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U.S. universities and the like
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Duke University, NC |
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University highlight as contributed by Corina Apostol, Duke alumna, and featured in the Undergraduate Newsletter, Fall 2010 issue (available here). Duke University, NC
 Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina, also known as “the Harvard of the South”, is organized into two undergraduate, ten graduate and professional schools, and seven institutes. In its 2011 edition, US News & World Report ranked the university's undergrad program 9th among national universities. The medical, law, public affairs, nursing and business schools were all ranked among the top 15 in the US. Duke is also 14th in the 2010 QS World University Rankings.
Duke University provided me with an outstanding liberal education, by empowering me to find my own academic course and guiding me to think critically and to empathize in unique ways. Duke is an excellent research university, with the resources to connect education to the processes of inquiry and discovery and to give students opportunities to learn from and collaborate with faculty members - even from the first years of college. Every major or program of study is focused on interdisciplinary examination, which opened a world of possibilities for my way of thinking. For international students, Duke offers up to 30 scholarships yearly, covering the costs of tuition, room and board, health insurance, and two summer semester courses which can be taken on campus or abroad. In my case, I chose to spend one summer taking art classes at prestigious universities and art galleries in Belgium, and another taking German and history courses in Berlin. In addition, international students are eligible to apply for a number of grants, fellowships, awards, travel funds, and research resources to support all kinds of scholarly pursuits around the world. In my sophomore summer, I was awarded significant funds to travel to Romania and Poland and write about architectural transformations in the two countries’ capitals. Moreover, at the completion of my studies, I was offered a paid internship by the Art Museum on campus to continue working during the summer, which turned into a position as an assistant curator. My undergraduate experience at Duke was bolstered by academic liveliness and regular challenges. The faculty was always open to scholarly experimentation encouraging us to use our talents to put ideas and preconceptions to the test. True to its philosophy, Duke provided us with an array of interdisciplinary academic offerings, an exciting and diverse campus culture, excellent facilities and resources (such as one of the biggest libraries in the world, state of the art engineering facilities or an excellent university museum), and opportunities to engage faculty members in small class environments or on an individual basis. Almost all my classes at Duke were seminaries open to 20 students at the most. As early as my freshman year, I was offered the opportunity to take an Independent Study class with one of my Art History professors, for which I designed my own curriculum. Alongside its academic thoroughness, Duke offers students many varied opportunities to serve the community—both locally and globally—and develop leadership and organizational skills. In programs such as Duke Engage, which through its many offerings around the globe emphasizes integration of academic coursework, experiential learning, and mentoring from faculty, the university supported our activities as well as sustainable socio-cultural-economic-scientific developments in the world. What I especially liked about Duke was the idea that education is not only an opportunity for personal development, but also a pathway for improving our communities. Among other things, my friends from Duke interned in molecular genetics laboratories at the Medical Center on campus, examined Renaissance and Baroque paintings in the Netherlands, studied entertainment law in Los Angeles, tracked birds in Costa Rica and conducted research as colleagues to faculty members - which they later turned into published works and job opportunities. At Duke you really get the sense that your opportunities are limitless, both on- and off-campus, in the humanities and the natural sciences, in your home country and abroad. At Duke I was constantly able to move beyond the classroom so that I could investigate issues I wanted to learn more about and get a glimpse at career possibilities. And if the existing opportunities weren’t enough, the faculty, our advisors, the administration, and our peers helped us create our own. |
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Grinnell College, IA |
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University highlight as contributed by Corina Varlan, Grinnell College class of 2014, and featured in the Undergraduate Newsletter, Spring 2011 issue (available here). Grinnell College, IA
 Grinnell College is a private liberal arts school of about 1,600 students, located in the small town of Grinnell, Iowa. In the 2011 edition, US News and World Report ranked it 18th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. With American investor, industrialist, and philanthropist Warren Buffet as a trustee, Grinnell is well known for its massive endowment and financial aid opportunities. But Grinnell is more than numbers - it is a way of life. Students come here in search of a unique college experience. Grinnell stands out among other liberal arts colleges by being, indeed, one of the most liberal. Even though its location seems remote, almost all of its students are committed social activists, each of them defending their passions and trying to improve their community. The average Grinnellian is involved in a number of student groups, participates in several committees, and never forgets to have a lot of fun in their free time. Sometimes there are so many events happening on campus at the same time - from symposiums, author readings, scholarly convocations to classical or rock concerts, film screenings, dance parties, athletic events, hobby groups, etc. - that you simply feel at a loss while trying to decide how to spend your time. Grinnellians are free-minded, committed individuals. The college specifically runs on a policy of self-governance. That is, students are given full freedom to make their own choices and to run their lives – there are no Residence Advisors, just Student Advisors. This fosters independence and responsibility, while creating an incredible sense of community. All of the clubs and groups are student-run, and the management always consults with the students when creating or implementing policies. Grinnell is also known for its academic rigor. While we play hard, we work even harder. Known as a top feeder for graduate schools around the US, Grinnell provides maybe the purest form of liberal arts education. There are no core curriculum requirements, except for the First year tutorial – a class designed to introduce the freshman student to academic life, college-level writing, and campus academic resources. Students design their own academic paths, with the support and guidance of their advisors, who usually encourage them to explore as much as possible. Classes are small, ranging from as tiny as 3 students to no more than 30. The regular class size is about 15. The focus is on inquiry-based learning; basically, you get to have a lot of input and share your own views and questions with all of your class. This also means that you cannot doze off or daydream in class; the professor is always expecting you to react, every single class. Outside of class, professors are incredibly accessible; you can drop by your political science professor’s office almost at any time to discuss you essay ideas or talk about current issues like the situation in the Middle East. Grinnell is well known for its large international student body, comprising about 15% of the student population. While at Grinnell, I have met people from everywhere in the world, all compelled to come here by the quality of the Grinnell education and the incredible financial aid offers available. Most of them come here to get the best education that not only helps build up their academic knowledge, but also encourages self-development.  Grinnell supports experience in the real world, too. Most internships can have expenses fully covered by college funds, and the Career Development office is an extraordinary resource that provides contacts and guidance. There’s also plenty of institutional support for independent research projects, here called Mentor Advanced Projects or MAPs. To conclude, Grinnell College is one of the best places to discover exactly what type of education you want and build your own academic trajectory in a supportive environment which fosters community involvement and excellence. |
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Hamilton College, NY |
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University highlight as contributed by Mihai Dohotaru, Hamilton College class of 2013, and featured in the Undergraduate Newsletter, June 2010 issue (available here). Hamilton College, NY: for the independent thinkers of tomorrow Hamilton College is an outstanding liberal arts institution that gives students the opportunity to learn how to think critically and analytically about the world. In addition, students learn how to effectively and clearly express their thoughts, and develop lifelong skills that will help them succeed in any field or career they wish to pursue. Ha milton is constantly ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the US and while it sets very high academic standards, it also gives students the freedom and responsibility to craft their own academic program, since it has no distribution requirements. This lack of a core curriculum means that from day one students may select only the courses they like and they can work towards a unique course choice to suit their own academic needs and interests. The course selection is done with the assistance of a friendly and very helpful academic advisor, who guides students through the course catalogue so they fulfill all the requirements needed for their selected major(s). Hamilton’s strongest departments include Economics, Government, and English, which are the college’s largest majors in terms of the total number of students enrolled and faculty members. Other majors, with fewer students, include Chemistry, Psychology, Mathematics, and Geology. They have a lot of resources for research and independent study, making the academic experience at Hamilton a good mix. The learning environment, while rigorous, is more one of cooperation than of cut-throat competition. Students are encouraged to consult a variety of helpful resources, mostly run by other Hamilton students. The Writing Center allows students to consult writing tutors on their papers and essays and get valuable tips to improve their writing skills. The college emphasizes good writing as a fundamental skill to a successful academic career. Sometimes, however, oral presentation and rhetoric are just as important. To that end, Hamilton has an Oral Communication Center, where students can record practice speeches and receive feedback from student tutors. In support of this endeavor, oral communication courses assist students in developing the fundamentals of rhetoric, in order to deliver powerful speeches. Finally, the Quantitative Literacy Center hires students to act as advisers and lend a helping hand with homework on a variety of quantitative subjects such as Chemistry, Economics, Physics, Mathematics etc. All of these tools enhance students’ educational experience and bring the community closer together. Cooperation in academics is governed by Hamilton’s honor code, which makes sure ideas are acknowledged properly and that no cheating occurs on examinations. There is also a myriad of opportunities for students to develop academically outside the classroom. Research grants are available for the most talented students. These grants not only cover living costs throughout the entire research program, but also leave students with enough money to cover other expenses. Doing research under the guidance of faculty is excellent preparation for graduate school and gives students their first opportunity to do independent and ground-breaking work. For those that would rather take a look at the professional world, alumni funding allows students to engage in a variety of paid and unpaid internships that complement the academic experience in the private, not-for-profit, or government sector. The social scene at Hamilton is great. While the campus is fairly isolated in terms of proximity to the nearest metropolis, students design their own social life and with such a beautiful campus, one hesitates whenever it is time to take a trip off it. There are numerous student groups that organize events, from theatre plays, dance offs, pizza parties, concerts, and all-campus parties, to debate competitions and Model UN simulations. Many of these student groups receive funding from the college to pursue their ideas and interests so that the whole campus has a lot of fun and participates in enriching activities. Newcomers can join these groups and experiment with ideas so that everyone has a great time. A lot of the social scene also revolves around athletics. In terms of sports there is a bit of something for everyone: whether it is soccer, running, basketball, hockey, swimming, or another athletic endeavor, Hamilton’s facilities can accommodate it. My final reason for liking Hamilton is its people. Everyone is very open and looks forward to meeting new people. During my first days at Hamilton I met many new friends, since everyone was smiling and had no hesitation in introducing themselves and opening up a conversation. It is this atmosphere that makes Hamilton one big family that one always looks forward to coming back to.
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Jacobs University Bremen, Germany |
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University highlight PowerPoint presentation on U.S. and European education & admissions at Jacobs University highlight As contributed by Anna Boyd, Admissions Counselor at Jacobs University, and featured in the Undergraduate Newsletter, April 2010 issue (available here). Jacobs University Bremen is a US-like school in Germany modeled on Rice University, TX. Jacobs University Bremen: A campus that considers the world home March has come and in blossoming trees and bushes you find red and white bands everywhere. But wait…you are not in Romania , not even in one of its neighboring countries where it is common to also find Martisors. No, you are in Germany - to be precise on the campus of Jacobs University Bremen. Now you might think that this is strange, but not if you know what Jacobs is about:  Jacobs is a small but very international campus in northern Germany. Founded by the public Universtät Bremen (Germany) and Rice University, Houston Texas (USA) nine years ago as the International University Bremen (IUB), the rule was to have a maximum of 25% of the student population to be German and having the rest represent as many different countries worldwide as possible. Now after a name change to Jacobs University in 2007, our 1200 students represent nearly 100 different nations all around the world!
To learn more about Romanian applicants and their background, on March 15 we organized a social event at the Hilton in Bucharest , where prospective students of Jacobs University Bremen and their families, together with the supportive FEAC staff, met our representative and discussed the opportunities of an American-like education in a European setting.  From the beginning Romanians were always present at Jacobs and actually were amongst the top 5 countries represented. Currently Romania is at No. 2 after Germany with about 100 students on campus. This is why you will find Martisors on our campus but you will also find people celebrating New Year in February – well, the Chinese New Year to be precise. At Jacobs we value all different traditions and celebrations from Easter, Indian Dewali, American Thanksgiving, Samba Carnival to Ramadan and Eid. But we also have our own events such as CID (Country Information Days), our yearly Model UN conference BRIMUN (www.brimun.org), the Intercontinental Football Tournament (ICFT) and the International Fair. In addition to events like these, there are many social and athletic clubs on campus such as the Eastern European Dance Club. Many, such as the Linux Club, the Public Relations Club, The Business Entrepreneurship and Management Society (BEaMS), Magic: The Gathering Club, the Cult Screen Society, the Football Club, and the Ballroom Dance Club have been founded or are chaired by Romanians. So you can see that campus life is important at Jacobs as all 650 undergraduate students live in single rooms on campus. By sharing the bathroom facilities with a second person from a different country they can experience a truly international community in each of our four residential colleges – making Jacobs their home away from home! Academically, Jacobs is a research-focused university with a transdisciplinary, liberal-arts approach allowing students to choose their major at the beginning of the second year. Our 18 three-year Bachelor’s programs offer a high academic standard in the fields of natural, life and computer sciences, electrical engineering as well as psychology, international social sciences and intercultural humanities. From this year, Jacobs offers two new programs: Global Economics and Management - an international business degree with social science aspects and Integrated Environmental Studies – covering the natural sciences as well as political aspects. We have also enhanced our International Logistics program – offering a combined management and engineering degree. You can find details on all courses at www.jacobs-university.de/ undergraduate-programs. Jacobs’ three-year degrees have the same content as the four-year American Bachelor’s, which means on average more courses per semester but with great support due to our faculty to student ratio of 1:11. About 70% of our graduates then continue with a Master or PhD either in one of Jacobs’ 15 Graduate programs or at top universities around the world such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge. With many Romania ns on campus and in our worldwide Alumni network, there are many success stories to tell. Probably one of the most known Romanian alumni from Jacobs Univeristy is Aurora Simionescu. She received the special “The Person of The Year” award from the newspaper Cotidianul and the television station “Realitatea TV” in Romania. Aurora graduated from Jacobs with a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Space Science in 2005 and then did her PhD at the Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany. The award was given for her work on "Detection of hot gas in the filament connecting the clusters of galaxies Abell 222 and Abell 223" published in “Astronomy and Astrophysics” in 2008. Jacobs follows an American-styled application process with a college essay, recommendations, transcripts, SAT and TOEFL/IELTS required (www.jacobs-university.de/undergraduate-admission) and deadlines on Dec. 1, Feb. 15 and June 15. Actually all students applying for Fall 2011 and later will be able to apply to Jacobs through the US Common Application system. Jacobs is committed to providing financial support to all students and currently does so for about 90%. All admitted Undergraduate applicants will be automatically considered for a scholarship. These are based on the same requirements as the application for admittance, so there is no additional application for a scholarship. Scholarships can cover up to the full tuition of € 18.000 per year and room & board for living and eating on campus of approx. € 500 per month for all three years of your degree. We also advise students to apply for Financial Aid (www.jacobs-university.de/finances). The Student Financial Services Office will put together a package consisting of what your parents can pay towards your studies, a tuition postponement (like a student loan) and either a grant or a partial scholarship, if you receive one. PowerPoint presentation on U.S. and European education & admissions at Jacobs As presented by Anna Boyd, Admissions Counselor at Jacobs University, during a FEAC online session in Fall 2011. |
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John Cabot University, Rome, Italy |
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University profile provided by Olga Myelkova, International Admissions Counselor at John Cabot University 
Official website: http://www.johncabot.edu/ |
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