Dear Readers of the KAEF Blog,

We have noticed an interesting phenomenon here at the KAEF blog.  Although we can see from our website’s analytical tools that a large number of people are reading this blog, very few people are commenting on it.  I thought I’d take a very brief moment to encourage you all to comment, for a few reasons:

• A blog differs from other websites because it seeks to create a community of readers, who can share thoughts and ideas  with one another and with the writers of the blog.  We want to hear your ideas and input!
• If you’d like us to write about a specific topic or answer a specific question, you can tell us in the comments section of the blog.  We will always try to respond to your request
• Do you have a question about the information we’ve provided?  Or about anything else, for that matter?  The comments section is the place to ask!

One note about comments:  our comments are moderated in order to prevent SPAM, meaning that they will take a little bit of time to appear on the site.  When you comment, we’ll approve your comment as quickly as possible.  But it won’t appear immediately (usually it will appear after a few hours – maximum after one day!)

So please, readers, share your thoughts, ideas and questions with us!  Tell us how to make the blog better – and believe me, we’ll follow your advice!

Thanks,

The KAEF Blog team

Chances are that all of us will have to go through an interview process someday. KAEF semifinalists are required to have an interview; interviews are a regular part of university admissions in the U.S.; interviews are a common screening process employers use to recruit the best possible employee.

And regardless of how advanced our interviewing skills are, there’s always room for improvement. No one interviews perfectly. For that reason, I thought I’d include two links to good summation of interviewing tips. The first deals with what not to do in an interview. The first “mistake” this article lists is, in my opinion, the most frequent:

Not being able to answer the question “What do you know about this company?” might just end your quest for employment, at least with this employer. Background information including company history, locations, divisions, and a mission statement are available in an “About Us” section on most company web sites.

The same goes for universities. You need to know why you are applying to a certain program. If you can’t answer that question, the rest of the interview won’t matter.

The second link is to a web page focused on how to interview. Everything listed here is common sense, but it’s worth reading anyway, just to keep these simple tips at the front of your mind. An example of something we all know about but often fail to pay much attention to: punctuality.

Being late does not impress interviewers, and creates the impression that you would arrive late to work. So try to get to the interview on time, or even a few minutes early. This will give you a chance to do a last minute check on your appearance in the restroom, and to fill out any paperwork.

Both of these sites – and many others on the internet – tend to focus on job interviews, but for those of you interviewing for entrance into an academic program or institution (such as KAEF), the advice still applies.

Finally, something on the lighter side: interviews can be intimidating. But no matter how bad they get, you can be glad you’ll never have to undergo an interview like this:

Congratulations to all those who successfully completed their applications before the deadline last Friday.

There were several hundred potential applicants who started an application but did not submit a final version (as, indeed, there have been every year).  We at the KAEF team would very much like to hear from these almost-applicants.  What kept you from submitting a final application?  Is there some way we could have made the process easier?  Do you have any suggestions for next year?

On that note, let me just say – earlier than I have ever said it before – that there are now approximately 365 days until the next application deadline . . . and it’s never too early to start!

In America, education policy is a contact sport, not unlike a rugby scrum. Opposing teams are represented by think tanks and policy experts that have more ways, and more reports and studies, to tell us how to reform education from kindergarten through college. Here to serve as both coach and referee is my favorite education blog, “Eduwonk,” at http://www.eduwonk.com/, hosted by Education Sector.

This site gives wonks (experts in the field of public policy and government) a good name, with thoughtful articles, commentary, and the most comprehensive listing of education publications and other blogs on the Internet. No matter what you’ve chosen for your U.S. studies, you’ll find that education policy permeates every field. Eduwonk is written by Andrew (Andy) Rotherham, writer and referee of this independent research and analysis organization. Readers may post comments, and you can also join Eduwonk’s online community at the Eduwonk Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eduwonkcom/14597313691.

Last week we shared the news that many people who have started an application have yet to finish.  Well, we’re nearing the end, and as Yogi Berra, a famous retired New York Yankees baseball player, may have said: you’re not finished until you’re done.  The good news is that there’s still time!

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” ~Abraham Lincoln, 16^th President of the United States (1861-1865)

“In delay there lies no plenty.” ~William Shakespeare, famous 16^th and 17^th century British poet and playwright

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” ~William James, late 19^th century American psychologist and philosopher

“Procrastination is the thief of time: / Year after year it steals, till all are fled, / And to the mercies of a moment leaves / The vast concerns of an eternal scene” ~Edward Young, 18^th century English literary critic, poet and dramatist

“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” ~ Don Marquis, early 20^th century American humorist, journalist and author

“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” ~ Mark Twain, 19^th century American humorist, satirist and writer

*It should be noted that Don Marquis and Mark Twain, were they with us today, would probably not have turned their applications in on time.

Graduate programs across the U.S. require prospective students to submit either an official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score. Business schools most often use the GMAT during the application process to determine the acceptability of applicants. As a result, all those applicants that are selected as a tier-two semi-finalist will be required to take either the GRE or GMAT depending on your field of study. 

Please note that the results of your standardized tests will play a large role in the selection process of the KAEF program and for graduate schools in general. However, it is not the only element that will net you an acceptance to the graduate school of your dreams. An applicant to a U.S. graduate school will be thoroughly vetted through several proceses including an interview, evaluation of past academic history, and a deomonstrated amount of professional work experience (to name a few).

Exceptional standardized test scores can help you as an applicant by opening up new educational opportunities, especially for students with weak applications because of low GPAs, for example. 

They also provide a quantifiable method for the comparison of students from a variety of universities and colleges with differing grading standards.

To assist you with your preparation for the TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT (in the event of your selection as a semi-finalist), we have put together some additional resources:

GRE

www.gre.org
Free, official test preparation materials for the computer- and paper-based GRE® tests are available to anyone who registers for the GRE tests worldwide or who visits this Web site. Other helpful test preparation materials are available for a modest fee.

www.testprepreview.com/gre_practice.htm
It’s an appropriate site to gain some insight of GRE, as well as dozens of other tests online for free. It doesn’t require any registration, and the results will be viewed just after completing test.  There is also opportunity to download or order for adequate price “GRE Subject test tips and tricks”, specially selected to give you the most points for the least time spent studying.

www.syvum.com/gre/
This site gives opportunity to undertake GRE tests online without registration. The main distinguishing trait is that tests are given in different formats: from quizzes and games to ordinary tests, that helps to learn information easier.

www.number2.com
Everything you need is to customize your account for free, and you will get immediate access to a customized course that includes tutorials, practice sessions that dynamically adapt to each student’s ability. You can also sign up for regular e-mails, which will keep you on track, with sample questions, progress reports, vocabulary words, and suggestions of what to do next.

GMAT

MBA com

On this webpage one can download the complete list of essay topics that will be used during administration of the Analytical Writing Assessment section of the Graduate Management Admission TestR (GMAT).  The argument topics come first, and the issue topics begin on page 27.

GMAT Official Site 

• Free on-line questions
• They also have a “Question of the Day” section.
• Offer the complete list of essay topics that will be used during administration of the Analytical Writing Assessment section of the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®) between November 2004 and December 2005.

Peterson’s 

• Offers a free downloadable program that includes a full-length practice test. 
• Sample questions section
• Tips and strategies

Kaplan 

This is one of the best websites for the GMAT preparation. In addition to having a number of GMAT articles on-line, they also have sample questions, free on-line test and a GMAT discussion board.

Admissionconsultants – http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/gmat/test.asp

• Info on GMAT structure and test taking tips and strategy
• Sample questions (very good examples)

Ivyleague – www.ivyleagueadmission.com/gmatindex.html

• Sample questions on all sections

Princeton Review 

• Free GMAT Online Course Demo, which includes:
• A full-length computer-adaptive practice test
• An interactive lesson introducing you to the GMAT

GMATbuster 

• Sample questions on different sections

Crack-GMAT 

The site offers a free full-length downloadable GMAT-CAT test. This test lets you compare your scores with those of other test-takers around the world. Offers excellent study guides for various sections of the GMAT.

Syvum 

Analysis of Issue Topics: With Reasons, Examples, Points & Essays

800Score 

Offers free math section

GMATtutor – http://www.gmattutor.com 

• Tips and tricks
• Math basics
• Information on best preparation books and offer a discount to purchase them throughout the tutor web site. 
• List of idioms

Testpreview – http://www.testprepreview.com/gmat_practice.htm

Free preparation tests

Additionally, all KAEF tier-one semi-finalists will be required to take the TOEFL exam.

TOEFL

• www.ets.org/ell/testpreparation/toefl/
• esl.about.com/cs/toefl/a/a_toefl.htm
• www.learn4good.com/languages/spec_english_toefl.htm
• www.gettoefl.com/practice.htm

So, get out there and start practicing and preparing!

In researching universities in the United States, you’re likely to come across information about how the institution is “ranked” in comparison with other, similar institutions.  And if you’re like most people, where a school is ranked will probably impact your desire to go there.  This is natural.  Everyone wants to get the best education possible, and so when we read that University X is ranked #1, and University Y is ranked #100, we quite understandably would prefer to attend university X.

This assumes, however, that the ranking system itself is an accurate portrayal of the quality of education provided by the university in question.   Is this a valid assumption?

Various ranking systems exist in the U.S.  The most famous and influential is U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of U.S. institutions of higher education.  This report ranks institutions in groups according to several different criteria (for example, the average test scores of students who were accepted).  The result is a well-ordered and very accessible list of institutions.  Here, for example, is the list of the top MBA programs:

1. Harvard
2. Standford
3. Wharton (University of Pennsylvania)
4. Sloan (MIT)
5. Kellogg (Northwestern)

Not everyone believes that this method of compiling rankings achieves an accurate portrayal of an institution’s educational, quality, however.  In this article, Amy Graham and Nicholas Thompson lay out what they view as problems with U.S. News and World Report’s methodology:

Unfortunately, the highly influential U.S. News & World Report annual guide to “America’s Best Colleges” pays scant attention to measures of learning or good educational practices, even as it neatly ranks colleges in long lists of the sort that Americans love. It could be a major part of the solution; instead, it’s a problem.

U.S. News’ rankings primarily register a school’s wealth, reputation, and the achievement of the high-school students it admits. At one time, most academics believed in one simple equation: Good students plus good faculty equals good school. The rankings reflect this outlook, tabulating things such as percent of faculty with a doctorate (to measure the quality of the professors) and SAT scores of the freshman class (to get at quality of the students). That’s like measuring the quality of a restaurant by calculating how much it paid for silverware and food: not completely useless, but pretty far from ideal.

In a similar vein, one might argue that it’s inappropriate to rank a university – or even a program -  as an entire unit:

[E]ach institution is nothing more than a collection of local chapters of international intellectual fraternities.  The quality of each chapter at each institution is more or less independent of the quality of any other chapter at the same institution, except to the extent that financial muscle can attract better quality across the board.

In other words, the quality of education is mostly dependent on individual professors and departments, which are not necessarily reflected in the rankings for their host institutions.

The individuals who do the rankings are well aware of the methodological difficulties, and even a well-known methodology like U.S. News and World Report’s is constantly refined.  The struggle to arrive at a comprehensive and fair set of criteria for ranking programs and institutions has led to the formation of various national and international associations, for example The International Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence.

The point is, remember that each ranking system has its own set of criteria, which may or may not apply to your own personal or professional goals.  So when you see that University X is #1,  that does not necessarily mean that University X is #1 for you.

The rankings that are most useful for you are going to be the ones you make yourself.

Nita Gojani, 2007 KAEF Fellow, worked as an intern at the National Endowment for Democracy during Summer 2008.  I would like to share a story that one of her supervisors, Shannon Maguire, wrote about Nita.

Think Pink

“Her hair is PINK!” my director remarked when Nita started her first day as an intern at the National Endowment for Democracy, where she divided her time between the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) and the Europe and Eurasia Program.  She learned to relax after Nita had completed just a few days at the organization, discovering that her work was not only thorough, but fast  – important for the director, a former Journalist.

Nita never knew what to expect when she sat down at her desk, but she took it all in stride and handled each assignment with flexibility, grace, and determination, no matter how vague the request.  She was usually  tasked with some urgent request, whether it was helping the Europe and Eurasia Program with grantee proposals or researching online media law assistance resources for Soviet successor states.

With the “exalted” work, such as doing research for a new media workshop or providing input for Europe and Eurasia’s balkans portfolio, came the “grunt” work, including running around Penn  Quarter to find a place that makes decent podium signs.

Nita was able to have a rare experience at NED by participating in both the Programs/Grants side and the President’s office.  This gave her insight into not only NED’s main activity of grant-making, but also NED’s new programs in the President’s Office that highlight independent media development efforts, cooperate with other democracy foundations, and advance research on democracy.

Fortunately, my director finished the summer tickled pink with Nita!

Dear Prospective KAEF Applicants,

We don’t wish to alarm you . . . . but the KAEF application deadline is ONE WEEK AWAY.

Over 500 people have started their applications.  If history is any guide, more than 400 of those people won’t complete their application. All their preparation and work will be wasted.

DON’T BE ONE OF THOSE 400! You still have time to finish your application.

Starting next Monday, we’ll be calling every applicant who has completed 15 or more sections of the application, just to give them a personal reminder.  For those of you who have completed less than 15 sections, we are assuming that you will not complete your application.  Please feel free to prove us wrong!

If you have questions, e-mail us at info@kaef-online.org or post a comment on this blog.  You can complete your application!  It’s never too late.  One of the eight finalists from last year turned in his application one minute before the deadline. And he won a fellowship!  This could be you.  So come on, get to a computer and finish that application!

Good luck to all of you!

Sincerely,

The KAEF Team

Community Colleges: Community colleges (also known as Junior Colleges) are post-secondary institutions that focus on improving the educational and professional prospects of local community members. They serve almost half of all undergraduate students in the U.S. by providing open access to post-secondary education, preparing students for transfer to four-year institutions, providing workforce development and skills training, and offering noncredit programs ranging from English as a second language to skills retraining to community enrichment programs or cultural activities. Upon completion of a two-year associate’s degree from a community college, students may transfer to a four-year school to complete their bachelor’s degree. More and more, community colleges are broadening their mandates by opening up to people from other states and recruiting international students.

State Universities: A state university system in the U.S. is a group of public universities supported by an individual U.S. state. As there are no federally run colleges or universities in the United States (other than the United States military academies and military staff colleges), these systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. Each state supports at least one such system. State universities get a subsidy from their state. While the amount of the subsidy varies from university to university and state to state, the effect is to lower tuition costs below that of private universities. Out-of-state and international students generally pay higher tuition than those students who are residents of the state.

Land-Grant Institutions: Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that have been designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The Morrill Acts funded educational institutions by granting federally controlled land to the states. The mission of these institutions, as set forth in the 1862 Act, is to teach agriculture, military tactics, the mechanic arts, and home economics, not to the exclusion of classical studies, rather, so that members of the working classes might obtain a practical college education. The mission of the land-grant universities was subsequently expanded by further Acts of Congress. Most historical land-grant universities are currently found within state university systems.

Private Universities: Private universities are institutions of higher education that are operated as nonprofit organizations. Many of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. fall under this category. While most liberal arts colleges are private, there are also some public liberal arts colleges. Some private universities are closely affiliated with religious organizations and some are directly operated by religious organizations. Private universities are not limited by government restrictions in the same way that public universities are, and can teach views unpopular with the government. They also generally have a freer hand in setting admissions policies than public institutions. For example, universities in the Ivy League historically based their selections on many factors other than academic performance, including “lineage,” “character”, and “personal” characteristics. In recent years, however, many private universities have been making an effort to appeal to and recruit academically talented students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Liberal Arts Colleges: Liberal arts colleges are primarily colleges with an emphasis upon undergraduate study in the liberal arts. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers the following definition of the liberal arts as a, “college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum.” These institutions offer a broad base of study from which students advance on to many different areas of study or professions.