leave freely provided that you inform your advisor about this.
- If you hesitate to provide information about your employment status now or before. This does not affect your application form very much. The more experience you have, especially in the industries related to the field you are applying for, the more attractive your application form. You can skip ones that may not help you a lot. Sometimes a number of hours you work for each employer is required. In the U.S., 40 hours a week is a full-time job and 20 is a part-time job.
Notes
It is important to complete all the parts of the Application for Admission form. If you leave out certain answers, your application may be set aside or not considered at all. Most applications will ask you to enter your "social security number". Since you do not have a nine digit social security number assigned to you by the U.S. or Canadian government, just write "none" in the blank space after this question.
U.S. colleges and universities usually base their admissions decisions on a student's academic record. The Admissions Office will look at your marks during the last four years of secondary school (High school) and on the national secondary school examinations in your country. If you are applying to graduate school, the Admissions Office or department will look at your marks while at college or university.
The North American term "transcript" refers to the official record of courses and marks from your school. Many schools will require your secondary school records or diploma even if you have completed post secondary study. Also, many schools will require course descriptions, in English, for your post secondary courses.
Common Problems and Solutions
- If you have difficulty in translating your transcript, which is grade and credit conversion. Since the education system in Vietnam is very different from one in North America, no conversion is perfect.
- Due to difference in time spent in and out class between American students and Vietnamese students, the best way is not to do any conversion. Furthermore, North American schools use scaleable way of grading, i.e. the best student in the class always receive an A, and so on. So if you proportionally convert your score to 4.0 scale, you lose a lot.
Instead, our suggestion is you just translate subject names and keep the same grades and an explanation from a well known institution such as Vietnam Ministry of Education or US Committee for Scientific Cooperation with Vietnam, etc. Unfortunately, until now no institution formally accept to do that for all Vietnamese students.
- You only have transcripts in Vietnamese. A very few schools will accept transcripts, in languages other than English. Most schools will not, and will require school records in the English language.
- In the best case, you can have your school stamped on the translated transcripts. As an alternative, you can use an official translated version, original copy and a letter explaining the situation. If you have only one copy of your transcript(s), state in your letter to Admission Office that you will present the original if you are accepted.
- If you haven't got your transcript sent directly from your previous school or university. Most North American colleges and universities will accept post-secondary school transcripts only when they are sent directly from university-to-university without passing through student hands. Other schools will accept student copies of transcripts, or copies that have been certified by a school or notary public.
- Up to now, Vietnamese schools and universities only issue transcript to students but not to any other school. In that case you should put the translated version of your transcript in a sealed envelope and ask for a stamp on it. If the school does not want to do that, write a letter to explain the situation.
If you are applying for an undergraduate program, you need to write a short essay telling why you want to attend this school, what course of study you want to pursue, what are your career goals and research plans.
Though there are a lot of tips and essay samples available, we only choose to introduce some that we think may most apply to your essay. For more information, you can refer to some good sources, such as College Application Online, myEssay.com, SupperCollege, etc.
General Guidelines
Here are a few more guidelines you should follow when you write your application essay:
- Start with yourself. Look inward before you look out.
- There are no right answers to application essay questions. What you want to provide are answers that support your application and convey a sense of you to the admission office.
- Avoid bland “homogenized” responses.
- Read the questions carefully. Directions to the answers are often in the questions.
- Use wit and humor, but don't try for a stand-up comedy routine unless you're applying to a clown college.
- When you're having trouble expressing an idea, say it as simply as possible. Use short sentences and simple words. Do not rely on a thesaurus.
Other tips
- Be Yourself. It is important to show the admissions officers the real you. You want to show why you think or act the way you do, what drives you, or what has moved you. As we said before, choose only the topics that are truly meaningful to you. Speak in your own voice. If you felt secretly happy that your evil opponent lost the quiz bowl, say so. By explaining how you really felt and not how you think the admissions committee would like for you to have felt, you will not only be truthful but will also help to insure that your essay is original.
- How you write is just as important as what you write. You should constantly ask yourself if you would be interested in your essay if you were the reader. Imagine yourself as the admissions officer as you read the first few paragraphs and ask yourself what makes you want to finish it? Do not just rely on your opinion. Seek the opinions of others. If your essay does not captivate, does not impel the reader to finish, you will need to rework it.
- Taking risks is a good idea but let common sense (and a few editors, readers, and friends) be your guide. Admissions personnel may complain about too many “safe” essays, but risk essays can backfire. Vulgarity is never a good idea and eccentricity can be dangerous.
- In general, watch out for the national and international issue questions; it’s very hard to be well informed. The rest of your application will support your choice. The problem is the insincere and therefore vague essay. Don’t try to write “what they want to hear.” Write about your real concerns; it’s more revealing and a lot easier. A general and predictable piece of noble prose is a wasted effort if it lacks substance.
- The creative element is a problem for many students. They forget everything they know about writing and stray off the path by neglecting substance or sense. We are not all creative souls. The eccentric essay is a real challenge and a risk. Don’t rush to that option too quickly.
DOs and DON'Ts
- DO convey a positive message overall. Cynicism will not score points with the admission committee.
- DO strive for depth, not breadth. Focus on one event or idea rather than trying to cover an entire subject. Think personal and anecdotal.
- DO reject your first idea or angle. It's probably been used a million times.
- DO use the active voice instead of the passive voice.
- DON'T write anything that might embarrass the reader or make him or her feel uncomfortable. The reader is not your therapist, not your confessor, and not your close friend.
- DON'T rehash what the reader already knows about you. Don't reiterate accomplishments or activities that are already mentioned elsewhere in your application.
- DON'T try to write an important or scholarly essay. A well-researched essay that shows off your knowledge of a particular academic subject tells the reader nothing about you. The reader will only suspect that your essay is actually a recycled term paper.
- DON'T start too many sentences with the word "I."
The graduate school personal statement is your chance to demonstrate your unique qualifications for and commitment to graduate study by discussing those experiences, people, and events that influenced your decision to pursue your field of interest...
That's a lot to accomplish--especially in the typical two pages allowed for your personal statement. You can find the key to success by focusing on a few illustrative incidents as opposed to giving a superficial overview.
Remember: Detail, specificity, and concrete examples will make your essay distinctive and interesting. Generalities and platitudes that could apply to every other graduate school applicant will bore. If you use them, you'll just blur into one of the crowd.
Options for Organizing a Statement of Purpose
Judge by the clues on the application form and by the nature of the profession or discipline what kind of logical structure you could use to tie your points together into a coherent whole. You may see indications you are expected to tell stories, or be self-analytical, or to enter into discussions in the discipline. Here are some standard patterns for prose exposition:
- Narrative: This has the virtue of being linear, and thus easy to organize. It progresses from a beginning to an end, and you can divide up the middle into manageable sections. But beware of overworked openings like "I have always wanted to be a dentist." Make sure, too, that you balance interpretive points with specific facts.
- Analytic: To answer "why?" questions you may have to use a structure that gives an overall answer and then discusses various aspects. This will sound more like an essay, so break into memorable stories at times and use lots of specific details.
- Technical: If you need to show your readers how much you can contribute to their field, you may find yourself writing a mini-report explaining your involvement in a specific issue your research job or thesis project, your research student program. Check it for clear factual references, and include a statement of why this topic represents you.
Some of the Qualities You Need
- Be focused. Take your cue first from the prompt given in the application form. Is the main question why you want to be an electrical engineer, or is it why you will make a good one? If the prompt is very general or the questions scattered, decide what point you want to make overall: that you are a proven achiever, or that you can deal with challenges, or that you have something special to contribute to the profession....
- Be coherent. Being "together" is a quality of writing as well as of character. A clearly organized letter can create a picture of a clear-minded and sensible person. You might want to write from an outline or a diagram of main points. At least check the topic sentences of each paragraph in your finished piece to see if they make a logical sequence.
- Be interpretive. You need to make an impression concisely, so don't use your letter just to repeat the facts set out in other parts of the application. Provide explicit answers for the question that arises in the mind of any reader looking at a hundred or more similar documents - "So what?" Use nouns and adjectives that name qualities (outgoing, curiosity, confident) and verbs that show action (coordinated, investigated, tried). Make an effort to find the exact right ones to suit the evidence you are offering.
- Be specific. There's no point making claims unless you can back them up. Refer to the fact lists in other parts of your application ("as my academic record shows"), but be sure to offer enough examples in your letter so that it can stand on its own. Say that they are just instances, not your whole proof ("An incident from last summer is an example...."). The concrete language you use for these specific references will also balance the generalizing words of your interpretive points.
- Be personal. Your statement of purpose substitutes for an interview. In effect, the readers have asked you to tell stories, mention details, expand on facts. So mention things you might not have put into the rest of the application - your ethnic background or political interests, even. Don't be afraid to mention problems or difficulties; stress how you overcame them. Use "I" rather than phrases like "this writer" or "my experience" or "was experienced by me." A stylistic tip: to avoid monotony, start some sentences with a subordinate clause such as "While I scrubbed floors" or "Because of my difficulties" - then go on to I did or I learned.
Tips for Better Writing
- Express yourself in positive language. Say what is, not what is not.
- Use transitions between paragraphs. Transitions tie one paragraph to the next. A transition can be a word, like later, furthermore, additionally, or moreover; a phrase like "After this incident"...; or an entire sentence. If you are writing about Topic A and now want to discuss Topic B, you can begin the new paragraph with a transition such as "Like (or unlike) Topic A, Topic B..."
- Vary your sentence structure. It's boring to see subject, verb, object all the time. Mix simple, complex, and compound sentences.
- Understand the words you write. You write to communicate, not to impress the admissions staff with your vocabulary. When you choose a word that means something other than what you intend, you neither communicate nor impress. You do convey the wrong message or convince the admissions officer that you are inarticulate.
- Look up synonyms in a thesaurus when you use the same word repeatedly. As long as you understand the words, using one will make your writing more interesting.
- Be succinct. The first example takes many more words to give the same information. The admissions officers are swamped; they do not want to spend more time than necessary reading your essay. Say what you have to say in as few words as possible.
- Make every word count. Do not repeat yourself. Each sentence and every word should state something new.
- Avoid qualifiers such as rather, quite, somewhat, probably, possibly, etc. You might improve your writing somewhat if you sometimes try to follow this suggestion. The example contains nonsense. Deleting unnecessary qualifiers will strengthen your writing 1000%. Equivocating reveals a lack of confidence. If you do not believe what you write, why should the admissions officer?
- Use the active voice. They both communicate the same information. The active voice, however, is more concise; it specifies who is performing the action and what is the object. The passive voice is wordier and frequently less clear.
As a part of your application to graduate school, you have to submit two or three letters of recommendation. Together with statement of purpose and your test scores, letters of recommendation play a very important role in decision on you admission. Good letters of recommendation will help you a lot although you may have personal recommendation.
Most of the application process is already your responsibility. Don't think that letters of recommendation are out of your hand: you are not writing the letters. Actually, letters of recommendation are very much your responsibility. You are who chooses recommenders, arranges translation sometimes, and makes sure that all the letters be finished in time.
Now we will look at some major questions you may have to fulfill the task.
When should I start?
The whole task may take you very long, depends on many things you have nearly no control over. Thus, do not wait until the last moment to ask. It helps to plan ahead. Here are possible steps that you may have to take until you have complete letters to put into your application package:
- Choose and approach recommenders
- Make appointment, bring documents to recommenders
- Arrange for translation (in most case) and proofreading of letters
- Bring the final version to recommenders for approval, signature. Ask to make a computer version if necessary.
Who should I choose to be my recommenders?
The usual sources of recommendations are faculty members or employers. It is important to
get letters of recommendation from people who know you well, and can talk about you as an individual. Recommendations from professors are essential for Ph.D. and other academically oriented programs. Professional schools often value nonacademic letters from professionals in the field as much as letters from faculty.The faculty recommendations must come from persons who know your abilities as a student, and can evaluate your potential to succeed in an academically demanding environment. Employers can be an excellent source as well, provided that they have supervised your work.
Try to seek recommendations from people who can describe your work habits, integrity, maturity and leadership skills. Graduate and professional schools also value communication, research, and analytical abilities.
Avoid submitting recommendations from mere acquaintances, friends of the family or public figures whom you have met. The same principle holds true for letters from political or business leaders with whom you have not worked directly. Often such recommendations are form letters, which are not likely to help your candidacy.
Notes: It is important to get at least one recommendation from a major professor in your field.
How do I ask for a recommendation?
When considering how to ask for a recommendation, remember that may be the first formal request your recommender has ever had. Make an appointment to see him/her and take with you a brief description of your plans. The more detailed your document, the easier your recommender will be in writing letter for you. This information should include:
- Your full name as it appears on your application and all the contact information so that he/she can contact you when the draft has been done. This is also a good reminder about your request.
- 2 copies of any form the recommender is to fill out. Always provide 2 copies, as your recommender may want a working copy to fill out and then transfer to the clean copy. Fill all the information in applicant's part before make the copies. Don't bring the final to your recommender since you still need proofread afterwards even though he/she is a good English writer.
- Notes: Although letters of recommendation are generally confidential, you can not do it unless you can 100% believe in the recommender. Anyway, don't try to prepare the letter yourself and bring to your recommender. You will have a lot of trouble if this is unveiled. It's not worth to do. Instead, try to find good recommenders.
- The full title and description of the program for which you are applying (you may wish to provide a copy of program's description and/or some information about the university).
- A copy of your personal application and statement of purpose.
- Your transcripts, of course in Vietnamese.
- Correct deadline information and the day you want it to be completed.
Try to get what you want at the meeting, don't delay anymore. If the recommender doesn't know English or can hardly write in English, ask them to write in Vietnamese and propose to translate into English. Plan the day you bring the proofread version back for signature or to write into the formal letter of recommendation.
How about translation?
Now when you have letters in Vietnamese, you can have a professional translation organization to translate them into English. As an alternative, you can ask your acquaintances, who have good English skills, to do it for you.
In the first case, you will have certified copies bearing the organization's stamp. You can send the original and translated version to the university. However, this may not the best solution. In the latter, you should choose different persons to translate different letters. The same style in all the letters of recommendation will be a disadvantage for your application process.
In both situations, you should bring the translated version that have been undergone carefully proofreading to your recommenders and ask them to write into formal application form. Although it may sound complicated, on the other hand, you will have perfect or as good as you can letters of recommendation.A common mistake: Some students have letters of recommendation printed on separate sheet of paper with the same format and similar writing style. This may fail you at the first glance at your application form.
Notice that most of schools require recommender to sign across the seal, don't forget to ask your recommenders to do that.
Can I send my recommendations separately?
Even though you can send your letters of recommendation separately, you should send them with your application. If you are behind you schedule, send application package first then gather all the letters of recommendation and send it later. Make sure the university receives you package by sending them an email and ask for confirmation. Anyhow, don't send the too late since without your letters of recommendation, your application form will not be considered.
U.S. law requires schools to review evidence of your financial ability to live and study in the U. S. prior to issuing the Form I-20 or Form IAP-66 you will need to obtain a student visa and enter the U. S. to study. If you do not supply adequate documentation of financial ability, you may be denied the I-20 or IAP-66 even after meeting academic requirements and being granted admission.
However, U. S. law also prohibits the issuance of the forms to students who have not been accepted for study, so your first priority is always to meet academic requirements and to send the required transcripts and diplomas.
You will be required to prove financial ability either three or four times. Private schools and many public schools will require you to prove that you can afford the school's tuition as a standard for granting admission. At the same time, or beginning shortly after you have been admitted for study, you must meet a higher standard for the school officer who is authorized to sign the I-20 or IAP-66. At that time, you must prove not only that you have money for tuition, but also that you can afford living space, food, clothing, travel expenses, health insurance, and personal necessities. Even when the school official accepts your documentation and issues the form, your proof of financial ability must be approved by the consular officer to whom you apply for a visa and, again at the port of entry, by the Immigration and Naturalization Service officer who decides whether to admit you to the U.S.
School officers use different standards for proof of financial ability. Some are very strict, because they are concerned about suffering you might undergo if you do not have enough money for food, books, or medical care. Usually, you will be required to submit affidavits (sworn statements) from sponsors stating that they will provide you with money and/or a place to live with a family member in the U. S. Sponsors will be required to show that they can afford to give the amount of money promised by providing proof of income (statements from employers or income tax returns), banks statements, or both. Bank statements showing your own money can be accepted, but only if you show that it is your own money and that it was not given to you by a relative who is your actual sponsor. Standards of proof of financial ability, by law, are stricter for your first year of study than for the remainder of your program. You must show the availability of actual cash from bank savings or sponsor income for the first year. Non-cash assets such as real estate, bonds, and stocks can be accepted as proof that you have money to support you and pay school expenses after the first year.
A few schools require you to make a cash deposit in a U. S. account to support yourself during the first year before a Form I-20 or IAP-66 will be issued. Many require that your first semester's or first year's tuition be paid in advance and a few will require a cash deposit with the school toward your living expenses.
Always read school instructions about proving financial ability carefully and follow them as closely as possible. Always keep exact copies of financial documents you send to the school, because you must show precisely the same documents to the consular officer and the immigration inspector. Some schools will return your original documents attached to your I-20 or AP-66, but many will not.
U.S. universities and colleges generally only accept formal report sent directly from testing service in a sealed envelope. To request score report, you can have make your request online, mail the request form, call to request. Here are links that you can use to have more information and request online:
However, you may send a copy of your Score Report and ask to present original if you are accepted.
Application fee. You will pay the school a fee, probably between US $30 and $50, payable by check in U.S. dollars. The money pays for processing your application, and it will not be refunded if you do not attend the school. Be sure to send your application to the college or university well before the deadline.
This is a fee, payable in U.S. dollars to cover the cost of processing your application. In most cases this fee is not refundable, but some institutions will return part or all of the fee if the student withdraws his or her application within a certain designated period of time.
If you want to have fee waiver, you need to send your application form. Sometimes, schools may accept application forms without application fee after the deadline but it's not worth to risk.
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3.2. Send and Follow-up Application Form
a. Before Sending Application Form
To keep a record of your application, make a copy of all documents you send. Moreover, a careful note containing name of school, list of documents you sent, sending date, deadline and some notes. This will be a good reference for you, especially when you send application forms to many universities/colleges. You can also use this note for following up your application form.
Once again, check all the documents and fill out the check list and seal the envelope.
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b. Sending Your Application Form
To choose the right time to apply, you should understand the time frame of U.S. schools. Most the colleges operate on three main types of calendars that divide the year into terms: the semester, trimester, and quarter systems. The academic year is approximately nine months long no matter how it is divided. The semester system divides that nine months in half, resulting in fall and spring semesters. It is used by 69 percent of U.S. colleges. Schools that use the trimester and quarter systems divide the same nine months into three 3-month terms. The summer term is the fourth quarter in the quarter system, and enrollment in classes is optional. For most institutions the academic year runs from late August or September to May or June.
Notes: For most U.S. schools, deadline for application form with financial aids is January. Moreover, during Summer semester(s), only selective and basic classes are offered. Thus, the best time to send application form is within October. Refer to your application package for more information about application deadline of the university/college.
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At receiving your application form, the admission office will send the postcard informing you of the receipt. You will also be noticed about additional support documents that you need to submit. Try to complete your application as soon as you can.
You can increase your chance by choosing one professor in the department you are applying for that has area of expertise close to what you like and contact him/her. Introduce yourself and express your will to work with him/her. Provide more information at his request. Email addresses and faculty member introductions can be found in the department brochure or department's Web page.
In U.S. laws, you can authorize a person or an organization on your behalf to deal with the university/college in your admission process. To do that you need to fill in an authorization form or specify on personal application form.
For the person/organization to help you effectively, provide them all the information they need, i.e. most parts of your application form. Try to send information as soon as you can and keep informing any problem or difficulties that you have.
Now if you have baited the hook, wait to reel it in. you may catch what you want at the first time but don't stop, if you don't fish, you'll never catch anything.
Many advisors suggest prospective students to prepare for tests at least one to two years before you plan to start your program and continue it until you receive accept letter from the school(s) you decide to study. The U.S. academic year begins around the end of August and ends in May. Application deadlines may fall as early as the end of November at some schools. Although midyear admission (to begin classes in January or February) may also be possible, not all departments and/or all levels of study will accept it. Moreover, almost all the universities and colleges finish their financial aid decisions for a school year at the beginning of the year (i.e. from December to January). Also, it takes time to register and wait to take the tests, especially in Vietnam now